I
The board was lifted, carried to the construction site. Aldi gave the wooden planks to a worker, most of whom worked to build the fort from blacksmiths. They worked together to help fix the vital points of the fort structure so as not to fall before continuing with other repairs. The sun had not yet risen and the workers had started to return to their respective tasks.
The sound of the neighborhood was filled with the knocking and grunting of people carrying heavy items into the building. The fort was just built a few days ago, just when the group arrived on the island.
Hammers hit nails, nails hit boards, boards strengthen buildings. The carpenter knew that building a building with planks could not strengthen a fort, they needed stone.
He walked over to the captain of the guards who was sanding a board. He smoothed the wood when he saw Aldi standing in front of him. He immediately put away the sandpaper and drank the glass of water by his side in one gulp. He wiped his sweat with a cloth around his neck. His clothes were wet, like someone who had just taken a shower in rain .
"Cold morning, captain. It's a foggy day, isn't it," the man chimed in.
"What do you want, Al? I'll give the board to team two," he continued to sand again.
"That's not it, captain," Aldi shook his head.
Tullius stopped moving his hands and heard what Aldi wanted to say.
"Stones, we need stones."
"Wait, stones?"
"These walls will definitely need to be replaced. The wood is just for holding, not fixing. We need masons, the sooner the better."
The captain glanced around him, workers back and forth delivering goods.
"I don't see a mason here."
Ali crossed his arms.
"And that's the problem. We can't get stones."
Tullius was silent, then grinned and put his hand on the old man.
"Then start picking up the rocks. I'm sure a lot of your craftsmen understand things like this."
"If they understand about masonry, then I told them from yesterday."
The captain wiped his face. He looked around him with his hands on his waist. Quickly the hand was lifted and broke a thin piece of wood that had become junk to be burned.
"Damn it!" he growled.
People glanced at the captain. When they stopped, Tullius looked at everyone. And those who were silent were shocked, and get right back to work. He looked at Aldi confusedly.
"You said we couldn't finish one piece. One! One piece, without the use of stones?'
"That's how I see it."
"What are you-? That's how I see it? Haven't you tried or thought of an alternative?"
"No, there is no other way! Stones that are porous or brittle must be replaced. Period. There are no commas, conjunctions and others. Stones must be replaced with stones," Aldi explained while clapping his hands. "Want this place untouched by the Uthgaardians? We must have stones to solidify the structure."
"Shit, bad luck with all this," Tullius began leaning against the table. "Fine... fine. We can make an announcement, find out who understands masonry and... that stuff we have here in the camp."
"Are you sure we have?"
"I don't know," he moaned, banging the table. "We lived in caves before here, everything was made of solid rock. And now we need to find a mason on this empty island?" he denies exhaustion. "Please give me a chance to think straight Tukonseh, get these problems off my back," he faced the sky.
"What about your soldiers? They seem to be able to mine rocks."
"Stones made to become balls of ammunition, Al. They're not trained for this kind of thing. They didn't smooth it like the masons do, for gods sake, they are soldiers."
The captain walked over to a pile of boxes, and made an announcement.
"Attention everyone. Are any of you skilled in stone processing?" asked Tullius loudly.
People were talking to each other, trying to find out who understood. The people's whispers sounded like they weren't sure of the right answer.
"Anyone ever been a mason?" he announced again, and there was no response from anyone. Knowing that no one understood stone processing, Tullius told them to get back to work. He got down from the pile of wooden boxes and walked over to the carpenter. "Call the workers council. We need to talk about-"
"Uthgaardians fleet on the south coast! Full of weapons, ready for battle!" a man came running to tell the whole camp. "Estimated to be here in an hour! The invasion fleet has arrived, the invasion fleet has arrived!" the man rang a warning bell.
The people panicked knowing that the invasion was here.
"How did they know!?" a voice shouted in the midst of scrambling soldiers.
Hearing that voice, everyone immediately stopped working and immediately took their swords that were gathered in the empty barrels. There wasn't a single person who didn't join in on the preparations for the battle with the Uthgaardians army fleet.
They started running to the coast through the road that was used when they came to the fort. Tullius told everyone to speed up as they passed through the forest. As he ordered everyone to get to the beach, he saw Tabot the old scientist did not move away from the two mutagen tubes. The old man was gloomy, looking at the captain sharply.
"Don't let them touch this island," said the scientist.
Tullius nodded and hurriedly prepared his armor. The other people had already started walking, all the carts being used to take people ready for war. Doctors and nurses ran out of the fort in a not so neat line, Tullius who saw them understood what kind of person he would be commanding on the battlefield.
He put on his helmet, facing the outer gate of the fort. He and his six hundred not-so elite soldiers began rushing towards the shore.
"Double time!" cried the captain.
