At first, neither of them paid much attention to it. The dizziness came as slight sensations of instability that appeared and faded, only to return with increasing intensity. Neo had to concentrate several times just to keep his head clear while listening to the second reading of the rules. Hunt was unsteady as well, but neither of them interrupted the ceremony over something they could still bear.
But when the High Priest began reading the rules, the dizziness became harder to ignore. Hunt felt a growing pressure inside his head, and at times the priest's words seemed to reach him from somewhere far away. Neo remained beside him, occasionally moving his head slightly to regain his balance.
Neither of them could hold out much longer, but the High Priest would not let them leave.
When they finally rose above the square and began moving away from Anita, the buildings fell behind them as they gained altitude. Several hundred metres above the ground, the city stretched out beneath them while the walls grew smaller and smaller.
…
●— Go higher. We need to get farther away.
■— I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
●— ANSWER THE CALL!
■— WHAAAAT?!
●— I SAID ANSWER THE CALL!
#■— I'm getting dizzy. —#
#●— So am I. Let's go to the forest and come back later. —#
■— Neo, tie this rope around yourself.
●— Why?
■— In case we get separated.
●— Alright.
…
●— Am I falling asleep?
■— Neo...
●— Where's Anita?
■— I don't know.
…
●— Hunt.
■— I'm here.
●— Where are we?
■— I don't know.
●— I'm cold.
■— Me too.
●— I can see Anita.
■— Where?
●— Over there.
■— I can't see anything.
●— There.
■— Neo, let's go down.
●— Are you sure that's Anita?
■— Yes.
●— Then go down.
■— I can't.
●— What?
■— Trees.
…
The water in the basin had already turned a dark red when the young woman wrung out the cloth again. Beside her, her sister felt along Hunt's ankle with her knuckles, searching for the joint.
— Come and hold him tight... Lirina, come here. Don't let him move.
— Are you sure about this, Katia? — she whispered.
With a sharp pull, she forced the foot back into place. Half-conscious, Hunt let out a muffled groan, his muscles tensing for a moment. Lirina did not let go until Katin began wrapping the ankle in bandages. Once she had finished, she secured the bandage and turned back towards Neo.
— Katia — Give me the splint. —
Lirina handed it to her with trembling hands. Without hesitation, Katia placed the wooden board against Neo's left arm and began wrapping it.
— Lirina — They're so lucky. —
— Katia — In their condition? —
— Lirina — I suppose not... —
Katin wiped the dried blood from Neo's abdomen with the cloth and suddenly stopped.
— Katia — Look. — Lirina leaned closer.
— Lirina — This scar is so pale, right in the middle of his stomach... and the edges are far too clean. —
— Katia — It's not recent. —
— Lirina — No, it isn't. — Katin ran a finger around the scar.
— Katia — It was healed with magic. — Lirina moved closer, placing her hands against Neo's bare chest, And Katin continued cleaning Hunt.
— Lirina — This one has almost no mana left. — She stared at the wound for several seconds.
— Katia — To close something like that, it must have taken several people. — Lirina looked up at Hunt.
— Lirina — The other one has a scar that was healed with magic too. — Katin moved closer and, between the two of them, carefully turned Hunt over. — This one's worse. —
— Katia — It's as if he was stabbed with one of those blades used to kill monsters. — She examined it again.
— Lirina — You can't survive those. Those weapons are fatal. —
— Katia — Yes... but if they used enough mana, it can be healed. —
— Lirina — Are you sure? — Lirina ran her fingers over one of the old scars on Hunt's chest. — And look at this. —Katia fell silent as she examined them. — There are so many. —
— Katia — Yes... Monsters? —
— Lirina — Almost all of them. — She pointed to one of the marks. — This one is clearly a claw. —
— Katia — This one has plenty of them too. —
— Lirina — Do you think they could be monster hunters? — Her sister shook her head, unable to find an answer. — Whatever they are, they're not weak. —
Lirina looked at the two men again. — They're strong. — Katin nodded. — And tall.—
— Katia — Almost as tall as the chief. —
— Lirina — Or just a little shorter. —
A loud crash came from the floor above as a jug shattered, followed by several rough bursts of laughter. Lirina looked up as drops of wine trickled down between the wooden planks.
— Lirina — They're still celebrating. —
— Katia — They said the loot from the cart was valuable. — She tied another knot.
— Lirina — Merchants or nobles? — Katia shook her head. — And the women? —
— Katia — They killed themselves after they were taken. — Lirina's hands went still. For several seconds, the only sounds were the voices coming from upstairs.
One of the veterans appeared in the doorway. His tunic was stained, his eyes glazed. He swayed on his feet and reeked of alcohol. Bottle in hand, he leaned against the doorframe and looked at Katia, ignoring everything else.
— You filthy woman. — Katia lowered her eyes and continued wrapping the bandage. — Come here. —
— Katia — We haven't finished yet. —
— I said come. — Katia did not move.
The man stepped closer and grabbed her by the arm, but Katin tried to pull free.
— Katia — Let me go.—
— I only need you for a little while. — She dug her heels into the floor.
— Katia — No.— The man pulled at her again. — I'm too much for you. — The man stopped.
— What did you say? — Katin did not answer.
The blow made her lose her balance. She fell to her knees and brought a hand to her face. Lirina shrank back beside Hunt. The veteran grabbed Katin by her tunic and pulled her up again.
— Now you're coming with me. We're all going to have some fun. — He threw the bottle towards the back of the room.
Katin stopped resisting. Her heels scraped against the stone as the man dragged her towards the corridor. The door slammed shut behind them, and Lirina remained motionless.