The Land: Alliances (Chaos Seeds Book 3)

CHAPTER 1

“You need to get more sun, Randy.”

“My Lord!” He stood up quickly and bowed, “No one told me that you were back.”

“Sit down, sit down,” Richter said. “That’s certainly what I plan to do.” He plopped into one of the chairs in front of the desk. “There is a lot that I need to tell you. It looks like we are at war. In addition, Hisako tells me we can start expecting more monster attacks. And last but not least, there is a plague of giant insects called the scourge that we need to eliminate ASAP. Before we get into ALL of that though, Hisako said there are some things you need to tell me.”

Randolphus’s eyes grew wider, and his expression more incredulous as Richter spoke. The last seemed to take the wind out of him though and he dropped back into his chair. The chamberlain opened his mouth and closed it several times before speaking. These eaters certainly are well known and widely feared, Richter thought to himself. When Randolphus had composed himself, he said, “You are correct, my Lord. There are several things we need to discuss. The first however, is what you want to do about the prisoners. We can’t just continue to keep them under lock and key.”

“Derrrr, what prisoners?”

The chamberlain took a deep breath, “In the weeks that you have been gone, the hunters have begun to notice people traveling along the western border of the mists. It appeared they were searching for weak spots in the enchantment. I ordered the hunters to observe them from within the mists. One night, a hunter got close enough to overhear them talking. The news wasn’t good, my Lord. They were mercenaries hired by Count Stonuk.”

“Okay,” Richter said. “So how did we get to having prisoners? Did the hunters attack?”

Randolphus nodded, “One night, our hunters did shoot at them, hoping to thin their numbers or at least frighten them away. The mercenaries started firing back blindly into the mists. At least one was a magic user. Our people had to avoid both arrows and offensive magic. One of the hunters was struck in the shoulder by an errant crossbow bolt. The injury was not life threatening, but after that, I ordered our people to simply observe. The truth is, my Lord, our hunters were not equipped to attack a well-armed force. They continued to follow them from inside the enchantment. After a few days, two of the mercenaries wandered into the mist and became lost. The hunters were able to capture them.”

“Good!” Richter asked in a strained voice. His tone barely concealed the truth… he was pissed! It apparently wasn’t enough that the Count had both emotionally and physically savaged Isabella. It wasn’t enough that he actively partook in the slave trade. No! Count Asshat apparently now felt the need to come after the few nonhumans that had escaped his clutches. Richter was furious that the man was threatening his people!

Of course, if Richter were being fair, he would have to admit that he HAD infiltrated the Count’s home, enspelled his guards, and then robbed the noble blind, but on the other hand… the guy was a total asshat!

Richter controlled himself, “So we caught a couple of mercenaries, huh? Well I can’t say that I’m completely surprised that the Count came after us. How many were there total?”

“I am unsure as to the total numbers, but the hunters saw less than ten,” Randolphus answered.

“Ten?” Richter asked confused. “What was that supposed to do? Even if they could penetrate the mists, what did the Count think ten fighters could do against three hundred of us? Were they all very high levels?”

“I cannot speak to the capability of those that remained outside of the mist, my Lord. Mage Zarr knows a spell similar to your Analyze skill, however. He was able to tell us that one of the trespassers was indeed a Professed Warrior, level twenty-eight. The man would have been formidable in battle. The other prisoner was underwhelming. She is only a girl and level six at that. Her name is Natosca and she has been quite forthcoming. She said that she had been hired by the mercenaries to guide them through the woods. That is actually how the two found themselves in the mists.”

“What?” Richter asked. “A lover’s quarrel?”

Randolphus looked uncomfortable, “Of a sort, my Lord. I will tell you what we have discovered, but please bear in mind that the following information has been obtained from prisoners, and so should be held suspect. The Warrior, Orvin, told us that the count payed for a divination to find you. That was apparently unsuccessful, but he still had an article of Isabela’s clothing. He was able to get a weak reading that she was in this general area of the forest. I am quite frankly surprised that he was not able to coerce our location from any of the ship captains that brought us from Yves. I can only surmise that the Count had not found any of them yet. But I digress. As I was saying, the mercenaries hired the girl as a woods guide, telling her nothing except that they needed to get to this general area. From what the guide said, the men were not… kind, once they were away from civilization. When she saw that the men were afraid to enter the mists, she took her chance to escape.”

