Chương 15

"Is it redcaps?" Noah whispered as he reached for his weapons.

"No," Ciri said, stepping back from his tent flap.

"Humans. I will let Aelya explain." Eyes widening, Noah scrambled into a crouch. He slung his crossbow over his back, tucked his knife and container of spare bolts into his belt, and followed her toward her parents' tent. Thala, Vela, and Ken stood around it with weapons drawn, each sparing him only a brief glance before resuming their vigil. Ciri placed a hand on the flap, hesitated, and looked back at him.

"Prepare yourself. This will be unpleasant." Gritting his teeth, Noah nodded. She opened the flap to reveal Aelya standing over a human man, a small orb of magical light hovering above her. He wore a red‑and‑black leather gambeson, heavy black gloves and boots, and black cloth pants. His scabbard was empty, and he was bound and gagged with a thick rope Aelya had procured. Emblazoned on one of the red patches of his armor was a stylized black bird perched on a tree branch.

Based on the way she held her spear to his throat, Noah knew she wasn't taking any chances.

"Up," she commanded, nudging him with the spear tip. Even as the magical light winked out, Noah could see the man's cuts and bruises. He struggled to rise while bound, prompting Aelya to strike his legs with the butt of her spear. The extra motivation worked; he stood a moment later, and Noah stepped aside to let him exit the tent.

"I found him and two others sneaking toward our campsite during my watch," Aelya said.

"My Common is not as good as Ciri's, but we had a very interesting conversation." The man flinched at the word conversation, making it clear who had done most of the talking. He swayed unsteadily, eyes darting through the darkness. For a moment Noah thought he might try to run, but the spearhead resting against his back seemed to discourage the idea. Noah's stomach churned.

He knew Aelya was a warrior, but seeing this side of the Fae woman he'd lived with for nearly a month made him reconsider his assumptions about his own safety. His teeth ground together as he wrestled with the thought—until the analytical part of his mind reminded him of one simple truth. If they wanted to hurt you, they would have done it a long time ago. They swore under the laws of hospitality, and they're your only lifeline here.

"Where did the other two men go?" Ken asked softly, pulling Noah from his thoughts.

"They attacked me when I identified myself," Aelya replied without elaboration.

"Can he understand us?" Thala asked, turning to Ciri.

"Yes. I cast the language comprehension spell before waking Noah," Ciri said. Ken stepped forward and removed the gag.

"Hello there."

"Fuckin' knife-ears," the man spat. Aelya looked mildly amused, but before Noah could blink, Ken produced a knife and pressed it to the man's throat.

"I would mind my language if I were you. I wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings. For example, if we were to think you might be thinking of escaping or screaming for help…" He trailed off, letting the threat hang in the air. He did say he's good with a knife. Noah recalled Ken's words from earlier. But how is he so calm about threatening to kill someone?

"Ah—uh… okay," the man stammered, seeing the almost-placid look on Ken's face – something Noah decided was much scarier than anger.

"Good." Ken withdrew the knife.

"Now speak."

"We set up a camp that way," the man said, nodding.

"I was on patrol with Rowan and Elaric, and we saw your fire. Thought it might be more of those damn redcaps, so we came to check it out."

"Why would Lord Thorne set up a camp in the forest? He knows better," Ken said.

"Lord Thorne's dead. Replaced a few months ago. You didn't know?" Ken narrowed his eyes.

"By whom?"

"Lord Malrec. He sent an infantry company into the forest."

"There is an entire company in your camp?" Ken asked, startled. The man hesitated. Aelya pressed her spear harder into his back.

"Lie, and I will make you die in pain."

"There used to be," he said quickly.

"Captain made us set up camp in the middle of a damn Fae ruin with a griffon nest on top of it. Idiot. Between those birds, the redcaps, and the Corrupted, we're down to about a quarter strength." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it." Corrupted?" Ken repeated.

"Uh… yeah. That's what happens when the prisoners don't cast spells right, isn't it?" Ken stared at him.

"Did you say prisoners?"

"Yeah. Lord Malrec sends them here every day. Three or four at a time."

"And they are casting spells?"

"Some of 'em. Some are writing them. Depends if we get men or women."

"By choice?"

"If they want to go free, yeah." The man nodded.

"One month of work in the forest casting new spells, and the rest of your sentence gets commuted. That's what the wardens say.

'Course, they don't mention nobody's ever survived the month."

"How long has this been going on?" Ken demanded.

"Since Lord Malrec took over. Didn't know we had that many prisoners in the whole city, but I'm just a guard. I heard someone say he got the idea from some scary‑looking guy who visited Ferrum Vale. Wore an iron face mask. Never took it off."

"The Iron Lord visited?" Ken said, eyes widening.

"Yeah, that's what they called him. Left people here as 'advisors,' too." Silence fell—then Ken struck. It happened so fast Noah barely registered it. One moment everyone stood still; the next, the man was clutching his throat, blood spilling between his fingers, and Ken stood before him with a blood‑stained knife and a grim expression. Holy shit. I thought Fae women were supposed to be the warriors. Noah turned away as the man collapsed. He tried to block out the gurgling sounds, but it was nearly impossible.