"Hu-ah!" answered the guard soldiers in unison.
They started walking to the battlefield. The battle armor could be heard clanging as the hundreds of people ran. There was only one thing in the captain's head, winning this battle. Outnumbered and outskilled, Tullius would not give up, and neither would all the soldiers of the Spearhead.
They ran on the roads that had been made by the soldiers, making it easy for everyone to roam in the dense forest. Tullius and his soldiers arrived at the fort and saw that several people were already prepared with spears in hand.
The captain immediately organized the battlefield, sending all who were worthy of combat to the front door of the fort. Tullius' officers helped organize the doctors and nurses who didn't know how to use the swords and spears in their hands, while the captain directed their soldiers to the front gate of the fort to block the entrance from the landing soldiers.
The tall towers were lit by fire, creating a bright light that could be seen from a distance. Aldi and his brothers panicked when they saw the tower being burned by a soldier. They ran to the commander and pointed at the tower.
"Your guard tower was set on fire by a soldier!"
"So? He's done his job."
"What task!? Uthgaardian fleet will know where we are."
"Isn't that what we want?"
Aldi gaped, knowing the captain's insane thoughts. He grabbed the shoulders of his two brothers and told them to get ready.
"Stay and fight them, don't back down. Got it?"
"Understood," replied the two of them.
"Good," Aldi hugged his two brothers.
II
Tullius stood on a high platform in the fort, gazing out into the Uthgaardians fleet with binoculars. Twenty in total, and rowed in the direction where they were from through the fog. The ships saw the fire burning the guard tower, and began to direct their fleet towards the fortress where Tullius was. The captain was satisfied to see it, he immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare his two ballistae.
"Oil! Sprinkle the Oil!" cried the officer to encourage the soldiers to work faster. The stone is now covered in oil which is then given a splash of fire, the stone is on fire.
"Officer, set the distance to six hundred meters!" Tullius ordered.
"Set the distance of six hundred meters!" he repeated his order to the ballista soldier.
"Six hundred meters and on hold," the soldier began to adjust the artillery range.
The captain measured the distance of the ship by looking at the lantern attached to Uthgaardian mast, trying to estimate how far the ship was. The thick fog covering the ship began to fade, revealing the true hull of the ship.
"Do we need to fire a warning fire?" the officer asked.
"No, shoot straight away. Don't hesitate, they are enemies and will attack until we die in this island," warned Tullius with determination.
The officer did not speak at all when he heard the captain's answer. Tullius looked at the ballista officer who was standing still.
"At my command," the captain looked back at the fleet from his binoculars. "Loose!" he ordered.
"Ballista one, loose!" shouted the officer.
The operator released the hold, and the rock is launched. Everyone in the fort saw the rock flying high in the air. They ran to the skids of the fort walls and opened a slit deliberately made by the soldiers.
Everyone watched the rock coming down and hit one of the Uthgaardian large ships. A loud crashing sound could be heard banging into everyone's eardrums, a flame erupted on the ship's deck. The soldier didn't cheer, just in pure horror of what their weapon could do.
"Loose," the captain shouted again.
"Ballista two, loose!"
The stone flew towards the same ship and fell through the side of the hull. From that direction of the sea could be heard the screams and creaks of the ship's logs, as if the ship was warping and about to sink. The people in the fort could hear the crew's screams from a distance, the doctors and nurses who heard it looked terrified to see the ship catch fire and eventually sink into the sea.
Understanding how strong this ballista is, the captain immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare a new fireball that was ready to be thrown. Soldiers immediately worked quickly preparing a new throw.
"Northeast, leading ship, five hundred meters. Loose!"
"Northeast, five hundred meters. Loose!" repeated the officer to his soldiers.
The lever is pulled, and the stone is thrown high into the sky. The first stone hit the ship, the second almost hit it.
"Same target. Four ninety, loose!"
"Four ninety, loose!"
A new ballistae round launched toward the ship. The two flints hit the ship. People watched the ship burn above the sea, screams and cries could be heard all the way to the fort. Ade watched the ship fall into the sea, he took a paper in his pocket and wrote down whatever he had just seen. Royyan on the other hand just watched the ship sink in the sea.
All day they watched Uthgaardian struggling to zig zag the ballistae shots, and all day their ships decreased to five ships, and this time they were now close to the fort. The guard soldiers opened the gates of the fort, inviting the soldiers to attack them in a small chokepoint battle. Uthgaardian ship landed on the shore, the soldiers got off the ship and began to storm the fort.
Ade writes in his book whilst waiting his turn to get into the front.
"Four hundred twenty-five soldiers disembarks from a single ship," he's sweating profusely. "Five Uthgaardian ships landed on our beach, somewhere around two thousand of them assaulting the outer wall."
