Sarya stumbled through the snow, which piled up everywhere, painting the stone huts' roofs white. The moss, hardened by the unrelenting cold of the Kremvar Cordilleras, sealed their cracks. The icy whisper of the wind chilled her hands as she carried fabrics to the market.
The market square roared with shouts, barters, and the crunch of snow under worn boots. The hungry rummaged for scraps of food amid the smell of coal and old leather. In a dilapidated stall that seemed to dance in its fragility, Sarya sewed. Her fingers clung to the needles, her gaze lost in the muddy ground. A light knock on the wood brought her back."You look tired, daughter," said Doña Valeria, her smile warm but fragile, like a candle on the verge of extinguishing.
She adjusted the kerchief holding her gray hair and gently squeezed Sarya's shoulder. "How's your father doing?".
"The same," Sarya murmured. "He had another episode last night." A sigh carried her back to nothingness, lost in thought.
Valeria, stacking boxes and arranging fabrics, helped the lost young woman. "And your brother, how's he doing?" she asked in a calm tone, though a spark of anguish flickered in her wrinkled eyes."He's trying too hard," Sarya replied, brushing aside a strand of her chestnut hair, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I always tell him not to push himself so much, but it's useless."A discussion echoed from a nearby stall. Sarya and Valeria stopped.
Their gaze fixed on a gaunt woman offering a rusted ring in exchange for a vial of herbs against the plague. Valeria, catching her breath with a kerchief, furrowed her brow. "Look at that, three more miners fell this week. All we can do is pray."
The day in the market faded little by little. It left Sarya with a few coins that barely sufficed for anything. She clutched the bag, which seemed to mock her efforts. "Herbs for Dad or a broth?" she wondered.A murmur grew in the square, silencing the barters. A horn blared. A dozen Varkandor soldiers burst in, escorting figures in tunics. The locals held their breath. The envoys scanned Kragveld with eyes that pierced the toughest mesh.A short man, his belly bulging his garment, stepped forward: a herald of the conclave. "Gather everyone!" he raised his voice, hopping slightly to be noticed. "Following the latest reports, the conclave has decided to place the valuable village of Kragveld under quarantine. These people are specialists from Varkandor. Tomorrow morning, we will examine the sick and assess the situation".
Sarya walked home, the echo of those words weighing on her chest. Between moldy walls, Remon lay prostrate in bed, thin, with sunken sockets, as if his life was escaping his body. His breathing was slow, a continuous sleep. Sarya ground herbs, thinking of the herald's words. Could they cure her father? She prepared a brew for him and left yesterday's oats and stale bread on the table for Kasius.
Exhausted, she lay on the floor to regain her energy, staring at the cracked ceiling. "Can those tunic-wearers really help Dad?" she murmured. "None of them even looked at us." With a whirlwind of doubts and a spark of hope, she pondered until sleep overcame her weary eyelids.
A creak outside woke her before dawn. Suddenly, a force lunged at her, making her struggle."By Ostero, sister, it's me, calm down!" Kasius whispered, pale as one who has seen a ghost, his eyes fixed on the door."What the hell's wrong with you, Kasius?" Before she could finish, he cut her off."Gather your things and Dad's quickly," he whispered, trembling. "We're getting out of here.""Run?" Sarya exclaimed, frightened. "What do you mean? Why?"Kasius, absorbed, packed with calloused hands. Sarya felt panic take hold. Images of disaster whipped her mind. She saw the short sword at his waist, his clothes stained with blood. Her heart stopped. "Kasi?" she said, her voice broken. "Where did you get that? What did you do?".
"What I had to," Kasius replied, his voice trembling. "I... killed a soldier."Silence crushed the room. Fugitives now? Would Dad hold up? The images broke Sarya. She burst into tears. "They were going to cure Dad," she sobbed.Kasius, the young worker who gave everything for his family, had hands stained with blood, not just dirt. He approached and placed a hand on her. "I'll explain everything, but not now," he said, with fear and firmness. "Be strong, Sary. Trust me".
With doubts, Sarya stood. Facing Kasius, her breathing steadied. But her face condensed a whirlwind of emotions: sadness, anger, fear. She raised her hands toward him. Kasius closed his eyes, expecting a blow. "Take off your shirt," Sarya murmured, eyes glassy. She unbuttoned the bloodstained fabric.
