“Forgive my nephew,” the squad leader said. “He likes talking, but usually tends to not make much sense.”
“But uncle!” Sounded from the forest, and then another smack.
Elaine relaxed and laughed. Hadjar rolled his eyes — she shouldn’t have done that. Now, after being mocked by a beautiful girl, the young man definitely wouldn’t like them, even if they weren’t strangers.
“My name is Hadjar,” the General introduced himself. “And this is...” he turned to the Princess and smiled a bit roguishly, “my sister, Elaine.”
The girl had just enough composure not to erupt into a fit of swearing. She was also well aware that their true identities had to be kept a secret.
“What are siblings capable of killing an Alpha doing in our wilderness?”
“We are going to the Sea of Sand,” Hadjar responded immediately. “We want to get hired by a caravan and go to the Empire.”
“The Empire,” the hunter repeated slowly, and waved toward the bushes. Soon, five more hunters came out, including a young man of sixteen who was rubbing the nape of his neck. “You’ll need at least three or five years to get to the Empire with a caravan. They don’t really travel quickly and often stop in desert cities, waiting there for months.”
“Everything is better than here,” Hadjar shook his head.
The hunter tilted his head to the side and looked appreciatively at the travelers. He liked them, but there was something about the siblings that didn’t allow him to relax and forgo his vigilance.
“You are too young. Few people your age would travel so far.”
Using all the acting skills he’d developed during his five years in the circus, Hadjar took a deep breath.
“Our story is a simple one, honorable hunter,” genuine pain and longing filled Hadjar’s voice, “our family died because of the mine. We were nearly sent there as slaves. We fled, wandered the country, found a Master. He taught us how to use a sword. After he died, we decided to leave Lidus.”
Elaine looked at the General in astonishment. He was once again mentioning a mine... But no ore was mined in Lidus! Such a silly lie would easily be revealed! She was about to say something, but then the leader of the hunters nodded sympathetically. “Three moons ago, everyone in one of the neighboring villages was taken to that damned mine as well. I can understand your desire to leave, Hadjar. Since fate has brought us together this night, and since it was you who slew the beast, I invite you to our village. Rest for a few days. Take some water and food with you — we’ll give you as much as we can spare. Then hit the road again. Maybe in the Empire, people with your skills will have better lives.”
Hadjar bowed low. He meant it, too. He understood perfectly how difficult it was for such remote villages to share their food. And yet, the hunter was ready to do so. Free of charge. That’s why Hadjar, knowing what had to happen next, felt uncomfortable. But the plan was too important...
“Thank you, honorable stranger.”
“My name is Omarik. Follow me, travelers.”
Elaine looked from the General to the hunter and couldn’t understand whether she was going crazy or the others were. What mine were they talking about?
Chapter 218
After about half an hour of silent travel (no good hunter would speak out loud in the forest at night), the squad came to the village. It looked just like Hadjar had imagined. A small village of fifty, or maybe sixty, houses, two streets, an ‘avenue’, and a central square. In Lidus, such settlements were commonplace.
Most of the villagers were already asleep. The villagers could only afford to celebrate something after sunset during the major holidays. Usually, at this time of night, they were resting and gathering their strength before a new day full of hardships and difficulties. Only the sentries on the guard tower were still vigilant.
“Omarik!” one of the sentinels shouted. “Who’s that with you?”
“Two decent travelers!” the leader of the squad replied. “Open the gate, Zulu, it’s getting cold and we’ve just spent five days in the forest.”
Zulu stared into the darkness for a while, and then waved his hand. His partner, standing on the floor below, raised a mighty gate using the chain atop it. Ropes and poles creaked, and the gate began to slowly open. It swung open in different directions. The view they saw confirmed what Hadjar had noticed through small gaps in the fence.
Without waiting for the gate to open fully, the squad went inside. Zulu waved his hand again and his partner flipped a lever. The weighting mechanism creaked and the gate began to drop back down, closing behind the hunters and two travelers.
“Take the meat to the warehouse,” Omarik ordered. The hunters nodded, picked up the huge chunks of meat they’d preserved, and began carrying them over to a distant building. “Honorable travelers, please, follow me.”
They obeyed. Elaine was like a small child from the country on its first visit to the capital — looking around and greedily drinking in every small detail. They soon came to a log house. It was large enough to accommodate several families with a small fence around it.
Omarik opened the unlocked gate and entered first. Such was the law of hospitality. He climbed up the sturdy porch, and opened the front door for his guests.
“Come in. We’re not very rich, but we’ll do our best to treat you well. After you eat, we can find you a place to sleep.”
“Thank you, honorable Omarik.”
Hadjar first bowed to the hunter, and then