The two sides shouted at each other when they met on the battlefield. Uthgaard's soldiers hurled themselves against the spear wall of the Spearhead guard soldiers. The battle began at the gate of the fort which was the only entrance to the fort. Thousands of Uthgaard soldiers got out of the one ship they were on.
Looking for a new entrance, Uthgaard's soldiers laid a high ladder to cross a deep trench filled with seawater. Knowing Uthgaard's army had crossed the trench, Tullius ordered each small circular hole in the fort wall to be opened.
"The small division of medical workers was used to operate a new weapon that they created. A weapon that spits fire as if a dragon was on their side. Burning them who were on its path," Ade wrote while watching the action happened.
The doctors and nurses wielding spears pulled out their weapons in the hole and began stabbing at Uthgaard's soldiers who were trying to cross the trenches. The medics could safely participate even though they didn't know an art in war.
On one side of the fort, there was a team of sentry medical soldiers operating a flamethrower. Two people are required to operate it, one would point the weapon, the other will pump to force the liquid to go out from the small water tank to the flamethrower.
Through a hole, they spit out the fires at the Uthgaardian soldier who was trying to cross the trench with ladders. In front of the funnel there is a burning rope, the object is used to start a fire for the liquid that will be spit out from a tube that is constantly being pumped by another medical soldier.
A burst of fire like the breath of a dragon shot out and burned all the soldiers in front of him. The men screamed under their armor, screaming in horror as they felt their bodies filled with the heat of the fire. The soldier jumped down on the trench in their heavy and wet armor, those people couldn't get out of the deep pit were drowned. For those who don't jump, they run around and watch their skin burnt before they die from the blaze.
At the front gate, the guard soldiers held off the onslaught of thousands of Uthgaard soldiers at the narrow gate. Every few minutes, a whistle will be blown. Hearing the whistle, the soldier in front would stop fighting and walk to the back of the line, replaced by the soldier standing behind him. They held each other's shoulders, this they did to stay close in their combat formation.
The shield hits the enemy in the face, and the sword pierces the stomach of the victim. The battle in front of the gate could seem to get even more intense as Uthgaardians soldiers started to climb the wall to outflank them.
In the ballista group section, arrows started raining down on them. A Uthgaard ship full of archers fired their arrows at a group of ballista warriors. Under the rain of arrows, they kept trying to move the artillery. The artillery was aimed at the ship which was still raining down on them. A soldier and his comrade aimed the ballista towards the ship, while aiming he saw his comrade being shot by an arrow that pierced his neck. When he died, another soldier came to take his place.
The stone is smeared with oil which is then burned. Seeing the huge artillery aiming at his ship, the Uthgaardian archers immediately panicked aboard the ship. Some jumped into the sea, and some took cover behind the ship's walls.
The stone hurled swiftly toward the ship. A soldier saw the stone heading towards him, he froze in fear. The rock barely hit the ship, but hit a soldier who was by the side of the deck. His arm was severed and launched in the air. The archer saw his comrade disappear in an instant, and all that was left of him was an arm that fell from the sky.
The second ballista threw his fireball and managed to hit the side of the ship. However, the ship is still afloat even though its side has been lost. The archer came out of hiding and again rained down on the ballista.
Tullius started to help out, reloading the Ballista and aiming his artillery again. When it aimed right at the target, he ordered the soldier to pull the lever. The rock was ejected and crashed into the ship, splitting it in two. The ship sank and the archers jumped off the ship, trying to save themselves by swimming to shore.
The battle passed fiercely, and in the end all the sounds of swords clashing were lost to the ears. The fog came and everything suddenly stopped, people were confused as to what was happening. Uthgaardian soldiers suddenly didn't charge at them.
A nurse peeked out from the wall's slit, she saw no one. But she saw the corpses of Uthgaardian soldiers lying on the beach. The sea swept over their bodies dragging them to the water, the woman was stunned to see it.
"They're gone. Dead," said the nurse.
"Dead?" Tullius hurried over to the girl.
He peered into the slit and saw the lifeless bodies of Uthgaardian soldiers. The captain walked over to the guard soldiers in front of the gate, their bodies rigid in a shield wall formation.
"Tecombre!" shouted Tullius, then all the soldiers broke into formation and began to walk out of the fort carefully.
Tullius walked with them, investigating where the soldiers were. What he saw from the slit turned out to be true, all of the Uthgaardian soldiers had been overwhelmed to attack their fort. Some were still dying, and the sword of a Spearhead warrior had widened the person's wounds. The soldier screamed in pain, then a Spearhead soldier killed him to ease his pain.
"Shit. They really are dead," the captain wiped his face. "How many ships did we sink?"
"Fifteen."