“So the girl was a victim in all of this?” Richter asked. He felt a bit bad about his off color joke now.

“I cannot say that definitively, my Lord. All I know about her is that she arrived with a small company of invaders. That fact does not engender my trust, no matter what story of sympathy she tells.”

Richter nodded. He wouldn’t second guess his chamberlain’s instincts unless he had a damn good reason. It had not been too long ago, that his lack of concern over the village’s defenses had led to the bugbear attack. An attack that had left several of the villagers dead. He wouldn’t be cavalier about the security again. Those goblinoid fighters had been more than a match for the average villagers. Come to think of it, how had his hunters subdued a level twenty-five warrior? He asked that very question to Randolphus.

“Once the two were in the mists, the hunters simply followed them until they wandered deeper into the enchantment. When our people finally attacked, they were smart enough to use the magic to their advantage. They would take shots of opportunity at the Warrior. He would then try to attack one of our people, but the hunter would retreat until the enchantment took effect again. While he was chasing one, the other hunters continued to fire. Though he was armored, the damage added up. One struck the warrior in the back of the knee causing him to collapse. After that, he surrendered. The hunters made him strip off his weapons and armor and then hobble a short distance away. Once he was unarmed, it was a simple matter to bind him. Warrior or not, without armor to protect him, the hunters could have easily ended his life. The girl offered no resistance at all. She cried out in surrender as soon as the battle commenced. While being escorted back, she just thanked the hunters profusely. She was apparently grateful to be free of the mercenary party’s ‘extra’ demands.”

Richter smiled. He was proud of his people. They might not be able to beat a well-armed band in a head to head matchup yet, but they had used their heads and still snagged a win. When he had left to unlock his second power, he hadn’t planned to be absent for long. Ultimately though, he had been trapped in that dungeon for more than two weeks. He was delighted that his village had not only survived and thrived, it had defended itself.

“Okay, so we caught these two,” Richter said. “Now the Warrior seems a bit tough, but still I would have thought the count would send a small army to get revenge, if he was going to do it at all.”

“The mercenaries were most likely meant to gather intelligence, my Lord, and perhaps harm you if possible. Noble or not, the Count’s coffers are not bottomless. Fielding an army, even a small one, is not a cheap undertaking. I am not surprised that he is using a small skilled group to attack you. He could not have known about the protective enchantment around the village. Ten fighters would have been more than enough for a night raid. They could have caused a large amount of death and damage among the nonhumans before fading away again.”

“So the question is, what we do with these two now? I don’t really have a problem just letting the girl go if she was just hired to do a job. Even if she talks and tells others where the village is, that cat is probably out of the bag.”

Randolphus looked at Richter in confusion. He shook his head, damn idioms! He tried again, “I mean the damage is already done. The other mercenaries might already be on their way back to the Kingdom. We were never going to be able to keep our location a secret forever. I’m surprised one of the ship captains didn’t sell us out too.”

“As for the Warrior though,” Richter continued, “I’m not sure what to do yet. I’ll talk to Yoshi about persuading the man to tell us anything else he hasn’t shared yet.”

“My Lord,” Randolphus said in a cautioning tone, “I am familiar with the type of persuasion the sword adept employs. Mercenary guilds wield a fair amount of power in these lands. All who live by the sword accept that they may die by the sword. If it is ever discovered that a mercenary was tortured after he had surrendered to you however, then there might be far reaching consequences. At the very least, you would not be able to hire mercenaries if you ever had the need in the future.”

Richter hadn’t really thought of that. He might need to hire mercenaries soon. He had just been told by Hisako that they had found a bugbear camp. It would be great to hire more fighters for the upcoming battle. Hell! He might need to hire some fighters to deal with the eaters. “So if we let the guy go, would it make it easier to hire mercs in the future?”

“Perhaps, my Lord,” Randolphus said thoughtfully, “but I would caution you against putting faith in such men and women. Most cannot be trusted to stand fast in a bad situation.”

“I won’t be paying for trust. I’ll be paying them to fuck shit up. I just need to know if they will fight if I pay them to.”

“Then it is a fine plan, my Lord. There are some guilds that have, if not honor, then at least the intelligence to know that they need to honor their contracts. The Kingdom of Yves is also not the only place to find mercenaries. The dwarf clans of the Serrated Mountains are strong and have been known to trade their hard steel for bright silver.”

