Under the Oak Tree - Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Chapter 159
The rain continued to fall with varied intensity throughout the night. Maxi lay awake in her cot, her pounding heart preventing her from sleeping even though she knew she needed to rest for the following day’s work.
Tormented by anxiety, she had been staring into space with sunken eyes for God knew how long when she heard sobbing. She sat bolt upright.
At first, she wondered if she had misheard the wind. However, the faint sound that resonated through the rain gradually grew clearer.
Throwing on her robe, Maxi rushed out of the tent.
“H-Has something happened?”
The squires had pitched a tarp over the entrance to prevent the rain from getting in. Ulyseon snapped his head up from the small brazier.
“The noise must have woken you up, my lady.”
Support our WebNovelGo(com)
The squire stared out into the white mist that had descended on the camp with a look of apprehension. The rain was now a weak, dew-like drizzle, and the sky held the bluish hint of dawn.
The bone-chilling, mournful wailing rang through the eerie landscape. Maxi glanced around, trying to locate its source.
“Who on earth is crying? Has… s-something happened to the female clerics?”
“It isn’t the female clerics, my lady. There are banshees in the mountains.”
“Banshees?”
Ulyseon approached the dripping edge of the tarp. He pointed to a black cliff that enveloped the ramparts like a shield.
Maxi’s eyes grew wide. On a large boulder that towered like the head of a snake, people-shaped bodies in black robes stood in the dim light. Maxi’s heart sank at their ominous presence.
“A-Are they… monsters?”
“They are spirits, to be precise. They will not cause us any harm directly, so you mustn’t worry, my lady. Those creatures merely…” Ulyseon trailed off before continuing cautiously, “…wail. They will leave once they’ve cried their hearts out.”
His voice was barely audible over the hysterical wailing. Maxi hunched her shoulders as she gazed at the dark figures standing tall in the hazy mist.
Though they were too far away for her to be certain, she thought she could make out six of them in total. The figures tore at their clothes as they howled.
“B-But banshees…”
Unable to finish the sentence, Maxi pressed her lips together. Banshees were the spirits of death that came for those whose ends were near. People even believed that a banshee’s wailing visits always ended in mass death.
As if sensing her anxiety, Ulyseon said in an exaggeratedly upbeat voice, “I know it’s hard, but try to ignore the noise, my lady. The clerics are preparing a ritual to banish them as we speak.”
Maxi forced a smile on her lips.
The wailing went on for hours. Though the clerics used divine magic and banished the banshees to prevent morale from deteriorating, the relief was short-lived. The spirits quickly returned and continued their keening.
Maxi had been sick with worry even before the appearance of these creatures; now she was close to losing her mind entirely. After half a day of tending to the wounded while trying to ignore the noise, she was at the end of her tether. Thus, she went to see Ruth.
“Ruth… c-can’t we send the spirits away with magic?”
They were in the sorcerer’s small tent located next to the Remdragon Knights’ barracks. Ruth looked up from the parchment he had been scribbling on. He had clearly been working on the rune for Hebaron’s injury, as his desk was piled with reams of parchment filled with complex runes.
Ruth wearily pushed the parchment aside, rubbing his eyes. “Are you referring to the banshees? We could, but we’d be poking a hornets’ nest. We would have to deal with far more dangerous things than just their wailing if we anger them. If divine magic wasn’t enough to drive them away, then it’s best to leave them alone.”
“B-But… they’re making everyone anxious. Even the patients are growing restless.”
“They’ll be gone in a day at most. They’ll leave once they’ve cried their hearts out. Seeing as you’re here, my lady, would you mind helping me with this?”
He handed her something that resembled a flat tray.
Maxi accepted the item before she knew what she was doing. “W-What’s this?”
“It’s a magical device for the ramparts. It should be easier now that you have experience making one.”
Flipping the polished monster bone, Ruth pointed to the intricate engraving. “You only have to engrave this rune on this spot right here.”
“B-But I don’t know how… I only copied runes onto parchment last time.”
“It’s not that different from drawing on parchment. You just have to squeeze the rune into this empty spot. I would like to do it myself, but I already have my hands full trying to break Sir Hebaron’s curse.”
Ruth looked worn out as he rubbed his neck. Seeing that his exhaustion far outweighed hers, Maxi pulled the chair across from him and sat down without another word. She mused that having something to do might help to calm her nerves.
The white disk was likely made of wyvern bones. She carefully began sketching the rune on the underside.
Contrary to her hopes, her concerns for Riftan and the banshees’ wailing made it difficult to focus. After running shaking fingers over the smooth surface of the magical device, Maxi clutched her forehead.
“I can’t do it. M-My head feels empty…”
Ruth heaved a sigh. “Worrying about it won’t change anything, my lady.”
“You know… it’s not something I can control. I’m not l-levelheaded like you, Ruth. I feel sick with worry that something bad might happen. I-I can’t stop thinking… that the banshees are a bad omen…”
Maxi looked up at Ruth with teary eyes and bit her lip.
“Riftan said… he’ll start an all-out war. What if we lose? W-What will happen then?”
“My lady, the Remdragon Knights have overcome greater adversities than this. You must trust in Sir Riftan. So far, we still have the upper hand, and…” Ruth trailed off, and his expression grew skeptical. “I’m not sure if Sir Riftan can successfully turn it into a full-scale war. The trolls are well aware that it’s to their advantage to drag this war on. They won’t be baited so easily.”
“B-But… i-isn’t there a battle raging as we speak?”