"Really? Fifteen? That's a lot. Maybe dozens of people drowned, damn it. I never thought we'd survive something like this."
"You didn't know we could survive? We lost hundreds," a soldier rose his tone.
"Not if they come in so many. Fifteen ships out of twenty. That means we've sunk about eight thousand people and killed two thousand here."
"Captain!" call a soldier.
Tullius hurried over to the soldier. The man put the tip of his sword into the deep trench, but the sword did not completely sink.
"There must be a lot of people under this water. But I don't know how many."
Seeing the section of the trench, Tullius looked at the end of the funnel that had flown out of the hole. In front of the captain was a corpse, he rolled it over with his feet. He saw the face of the Uthgaardian soldier burnt, his skin melted like a burning candle. The man's flesh and muscles could be seen clearly, causing the captain to roll the man back onto his stomach. The smell of the burning body of the Uthgaardians corpse could be smelled by the people operating the flamethrower.
"It's all over," he muttered.
"Not yet," someone answered, coughing. "Everything is far from over."
Tullius saw a Uthgaard soldier lying on the red sand. He grabbed his collar, lifting up the soldier whose mouth was bleeding.
"Still alive?" challenged Tullius.
"Our ships are just a test. There are still dozens of larger ships," he cast his eyes to the left where the sea was. "You see that ship? He's seen us fighting earlier. And now, you have no way out. A total invasion will come and take the island. The end of the Inquisition!"
Tullius dropped the man back into the sand, he picked up his binoculars and looked at the ship in the distance. Behind him sailed far more ships, this time they attacked in waves. The wind blowing against the shore made their ship sail faster.
Tullius and his exhausted soldiers knew that this was their last battle.
"One more time, everyone. And the day will end," cried the captain. "End with our and their deaths. Prepare the ballistae!" Tullius' orders.
"The stone is up, captain!"
Tullius turned to the officer.
"No, we have hundreds," he couldn't believe. "There must be a few left."
"There's nothing, NOTHING!"
The Uthgaard soldier coughed to speak.
"The admiral will rule over the entire Central Sea. And he will rule through using your corpses. Your days are over, there's no point fighting them."
III
In the corner of the sight came Uthgaardian fleet of ships. Tullius and his soldiers stood on the beach in a tight formation. They waited for death to come to him.
"Goodbye, gentlemen. May we meet in the next realm."
The soldiers held their position, waiting for the ship to come. Then people started to leave the fortress and stand beside them. Doctors, nurses, carpenters and blacksmiths, standing side by side not as a friend... but brothers and sisters.
Unbeknownst to the spearhead soldier, another fleet of ships came from a distance. They blew a deep, loud trumpet. The entire sky could hear its echoing thundering sound, giving off a strange atmosphere. The soldiers trembled hearing it, like hell crawling out of the earth.
A fleet of galleys filled with Hukoleener soldiers came from the morning mist. The morning sun showed Hukoleener's ships far outnumbered the Uthgaardian's.
Seeing the fleet, Tullius broke the formation and raised his binoculars weakly. There he saw that the sailors of the ship and not wearing thick armor unlike the Uthgaardians. Their ship was heading toward Uthgaardian's, faster than he could tell.
Everyone in the fort came out and saw Uthgaardian's ships starting to turn toward Hukoleener's fleet. Here two giants will fight. Hukoleen who conquered the waves and Uthgaard that ruled over the land.
Ade sat on the beach with Roy, watching the ships go into battle.
"See how history will be built by human bodies," said the older brother.
Royyan just watched without commenting. His gaze was fixed on the ships. In the distance they could see the ships crashing into each other, Hukoleener's marines boarded the Uthgaardian's ships like a madman craving for human meat.
A ship came to the shore, the mast raised a black pennant. A man jumped off the boat and landed on the shore. He walked from the deep water to the shallow part until he put his feet on the beach.
He wore tattered battle armor, revealing body wounds. Long sword at waist, dagger tied to thigh. His hair was white, but moved like a person at a young age.
Seeing the old man, the spearhead soldiers were shocked and could not speak. Everyone was amazed, seeing the person was still alive with injuries on the body.
"Guards, double time. Get on the ship right now!" the old man ordered.
The astonished Tullius immediately came to his senses and summoned all his soldiers.
"You heard the general. Double time, get on the ship!"
All the guard soldiers came out of the fort and immediately ran in the deep water towards the galley floating in the coast. Their heavy armor made it difficult to walk on the sea, a soldier almost drowned and was saved by his friends who gave him a rope.
The guard soldiers climbed the net hanging from the side of the hull, hundreds of soldiers quickly climbed up the ship. When the last soldier was climbing up, the galley immediately took out its oars and set sail for battle.