Hisako had told him he needed to speak with the dwarves anyway. He would just have to find a way to grease the wheels. “Okay, I’m guessing that Basil left while I was gone,” Richter said. Then a thought occurred to him, “Did the mercenaries…?”

“No, my Lord,” Randolphus said. “I had the same concern, but the Warrior knew nothing of our trader and he left a good week before they were first spotted. Taking the river ways with the ship you arranged, he should have been safe enough.”

“Well when he comes back, we will have to send him right back out again. I want to commission at least one group of fighters and have them back here as soon as possible. I’m assuming you know about the various mercenary guilds of the Kingdom. Tell Basil whatever he needs to know to pick the best. We will also need to send a second group to the dwarves. I’ll ask Krom if he has any insights on the best way to approach his people.”

Richter looked his chamberlain in the eye with a grave expression. “Our enemies are multiplying. I have already told you about the two large threats we are facing from the bugbears and the eaters. Now we have to worry about the Count’s little mercenary band and whatever else he plans to throw at us. To make matters worse, Hisako just told me that we can expect the monsters and creatures in the surrounding lands to become more powerful. We need help.”

Richter sighed, hating the words that were about to come out of his mouth, “Prepare a budget of how many men we need, and how much it’s going to cost me. I was able to bring back some treasure which should hopefully cover the costs.”

“I will prepare everything, my Lord,” Randy said jotting down some notes. “That brings us back to the original question. What do you wish to be done with the prisoners?”

Richter sighed again. He really didn’t want to have to deal with this when he was just coming home. What he really wanted, was to take a hot bath and then sleep in a bed for about a month straight. Richter squared his shoulders though. Duty first, he thought. “Okay, let’s deal with the Warrior first. Is he in the building I saw outside with the guards?”

“Yes, my Lord. I had the builders erect the two shacks in the center of the village. We are keeping them guarded day and night.”

“How long have they been here?”

“They were brought into the village about three days before you arrived,” Randolphus replied.

“Well let’s get this over with,” Richter said getting back on his feet. “I need to stop at the treasury and armory first though.”

Randolphus organized the papers on his desk into whatever system he seemed to use. To Richter the piles of notes just seemed to be randomly allotted to any empty space, but he wasn’t about to judge how his chamberlain conducted business. The job got done and that was all he needed to know.

Richter walked out of the room and over to the treasury. Holding his Mark up to the glass circle in the door, he then heard the sound of massive bolts being drawn back before the sturdy door swung open. The shelves of the treasury were just as bare as they had been before, but he set about changing that. He unloaded all of the jewelry from the Tefonim queen’s vault. He then started removing the bars of metal from his Bag of Holding as well. It was laborious to remove them one at a time, and then take the time to stack them. He had to actively resist the urge to turn the Bag upside down and shake it. Richter was pretty sure the magical fold in space that let the Bag hold so much didn’t work like that, but it sure was tempting to test the hypothesis.

Removing all of the bars, high steel, moonstone, cobalt and quicksilver took longer than he thought it would. He was happy he had taken the time though, because his Bag of Holding was definitely lighter afterwards. Richter had to admit that seeing the stacks of metal filling his treasury made his heart happy. It was clear and tangible evidence that his village was growing in wealth and potential. They might not be stacks of gold bullion, but the metal in these pyramids would make stronger weapons and armor for his people. That was definitely a form of wealth in The Land.

He placed the bars of elementum on a shelf, and then took one ingot of each metal and placed it back in the bag. He had a quest to finish, and he planned to make his Magic Forge just as soon as he was done talking to the prisoners. After pulling a few more items out of his Bag, Richter walked out of the vault with a lighter step. It’s amazing what unloading hundreds of kilos off of your back can do for your posture, he thought. Even if the Bag did reduce the weight of everything by 90%, losing dozens of kilos of weight was a welcomed feeling.

Randolphus was waiting patiently outside of the treasury. Richter had given the chamberlain access to all of the rooms except the vault that held the village’s wealth. Randolphus had never seemed offended by the decision. The man was well versed in the whims of rulers after having spent decades in the halls of power serving as the old King of Yves’ chamberlain. Of course, if Randolphus had been offended, Richter probably would have never known. The older man was too professional and polite to mention something like that.