“It’s merely one of many skirmishes launched by the monsters to chip away our numbers. They used the same tactic to capture several of our castles. Trolls have limitless regeneration. They can heal themselves of any wound in a day, while humans cannot. They know that fighting more battles will give them the upper hand, so they’ll likely avoid entering an all-out confrontation. And with the coalition army in such disarray… I doubt they’ll manage to lure the monsters out.”
Maxi’s face hardened at Ruth’s explanation. Even after hearing that an all-out war was unlikely, her heart only felt heavier.
She felt like a child desperately trying to hold off a whipping. Even if the men were able to overcome the current crisis, it would only delay the inevitable, bloody conclusion. It would be better for them to end this war while the odds were still in their favor.
Collecting herself, Maxi picked up her quill once more. If Riftan were successful, they could return to Anatol at the end of this battle.
For once, Maxi prayed that Ruth was wrong. She wanted this torturous period to be over as quickly as possible. Gnawing her lip, she tried once more to focus her attention on outlining the rune.
By the time the rainclouds retreated and the sun beamed across the sky, the banshees disappeared along with the mist. Still, the trepidation brought about by their visit still hung over the castle.
The faces of the soldiers were strained with a new tension, while the female clerics spoke less and less each day. Maxi desperately kept herself busy in an effort to keep the heavy air from crushing her under its weight.
Attempting to drive the useless thoughts from her head, she dutifully tended to the twenty or so men remaining in the infirmary during the day. At night, she helped Ruth search for a way to break Hebaron’s curse or worked on the magical device for the ramparts.
True to Ruth’s predictions, a large-scale battle did not happen. Reports stated that the monsters had retreated when the scale of the battle began to grow. The coalition army had given chase, but the unfavorable terrain had forced them to fall back mid-pursuit.
In the end, they suffered forty-six casualties, and the war returned to a state of inconsequential skirmishes. Maxi heaved a sigh. The infirmary, which had managed to empty two-thirds of its cots, once again became packed with the wounded.
The accuracy of Ruth’s prediction gave her goosebumps. While it would no doubt take half a day for the trolls to fully recuperate, it would take at least a week for the women to treat all the injured.
The coalition army was bound to dwindle the longer the war dragged on. Maxi was certain Riftan knew this as well. Even whilst bustling about the infirmary, she could not stop worrying that he might wage a reckless battle out of impatience.
Her worst fear was that Riftan would be struck with an incurable curse similar to Hebaron’s. From what Ruth had discovered so far, the most efficient way to break the curse was to kill its source. However, locating the creature responsible among the army of monsters was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Even if they were to win the war, they would have no means of tracking the creature if it managed to survive. Hebaron would likely suffer a slow and agonizing death. The thought that Riftan might suffer the same fate rendered her frozen with fear.
Maxi irritably scrubbed at her ashen face. The lack of sleep over the past few days made her head ache, and she constantly felt dizzy. She tried to empty her mind as she stirred a pot of herbs on a brazier.
At that moment, Idsilla bounded into the tent looking exuberant.
“Lady Calypse! I just saw Elba!”
Maxi looked up in surprise. The girl clasped Maxi’s hand, sobbing.
“The Livadonian royal knights just returned to reorganize, and Elba was with them! He had a new scar on his face…” Pressing her lips together, Idsilla wiped the tears spilling down her cheeks on her sleeve. “But he seemed fine.”
“Th-That is… wonderful news.”
Knowing the extent of Idsilla’s worry for her brother, Maxi was relieved at the news. The girl smiled brightly and nodded.
“I overheard the soldiers talking, and it seems as though they’re going to return to the battlefront with the remaining men as soon as they’ve finished regrouping. I think they’re aiming for a decisive battle this time.”
Maxi’s face fell. The coalition army had ultimately decided to bear the risk and attempt to end the war.
It was an inevitable decision. After all, even Maxi had come to realize that a drawn-out war was unfavorable for the allied forces.
Maxi swallowed dryly and asked, “W-Will you really… not meet your brother before he leaves for battle again?”
Idsilla adamantly shook her head. “I’ll go see him when this war is over. He will return alive. I know it.”
There was such conviction in the girl’s voice that Maxi felt her heart still. Emotions surged inside her as she gazed at Idsilla’s undaunted face. Squeezing the girl’s hand, Maxi said an earnest prayer for the coalition army’s victory.
***
After spending the night at Eth Lene Castle, the Livadonian knights made preparations for departure the very next day. Soldiers hauled weapons and provisions onto carts, and the female clerics supplied them with an ample supply of emergency curatives.
It was a massive party. With the Temple Knights and the remaining mercenaries and soldiers gone, only three clerics, five mages, thirty-five knights, and about four hundred soldiers remained at the castle.
Those who stayed back stood vigilant guard at the city gates, and a squadron visited the battlefield every two days to transport the wounded. Maxi and the female clerics tended to the injured men all day long. Even the mages helped heal the men in the infirmary, as maintaining the army’s numbers was the most pressing priority.
They did not hold back on their mana use either. Men that arrived severely wounded were able to return to the battlefield after just three or four days. Even so, no one considered it fortunate. Maxi felt the heart-wrenching process in her bones.
Whenever she thought about the soldiers who had to return to battle after being on death’s door, she felt the weight of a rock lodged in her stomach.
The hardest was burying the young soldiers who returned as cold corpses. Her only solace was in knowing that the coalition army’s relentless pursuit was gradually pushing back the monsters.