Tullius stood on the deck of the ship getting his soldiers to line up. There he saw the general, Jurko standing at the end of the ship awaiting his battle. His hand rested on the sword's hilt, ready to pull it out when the time came.
From beneath the ship Tullius could hear the sounds of dozens of people making noises like people grunts when pushing the oars. Dozens of oarsmen make rhythmic grunts with their mouths, creating a harmony in sailing this ship.
Uthgaardian and Hukoleener's ships were ahead of them. The ship was rowed swiftly toward the flanks of an Uthgaardian ship. Jurko stood in front of the ship, waiting for the right time. Tullius and his soldiers stayed on the ship, waiting for the collision to occur. The sound of battle can be heard clearly, screams and the sound of swords hurting the ears.
"Prepare for impact!" warned the captain. All the soldiers started holding on to the ship. Tullius saw the end of the ship crash against the flanks of Uthgaardian's hull, and as the ship shook, the old inquisitor jumped into the ship he just crashed. Seeing their general jump, the soldiers could not bear to enter a heated battle. The ship stopped shaking, Tullius and his soldiers rushed to jump across the ship they had just rammed.
Before they all want to jump, the ship they hit had sunk first. Tullius looked around for where the old inquisitor was, and he saw the man on a ship far from where he was. The captain opened a door on deck, looking at the rowers below deck. He ordered the men to row this ship to another Uthgaardian ship so that his soldiers could join the battle.
The ship was rowing again, this time slower than before. The galley crashed into a battleship Uthgaard, both ends of the ship crashing into each other. The two ships that hit the end of the body, began to drag each other's bodies which finally made them both stop. Now that their ships were past each other, Tullius and his soldiers jumped onto theirs.
The battle on the ship was chaotic, narrow and disorderly. Where the soldiers of Uthgaard and the Spearhead who normally fought in a wide field suddenly became ineffective. On the other hand, the Hukoleener mariners were more proficient in this battle. They were fast as lightning, their light to no armor making Uthgaardian and Spearhead's soldiers slow like sloths. Hukoleener skills put Uthgaardian's army at a standstill against them.
At the end of the battle, Tullius saw a large man wielding two machetes and screaming loudly in his rage. When killing a soldier of Uthgaard, blood splashed on his face, and he let out a big sadistic smile.
The captain who was disturbed by what he saw made himself forget the battle around him. An Uthgaardian soldier ran with a sword ready to decapitate Tullius. Coming back into battle, Tullius stepped away from the swing of the man's sword and stabbed him in the face.
"Shit," he snorted.
The fierce fighting began to subside, Uthgaardian soldiers who were dozens of them were now at the bottom of the sea became carnivorous food. Uthgaardian empty ships are now being filled by Hukoleener soldiers. They cheered while killing Uthgaardian soldiers who were still breathing. One Uthgaardian ship looks intact and sailing away from the other ships.
Seeing the ship sailing made the old inquisitor take out a small bag filled with pebbles. He took the arrow from the hands of a Hukoleener soldier forcibly, the soldier could only watch as the inquisitor snatching his belongings. Jurko tied the small pouch on the arrow, Jurko took aim and released his pull. The arrow shot high into the sky, and landed right on the ship.
Everyone who saw it was waiting for something to happen. Everyone was silent looking at the ship. Just when they thought nothing was going to happen, seconds later there was an explosion. Flames began to rise above the ship's deck, the explosion began to take the lives of the Uthgaardian crew. The people on the ship jumped into the sea, some of them trying to kill the fierce red rooster. How much water they give, the fire still couldn't be extinguished. Before long, the ship was exhausted and sank into the sea.
People cheered with joy to see the ship sinking with its crew. Jurko plopped down on the boat deck, he was panting in excitement.
"Finally," he breathed. "We are at peace again."
A man with his side hair shaved off came to give the inquisitor a hand. Jurko looked up and held his hand, he was pulled to his feet. He wore no armor, only a trouser, his body tattoos and wounds clearly visible. His large muscles bulged as he pulled the inquisitor up.
"It's a beautiful day to celebrate this victory," he tightened his handshake.
"Beautiful day it is."
The of them didn't say anything for a second, a sigh of relief exited the king's nose.
"How about a party at the palace?"
"I don't know about that. I want to meet all the Spearheads first, maybe they're worried about me."
"Then I invite all your members to the palace."
"Everyone?"
"Everyone! Tomorrow night come to my palace, we will celebrate the defeat of the southerners," then Rakai faced the sky. "Here is Hukoleen! Conqueror of the seas!" he is shouts for the whole world to hear.
The entire Hukoleener army cheered in their language, swords raised high into the air. Now the whole world knows who rules the deep blue and light blue sea, fresh and salt water. Hukoleen the ocean conqueror and her guardians managed to provide security for the oceans that surround it.