The next step was the armory. When Richter opened the door, he was pleased to see that Krom and Randolphus had indeed been through the room. The cobwebs had been removed, at least from near the entryway. The weapons too had been polished and set in orderly rows against the walls. Walking up to an empty table, he started unloading all of the non-magical equipment from his Bag. All of the weapons and armors from the draugh were placed there for his people to later clean and catalogue. He told Randolphus to make sure the haul was organized into what could be salvaged, what could be used for parts, and what needed to be scrapped. The chamberlain jotted the order down on one of his papers, and that was that.

Before they left the armory, Randolphus pointed out another small table. It had some armor and a few weapons on it. He told Richter that these were the items and equipment from the mercenary.

You have found: Steel Hauberk. Defense +8 (max defense +9). Type: Medium Armor. Durability 34/40. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 8.3 kg

You have found: Steel Helm. Defense +4. Type: Medium armor. Durability: 25/25. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 2.1 kg.

You have found: Studded Leather Pants. Defense +4. Type: Light armor. Durability: 19/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 1.9 kg.

You have found: Pointed Steel Tipped Leather Boots. Defense +3. Type: Light armor. Durability 9/10. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight: 3.7 kg. +1 damage to kicks.

You have found: Iron club. Attack 7-8. Durability 19/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 3.1 kg.

You have found: Steel dagger. Attack 7-9. Durability 15/15. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.7 kg.

You have found: Small coin purse

Next to the mercenary’s gear, was a wooden short bow and a quiver of iron arrows. A short dagger was laying under the bow. Randolphus said those were from the woman. Outside of a small coin purse, clothes and some non-magical trinkets she had nothing else. He hadn’t seen the need to take any of that from her.

Richter was surprised at the level of gear the mercenary had been carrying. None of it was horrible, but he would have thought that a Professed Warrior of a relatively high level would have better equipment. True, a sword was just a sword, it was the person wielding it that made it dangerous, but an enchanted sword or high quality armor could definitely turn the tide of a battle. It also looked, almost new, lacking the dents and almost buffed out scratches he would have expected. Well, just one more thing he would ask the Warrior about, Richter thought.

The two men left the armory, walked past the Great Seal and down the tunnel leading to the outside. Not one to waste time, Randolphus continued speaking to his lord about a million and one little topics and decisions that needed to be made. Used to Randy’s efficient manner, Richter just kept answering at a steady pace, “Yes.” “No,” or quite frequently, “I’m sure you will handle it well, just do what you think is best.” When Richter pulled out the new Magic Core though, and asked what his chamberlain thought he should do with it, the man stopped walking.

“Banished gods, please put that away, my Lord! I have been getting an earful every day since you have left. Craftsmen, tinkers, builders, they all want one! Krom has hidden the one you gave him because he is afraid one of the other villagers will take it! One of the things I was looking forward to about your homecoming, my Lord, was that it meant the Core would finally be used. If the villagers get wind that there is a second one, it will start the whole cycle again. Please keep it secret!”

Jeez, Richter thought. Randy looked stressed! The man was sweating! Richter put the Magic Core away again, if only to ease his chamberlain’s nerves. “Okay, okay, it’s gone.” Randolphus’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “I still need to know what to do with it though. I don’t think just making another Magic Forge is the right choice. Feels too much like putting all of our eggs in one basket.” Richter realized he had spoken in idiom again. He was going to rephrase, when Randolphus assured him that he followed this time. “What I’m saying is, come up with an idea for me.” The man nodded and made another note on his clipboard.

As they walked, the various villagers greeted them and said hello. Everyone seemed happy, but Richter wanted to know for sure. He accessed the city interface and saw that loyalty was at the same level that it had been before. Morale seemed to have dropped by twenty points though. Remembering the potential drop in morale after the bugbears had burned down the longhouse, he asked Randolphus how long it had taken to rebuild the longhouse. The chamberlain thought for a moment and answered eleven days. It was what Richter had thought. There had been a one-week grace period to rebuild, but after that morale would have dropped by five points per day.

Satisfied that nothing was amiss with his village, he checked on his status.