She went to pack clothes and medicines for Remon. Kasius, like a mouse fleeing a hunter, watched the window. "How do you plan to get us out?" Sarya asked, standing in the room's center. She held a cloth bag sewn with effort days ago."We need a distraction," Kasius said, thoughtful. "We'll escape through the forest.""And then what? Where will we go?" Sarya protested, waving her hands. "Have you thought about that? About Dad? About us?"Kasius, with helplessness and anger, turned from the window. "Enough, damn it!" he raised his voice, rough. "I've done all this because I thought about it".
"And bullshit!" Sarya claimed, annoyed, hitting his chest. "Did we ask you to stain your hands? To kill? What was your big plan? Steal those damned ether crystals and sell them on the black market?""Damn it, shut up!" Kasius shouted, his voice hoarse, clenching his fists. "You don't understand".
"Understand?" Sarya retorted, matching his tone. "You're the idiot who doesn't understand. They can help Dad, they could... save him."With tears in his eyes, Kasius grabbed Sarya by the shoulders. He measured his strength with little success. "They're here to kill him," he said, his voice trembling."Kill him?" Sarya repeated, stunned. "I don't understand. They're from Varkandor, specialists. Why would they do that?" Still incredulous, she tried to process it. Kasius released her. He sought strength, as if speaking was exhausting. He sat, moments later calmer. "Orvin and I lost a bet with the elders. Being the youngest, they sent us to the well for water," he said, beginning to tremble. "On the way back, near the entrance, we heard pleas of supplication." His voice broke. Tears began to flow little by little. He continued, however. "We hid. The screams of horror tortured us. It was soldiers. I heard the one with the mocking laugh say no survivors could be left in the mine. That our task was complete. Only the matter of the sick remained".
Sarya covered her mouth with her hands, in shock. She understood what was coming. Every apex of hope diluted. Before her, her strong brother collapsed, sobbing snot-nosed."When it was safe, we entered the mine," Kasius said between sobs. "Bodies bathed in blood. They were all dead, Sary. Dead."The words penetrated Sarya. Her body froze. She seemed like a fighter surrendering in the ring. Her face said it all. Kasius approached his sick father. He looked at him with sad eyes. He placed his hand on his head, caressing his ashen hair. "I don't know why they want us all dead, but I think it's related to the plague," he continued, his voice calmer and full of conviction. "That's why we must flee. We can start over somewhere else. Orvin waits for us on the outskirts with horses and a cart for Dad".
Sarya approached from behind. In an attempt to charge herself with energy and share the weight, they joined in a fraternal embrace.The sun was already greeting Kragveld. Some were in their routine labor. Between the sparse huts, soldiers with figures in tunics were seen going to see the miners fallen to the plague. Between the snow and muddy paths, someone walked with firm steps. He crossed the square toward the grain warehouses. He stopped before the statue of Ostero, clutching his loaded cloth bag.
"Oh my patron, guardian and benefactor of workers, please, give me strength"
Sarya pleaded. Then she approached the warehouses without drawing attention. She took from the bag what was needed. Soon, the whiteness of the snow reflected an intense red that quickly painted the place. The agitated crowd began to gather around. Murmurs grew with the living flames.
"By Ostero, the warehouses are burning!" lamented a local, watching his only meal of the day burn in the flames.
Sarya took advantage and quickened her pace to exit and meet Kasius and Remon. As she passed near a hut where they were examining a sick miner, one of the figures in tunics emerged at the door, hurried by the crowd's agitation from the fire.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sarya saw him holding a piece of stone with a faint green glow between his delicate, white hands. His expressionless eyes emitted a dim light. Sarya passed quickly. But inside her, she felt a bond linking her to the stone, as if it detected something in her. She shook her head and snapped back to follow her path. The man in the tunic noticed the stone's reaction. He searched quickly among the crowd.
Meanwhile, the stone and his eyes normalized in the shadow of the locals' eyes. But he saw no one.Behind a broken cart, Kasius hid. In his arms, he carried the doomed Remon, covered with sheets to conceal him. Footsteps approached at a rapid pace. "It's done," Sarya said, her voice agitated, catching her breath. "We must get out fast".
"Orvin waits for us. If we leave now, it'll take three days to reach Gatillion" said Kasius. Sarya took the bags with everyone's things. They were about to depart. But a cutting voice stopped them."I thought my eyes had deceived me," said Valeria, her eyes glassy but her gaze ruthless, like a merciless killer. Her hand rested on her chest. "Why have you done this to us?"