IV
Jurko and all the guard soldiers sailed to the island where all the spearheads were. Several Hukoleen ships accompanied him back, including the king. He heard what had happened to the inquisitor who fell asleep and was in a mutagen tube. What he heard from the old inquisitor he wanted to see firsthand.
Their ships dropped anchor. All the spearhead soldiers along with the king and his guards got down in small boats, they rowed to the mainland coast of the island. There were already hundreds of people waiting for the return of the old inquisitor and the guards.
Tabot stood there waiting for his soldiers to arrive. Their boat landed on the beach and was pulled on the sand. People can be seen cleaning the beach from the bodies of Uthgaardian soldiers. Jurko walked over to his old friend, they shook hands tightly.
"It's good to see you're still breathing," the old man began to let out a grin.
"We may be old, Tabot. But death not dare to touch us."
They laughed, and the king came to the scientist.
"Master Tabot," he shook the old man's hand gently.
"You... you are the son of Raja Djaya. I remember you," he looked at Rakai's body. "And you have grown up, Rakai. How's the king?"
"I sent him to an island I won't name. My servants and the guards will take care of him, Tribuana and I see him every week. It seems the door of death has been opened for him."
"He's dying? But we haven't seen each other long."
"Not long to you masters, but to me? We haven't seen each other for twenty years. Time doesn't mean much to you masters, but it's different to me."
"Oh right... time," muttered Tabot in realisation.
The old scientist rethink his life for a second, only the gush of winds can be heard by them.
"Tabot, where is Nazeir?" Jurko broke the silence.
"Nazeir!" the scientist remembered. "He's in the fort. Follow me, you missed what just happened."
They walked in the forest, the evening sky began to blind the darkened path. Before the sun completely sets, they arrived at the great fort. Rakai looked around the area of the fort, camp tents lined the driveway. When passing through the gate, the king held the defense wall that was starting to crumble.
Finally they arrived, the camp was empty and silent. The sound of their shoes could be heard from the silence of the place. The Hukoleener soldiers stood guard at the gate of the fort, giving the king time to talk to the two old men. They walked to a large tube covered by a cloth. Tabot removed the cover, Nazeir could be seen sleeping in the mutagen liquid tube.
"What's that on his face?" the king pointed at his own nostrils.
"It's a breath mask. If he doesn't wear it, then he can't breathe in this liquid tube. You see, in this liquid there is something so small that we can't see it with the naked eye. Picture it like you see an atom."
"I don't understand," Rakai immediately told the scientist.
"The point," Tabot tried to explain more easily to the king. "These little things can help Nazeir return to health. He can now be described as 'sick', and all the medical staff are trying to help him get well."
"What happened to him?"
"That's something we can't answer yet. But give him a break and he'll come back to his senses. But my theory is that..."
The two men listened closely.
"Every inquisitor has a limit of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the gifts the inquisitors received, presenting them abnormal abilities. Jumping twice or even more than the height of average human, lightning speed reflexes, to the capabilities of remembering things. They learn, think, act faster than average humans, the most crucial things people need in battle. That's why when we invaded the elves, they would always lose to the battle where inquisitors were deployed. The inquisitor's purpose back then are to counter the elven magics and several other threats. But since the old world conflict is gone, now we have a different target of magic."
"The sorcerers of the North," Rakai answered.
"Correct."
"I have a question. If I get sick. Can I slide into this tube and come back healthy?"
"I suggest not doing it. Mutagens are dangerous, they can be from the radiation, chemicals, bacteria..." Tabot looked at Rakai who was trying hard to understand what he was saying. "This tube has a certain chemical in it. It can be dangerous if you go inside without knowing what's going to happen. There may be a good way, but you shouldn't go in if you want your life to be normal."
"I understand," Rakai nodded.
"Tabot, I want to ask you about certain things..."
----Phantom cut new story-------
While Tabot and Jurko were discussing the inquisitor, Rakai walked behind a tent. There he saw a wagon on which there was a tube just like Nazeir. He opened the cover, revealing its empty tube.
Beyond the tent area he saw the tracks of the wagon moving into the darkness of the shadows. Wanting to know what was behind the darkness, the king walked alone to the place.
As he stepped closer to the darkness, a voice was heard. He saw smoke as if it was a breath rising from the corner of the dark fort wall. Suspicious, he approached. He took one step, one more step, until he saw what was there.
Two big eyes stared at him. The creature had a snout that worked as a nose, emitting smoke like an angry bull. The creature rose from its seat, bipedal and upright like a human.
The king was instantly intimidated by its appearance. It wore a gray-green coat with a hood that covered its head to the knees. The coat was full of utility straps, as well as pockets on its chest.