Name: Richter

Age: 24

Level: 18, 36%

Health: 408 Mana: 421 Stamina: 210

Strength: 29

Agility: 24

Dexterity: 34

Constitution: 25

Endurance: 21

Intelligence: 35

Wisdom: 21

Charisma: 24

Luck: 15

Abilities:

Limitless

Gift of Tongues

Fast Learner

Bounty of Life

Psi Bond

Skills:

Herb Lore Lvl 39; 22% to next level

Alchemy Lvl 1; 0% to next level

Analyze Lvl 6; 7% to next level

Pierce the Veil Lvl 23; 45% to next level

Stealth Lvl 6; 14% to next level

Traps Lvl 21; 87% to next level

Trap Disarm Lvl 21; 99% to next level

Archery Lvl 10; 24% to next level

Imbue Arrow Lvl 5; 18% to next level

Focus Lvl 3; 78% to next level

Double Shot Lvl 3; 31% to next level,

Drill Shot Lvl 2; 40% to next level

Swordsmanship Lvl 2; 15% to next level

Small Blades Lvl 4; 43% to next level

Unarmed Combat Lvl 1; 10% to next level

Pressure Points Lvl 1; 15% to next level

Dual Wield Lvl 1; 37% to next level

Light Armor Lvl 8; 18% to next level

Grace in Combat Lvl 5; 38% to next level

Air Magic Lvl 6; 37% to next level

Life Magic Lvl 5; 82% to next level

Earth Magic Lvl 4; 92% to next level

Water Magic Lvl 5; 47% to next level

Dark Magic Lvl 5; 22% to next level

Light Magic Lvl 4; 48% to next level

Fire Magic Lvl 5; 9% to next level

Map Making Lvl MAX

Trade Lvl 14; 86% to next level

War Leader Lvl 2, 43% to next level

Enchanting Lvl 1; 44% to next level

Portal Construction Apprentice

Lore Lvl 1

Marks:

Master of Mist Village

Blood Oath

Resistances:

Air 50%

Earth 20%

Life 50%

Mental 15%

Spiritual 15%

Race: Human (Chaos Seed)

Reputation: Lvl 3 “You seem like someone worthy of my attention.”

Alignment: Neutral

Language: All

They arrived in front of the two guarded shacks. The buildings were nothing to take pride in. They were really just planks driven into the ground vertically, with more planks nailed horizontally to keep them together. The roof was comprised of even more planks nailed together and topped with a coating of tar. There was at least an inch of space sometimes between the joints. The prisoners could at least enjoy a well ventilated space. Probably hadn’t made the rain too much fun, though.

Richter stopped walking and Randolphus motioned to one of the guards. He lifted a simple wooden crossbar and opened the door. A well-built man was in the process of standing up from a pile of damp straw that must be serving as a bed. The sky was still overcast and the inside of the wooden box was draped in shadow. Richter cast Simple Light, and a ball of came to hover above his head. It was a benign spell like the name implied, but his casting served two purposes. It allowed them all to see and it specifically allowed the prisoner to see that he was dealing with a caster. The magic he could command, coupled with Richter’s armor and weapons might throw the Warrior off of his game, and make him think twice about making a move. If the man was discomforted at all though, he didn’t show it. I need to take the initiative, Richter thought to himself.

“So you’re one of the guys that was sent to kill me, huh? How was the trip through the forest?” Richter put a false sense of cheer in his voice.

The man just stared back. Even wearing only a pair of simple cloth pants and a basic shirt, the Warrior exuded a sense of menace. A cruel smile found its way onto the man’s face, and Richter knew that he was looking at a true enemy. Even if the mercenary had never been hired to come to the Mist Village, Richter knew this Warrior was someone he wouldn’t want standing behind him. He analyzed the man.

Name: Orvin. Human Level 28. Health 720. Mana 130. Stamina 590. Disposition: Distaste. Humans are one of the shortest lived, but most prolific breeders in the Land. Humans have a broader affinity for skills than other races. No special bonuses to race. Humans get four points to distribute per level. Profession: Warrior.

Keeping his expression cheerful, Richter clapped his hands and said, “Okay then, bye!” As he was walking out he said to the guards, “No food or water until I say otherwise. He can suck rain water from his clothes. If he makes a nuisance of himself, call Yoshi and the other sprites over. They’ll bind and gag him.”

“What,” the man said in a shocked voice. “That’s not necessary!”