Ciri joined him, running a soothing hand along his back as he fought to keep his dinner down.

"He had to," Ciri said softly. He looked at her and saw the same expression he wore: disgust, and a desperate search for moral footing. Even in the dark, he could tell she felt it less sharply than he did. For some reason, his manly pride refused to rise to the occasion and lend him courage, leaving him feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. Taking a few deep breaths and closing his eyes, Noah nodded.

"Did he? What just happened?" He turned to look at Ken, seeing him in an entirely new light.

"Who… are you?"

"I had a life before I was married and became the Watcher," Ken replied, sheathing his knife before meeting Noah's gaze.

"If you have something you need to say to me, say it now. My wives and I are about to do something dangerous." Noah steadied himself, doing his best not to look at the dead body lying in the dark.

"Why did you need to kill that man?"

"If we let him go, he would have warned his comrades, and they would have found us. And given what it sounds like they are doing here, they would not have let us escape," Ken said evenly.

"And just so we're clear, what they're doing here is…"

"Rounding up prisoners and forcing them to try new spells," Aelya summarized.

"This new human lord is discovering magic by sacrificing his citizens." Meat‑grinder science. Noah exhaled sharply.

"Okay, fine. That sounds really bad, but—""There are no 'buts,'" Ken said.

"You heard him as well as I did. We cannot allow it to continue."

"So what, you're going to charge in against a company of infantry? The four of you?" Noah said, his voice rising.

"How big is a company, anyway?"

"A quarter of a company," Ken corrected.

"Human infantry companies are typically one hundred men. So there should be twenty‑five left in the camp." Why does he know that? Noah thought to himself.

"Twenty‑two now," Aelya added, gesturing to the body.

"That's not good odds."

"Against the four of us, it is a fair fight," Ken countered. Something in his tone made Noah believe he wasn't boasting. As his eyes moved from one Fae to the next, taking in their grim expressions, he realized they were serious. More than that—he reached a startling conclusion. They've done this sort of thing before. Maybe many times.

"The fight would be further in our favor if you helped us," Ken said, breaking the silence.

"However, if you do not feel able, I will not ask it of you. You may wait at the campsite until we return. Ciri will stay with you."

"Father, I—" Ciri began.

"No. The laws of hospitality apply, even out here. Noah is still our guest. We cannot allow him to come to harm." Ken stared at Noah for a long, silent moment. Noah shook his head. Ken nodded once, then turned and began walking into the shadows. As he left, Noah caught the pained look on Ciri's face—realizing that if something happened to her parents, she would be shattered. God‑fucking‑damnit. He called out, "Wait." Ken froze, then turned.

"What is it? Speak quickly. There is work to do, and we do not have long before they realize these three are missing."

"I've… seen things like this. In my world. Not exactly like this, but forced prisoner labor. You might win today, but they'll just do it again somewhere else in the forest until they run out of guards, prisoners, or both." He paused.

"You need to treat the root cause, not the symptom."

"Are you saying we need to kill the human lord?" Aelya asked, stepping closer.

"That would be difficult, even for us," Ken said.

"No," Noah said.

"I'm saying you need to get them to oust their lord. Otherwise they'll just see you as the enemy."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Ken asked. Noah turned to Ciri.

"What do you know about human justice systems here? How would someone legally unseat a lord?"

"Lords are essentially above the law. They are answerable only to the king and queen of Therondale," she said.

"There. Can we go to the king and queen, then?" Noah asked. Ken ran a hand along the handle of his knife.

"Normally I would say no. If this lord discovered a new spell, it would be exceptionally valuable to the kingdom, which might absolve him of any crimes." He paused.

"But the involvement of Ferrum Vale would be seen as treason—especially if this was done at their behest." He shook his head.

"They would need evidence. Something irrefutable."

"Something we might find in that camp?" Noah asked.

"Perhaps," Ken said.

"But I doubt they will simply hand it over." Noah exhaled deeply, accepting the inevitable.

"No. You're right. But if the four of you are busy fighting, you won't have time to look for evidence. Especially if they realize they're losing and try to run. If they're not complete idiots, that'll be the first thing they grab. And besides—if you're dealing with Corrupted, you'll want something non‑magical to help."

"He makes a good point," Thala admitted.

"Agreed," Vela added.

"So what do you propose?" Aelya asked.

"Ciri and I will come. We'll watch for Corrupted and stragglers, take shots from the dark, and try to secure whatever evidence we can." Ken studied the two of them intensely.

"Very well. But you will follow my orders to the letter. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide. If I tell you to shoot someone—""I'll shoot them. Got it," Noah said.

"This is not a moment to be glib," Aelya snapped.

"You objected to the killing of one man. You are about to see much more than that. Are you truly ready for this?" He looked at Ciri, then nodded—hoping his voice wouldn't betray the uncertainty twisting inside him.