Its head was covered with a cloak that extended to his shoulders, and beneath the coat was its face. Its face was covered with a kind of mask that had two big round eyes, Rakai couldn't see what was behind it. He could only see the darkness from those eyes, and he couldn't read the emotions the creature gave off. The mouth of the mask has a muzzle. From under the snout he could see the air that came out every minute he looked at the creature.
It wore the same trousers as its coat. The trousers were tucked into boots which were almost knee-length.
While Jurko and Tabot were discussing, Rakai came from behind the row of tents. His face was pale, the inquisitor could see it.
"Have you looked around the campsite?" Jurko asked.
"Yes," he nodded frantically. "And I'm ready to go back, the night is almost here. I don't want to keep you guys waiting for me to leave. See you later," he turned his back on the two and started walking out of the fort.
"What's up with him?"
Jurko glanced behind the row of dark tents, he felt something behind it. He lowered his eyebrows and started walking into the darkness.
When he walked in the shadow of the tents, he saw someone there. Standing tall with its breathing could be heard clearly. The inquisitor put his hand on the scabbard.
"I can see you there. Get out, slowly."
The creature emerged from the darkness, its face visible in the golden rays of the sun. His eyes gleamed, and the inquisitor closed his eyes slightly.
The creature pressed a button on its neck, and a lot of smoke came out of it. The mask was removed, the face clearly visible to the inquisitor. Jurko immediately took his hand away from the sword, his posture relaxed.
"What happened to you?"
"My phosgene and mustard burn much worse than I thought of," Tabot came to meet the two men. "I saved the body that is covered from the gas. But Aida's body is full of wounds."
The woman took off her leather gloves, and showed the inquisitor her blistered hand.
"It's just my hands, my whole body is full of wounds," said Aida.
V
The three of them were inside Tabot's tent. Outside the tents were hundreds of people resting after a day of fighting on the beach. Lanterns illuminate the dark tent at night.
"What is she wearing?" Jurko glanced at Aida's clothes.
"Special clothes that my medical team and I made. The inside is covered with cloth with mutagens that keep Aida's wounds from becoming more ... fatal. It's cold when worn," said Tabot to Aida. "But you need it, and the mask too," he pointed to the mask on the table.
"Why should she wear it?" Jurko asked.
"When she inhaled the fumes we weren't so quick to expel them. Now her lungs are pretty much damaged. Ordinary humans should die from it, but I'll try to do the mutagen therapy. Let's hope this works, and your lungs working normally again."
"I can't stand wearing this suit, it's weird when I wear this tight. Are there other suits?" asked Ada.
"If you want to feel like your body is burning all the time, then you can wear ordinary clothes."
"Looks like you have to wear that suit on, Ada."
"I think you're right, master inquisitor."
"Remember, Aida. You can take off your mask for only one hour," Tabot raised his pinky finger. "And no more than that. If it's more than an hour, then your lungs just stop working. You will feel the burn."
"By the way, I don't remember the girl having short hair," Jurko pointed at Aida's black hair.
"I cut it off," explained Tabot. "Maybe I'm not the best barber, but the hair has to go. I can't put on the mask when her long hair is getting in the way."
"Relax, master Tabot," Ada smoothed her blunt bob. "I quite like this. But the direction of this hair is blocking my left eye," Aida tried to straighten her right hair that crossed her left eye.
"I'll call the camp barber later. Let him-"
"No!" reproach Aida. "No need, master Tabot. This is good, no need to fix it."
"You are sure?" Tabot tried to convince the woman.
"I'm certain."
While talking inside the tent, a nurse came peeking in.
"Master Tabot! The general is starting to have trouble breathing."
The two of them looked at Tabot who was getting restless. They walked out of the tent quickly, and rushed to see what had happened to Nazeir. Before exiting the tent, Tabot stopped and pointed at Aida.
"Wear the mask, a lot of dust outside."
The tip of the Tabot's index finger was in front of the woman's eyes, Aida, who was ordered by the scientist to wear it, immediately put on the mask. When the mask was worn until the entire head and neck were covered, she pressed a button and made the mask she was wearing airtight.
Aida came out of the tent and saw all the people who were passing by. As she walked towards Nazeir's wagon, all eyes turned to the woman. She walked through the crowd of people who were frozen to see her. When someone was in her path, they immediately jumped aside. The Spearheads are completely clueless who she was. Aida stared at the people in surprise behind her mask, and the people looked at Aida with their eyes wide open without blinking. When Aida's mask emitted cold smoke, they immediately gasped in surprise to see it. Confused, Aida walked as usual after the two men.
There stood a man guard soldier who was burly and much taller than the woman, his face filled with horror as he stared at Aida's mask when she about passing him. Her heavy breathing that was heard because of the mask gave the soldier goosebumps. Aida suddenly stopped and turned her head to the soldier. Knowing Aida was looking at him, he immediately walked away as if not looking back at the girl.