Not giving the merc any more attention, Richter kept talking to Randolphus. “Like I said, if he keeps up that noise, gag him. I’ll be back to speak with him again in the morning after he has had time to wipe that stupid look off of his face. Now let’s go see the woman.”

The guards threw the crossbar back onto the door. Richter heard a kick against the inside of the door, and the shack shuddered. Richter was in no mood for either games or invaders that wanted to have temper tantrums. He walked back up to the door and looked through one of the slats. The mercenary made eye contact and they stared at each other for a long moment. Richter started speaking in a soft voice, “Listen up shit bird. I hate rapists. I hate you in particular, so much, that if you kick that door again, I will burn out your left eye. You are one taint hair away, from having an eye patch as a permanent fashion accessory. So go ahead, open that dick hole you call a mouth again. See what happens.”

Richter kept his voice even the entire time. Part of him wanted Orvin to challenge him and part of him didn’t. The part hoping for confrontation was thinking about how the mercenary deserved punishment. The part of Richter hoping that Orvin stayed quiet, was afraid that he might actually enjoy burning another man alive.

Whatever Orvin saw in Richter’s eyes convinced the mercenary to back away from the wall and sit down on the damp straw. Richter watched the Warrior move away, and his own body shuddered slightly with unrealized violence and adrenaline. He took a deep calming breath before shaking his hands out twice and moving to the other shack. Randolphus and the other guard stared at their Lord with serious and cautious expressions.

Richter told the guards to remove the other crossbar. The ball of light above his head followed him into the room. What greeted him wasn’t a defiant warrior though. The inhabitant of this guard shack was a waif of a girl. She was a blond haired woman of slight stature. Her brown shirt was too large for her and was cinched with a heavy belt at her waist, leaving the top loose. He could just make out a simple wooden necklace underneath. She was wearing brown hide leggings and matching brown moccasins. The young woman was sitting on her bed of straw looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

He thought about what she must be thinking. She must have seen him through the walls. He had gone inside of the other shack for barely a minute before coming back out and threatening the man with beatings and food and water deprivation. Then she saw him threaten to maim a complete stranger just for kicking a wall in frustration. This all occurred only a few feet away from where she had been huddling down onto her straw pallet, probably hoping that the scary man wouldn’t come over to her shack as well.

Richter immediately softened his expression and went down to one knee. He analyzed her so he would better know how to address her.

Name: Natosca. Half-Wood Elf, Half-Human. Level 6. Health 130. Mana 110. Stamina 160. Racial blends are erratic in their disposition. They can end up with some or none of any of their parent races characteristics.

Hmmm, Richter thought. Natosca was the second hybrid that he had run into. Maybe Yoshi could relate to her, but he would try first.

“I apologize for just bursting in here so loudly. I also apologize for any ill treatment you have received since you were brought in by my hunters. Have you been mistreated?”

“N-no, my Lord,” she stammered.

“Please,” he said soothingly, “just call me Richter.” She was still cowering in the far side of the hut, so he lowered himself to ground, looking her in the eyes. “I heard what the mercenaries have done to you. I am so sorry. I want to explain what is going on here. My village suffered a brutal attack, less than a month ago. That is why security measures have been so harsh. I promise that soon we will escort you to the boundaries of the mist and release you. Is that what you would like?”

She just nodded.

“Is there anything else that you know about the mercenaries,” he asked her. “Are there more coming? Did they discuss the Count’s plans?”

She shook her head and then started shaking more violently, “No, my Lord,” she said in a whisper. “For the first few days they didn’t say anything, and then after that… After that they would just take me one after another. Sometimes more than one at once!” She broke out in sobs that almost broke Richter’s heart. He half reached out to comfort her, but thought better of it. She probably didn’t want any part of a man’s touch right now, no matter how well intentioned. He stood to go, not wanting to bother the poor girl any further.

“I’m sorry, but you will have to stay under guard until you are escorted out of the village, but I will have some better bedding and blankets brought to you.”

He was walking out of the door when he heard her ask, “What will happen to the man that I was captured with?”

Richter had already made that decision, so it was not a difficult question to answer. His voice was dark and heavy with meaning, “You won’t need to worry about him again.”

The door closed and the crossbar was put back in place. He heard her crying softly inside of the hovel, and he hoped that they were tears of relief.