Aida was silent for a moment processing what had just happened, then she walked back while covering her mask with her hood. As soon as Aida left the camp area, everyone returned to work.
Aida came last as Jurko and Tabot waited for her. The old scientist opened a tent cloth, they walked into the big tent.
There the Nazeir tube is placed vertically. Aida, Tabot, and Jurko could see his eyes squinting like he was having a bad dream. His breathing tube began to release air waves at a fast speed. His chest began to expand and contract to the extreme, everyone felt that Nazeir's body was going to explode in a few seconds.
"What's the matter with him, master Tabot!?" Aida panicked behind her mask.
Tabot was not aware of the woman's panic, whose emotions could not be seen on her face.
"Calm down, Aida," Tabot pointed to a bench, telling the woman to sit down and be quiet. "Prepare the injection," the scientist told the doctor in the tent.
The doctor was wearing long, tight gloves. In his hand was an injection filled with a liquid that Aida did not recognize. The doctor looked at the numbers on the injection before climbing a flight of stairs. When he was at the top of the stairs, he opened the lid of the tube. The doctor's hands trembled, he looked at the woman which made him even more uncomfortable, her glass eyes shadowed under her hood made him think about what she was going to do. The doctor immediately dived his hand into the tube and injected the inquisitor.
When the injection was given to Nazeir, the doctor pulled his hand out of the tank. He gasped and fell down the stairs he was on. People caught him and helped him up. The doctor was asked if he was okay, the person's head just gave a quick nod.
They turned their gaze back to the inquisitor in the tube. His breath slowed, his tense muscles relaxed again. The medics rattled off in satisfaction, the inquisitor now regained his composure in his deep slumber.
"I think that's enough for today, we'll go back to our respective tents. Tomorrow, we'll talk about the fort," said Tabot. "Especially you, Aida. You will learn how to become one of this family."
"Become one with the family?"
Aida didn't want to ask more to the scientist, she just lowered her head and left the tent alone, leaving Tabot, Jurko, Nazeir and the medical staff behind. Aida walked alone in the darkness of the camp, with parts of the camp lit up by torches and lanterns lighting the way. With her mask covered by a hood, people didn't look at the woman like what happened before.
Aida entered a small tent. In front of her was a mutagen tube standing on the ground. When the woman takes off her mask which emits smoke, a nurse came and presented herself to Aida.
"Miss, Ada," she greeted. "My name is Zahra. Master Tabot has appointed me as your assistant who speaks northern. I am at your service twenty-four hours from organizing the room to medical activities."
"Assistant?"
"Yes. An assistant who will help you with your daily activities."
"Does Master Tabot have an assistant? I think he deserves one or more rather than me."
"Master Tabot has hundreds of assistants, you call them the Spearhead."
"You really love master Tabot?" Aida put her mask on a wooden shelf.
"Don't you too? He gave us a new life, just like you. When we were in trouble, he would come to help. I came to the Spearhead when I was a teenager. Master Tabot greeted me with warm welcome. Before coming to the Spearhead, I lived as a street kid in Kobyla, Duchy of Imens. I'm passionate about knowledge. Every night I often steal a few books from the library, and I'm very good at it."
"How did you meet master Tabot?"
"One night I saw a caravan used by an old man. Can you guess who this person is?"
"Master Tabot," Ada guessed.
"He fell asleep in his caravan full of paper and thick books. Wanted to know what was on the paper, I slipped in and took a scroll on top of his caravan. Strangely... I didn't understand what was written on the scroll, then a whispering voice told what was written in the book. Long story short, the whispering was general Nazeir, he was traveling with lord Tabot. They recruited me as a student initially, and now I have mastered medical science."
"How long have you been here?"
"Ten?" she sounded unsure. "I've been here since I was a teenager, and now I'm not a teenager anymore. Time is flying fast for me."
"It must have been a long journey to get to this point. I don't know what you all have to go through."
"Oh, don't get me wrong. Everything was easier when we were still hiding in the cave. We have a source of fresh water, fresh air. Unlike now, fresh water is hard to find. But people are digging wells now."
"It hurts first, and later we will be comfortable when this great fortress has been made."
"No doubt, Miss Aida."
"I'm going to bed first, doc," Aida closed a curtain covering the mutagen tube area.
She took off her shirt and put on her breather before plunging into the pool from the open tube cap. Under the water she immediately closed the lid of the tube before closing her eyes. Sleeping in the water didn't strain her breath or press against her chest, she felt light when floating in the mutagen water. The noise outside the tent was not heard by Aida.
Unlike the woman, Zahra fell asleep on a bed with the voices of people outside being heard. Soon she would fall asleep too, but not as much as Aida.