Look to the North
"Damn it Matthias! Get it together!" Torleif roared angrily and threw the practice sword to the ground with a loud clatter. "What the hell is wrong with you today? You are supposed to be fighting me; not eating dirt like it seems you have been doing all morning. You haven't gotten in one decent swing at all and normally you are capable of besting more than half of the men present here without even breaking a sweat."
Matthias groaned in pain as he struggled to get back up from the ground realizing that his sword was far out of reach. His cheeks were beginning to burn in embarrassment when he realized that some of the other men who stood around watching were laughing at him at his no less than crushing defeat in the mock battle with Torleif. The scolding from the chieftain was not making him feel any better and the shoulder he had landed one began to ache when he started brushing dirt of his clothing making the taste defeat seem so much fouler.
"I have told you a dozen times already, boy. When you're in a battle, you have to focus one hundred percent on the task at hand or else you are likely to get killed in an instant. A good opponent will only need one wrong step on your part to end you."
"Like any of you are perfect!" Matthias countered boldly.
Torleif snorted angrily and stepped up beside him and kicked him in the side so Matthias wheezed after breath. "If your head is not in the game, there is no use for us to continue this practicing today." He picked up the practice sword Matthias had been using and tossed it over to the man who had been the butcher back in Griven, so he could take up a place in the ring instead. Then he offered a hand to Matthias to help him get up. "To help clear your head, you can head out of town to gather firewood."
Matthias grumbled in annoyance, but Torleif gave him a look that made it abundantly clear he was not willing to change his mind no matter what kind of excuse he was capable of conjuring up and he diverted his gaze.
"I know we have to move on very soon" Torleif growled. "But I will not be freezing my ass of in the days we will remain here. You are no use to anyone in the training ring like this, but a warm fire in the night will do us all some good." In the background, the butcher was snickering openly in mockery, clearly enjoying that Torleif's favorite had messed up for all of them to see.
There was no use in arguing any further and so Matthias stomped away from the training area, pushing through the small crowd gathered to watch, eager to get out of everybody's sight as they laughed.
The training grounds had been set up in the opposite side of the town from the stables on purpose. The constant noise from practice weapons clashing against each other and people barking orders made the animals nervous. So the walk through town gave Matthias an opportunity to calm down a bit from having been embarrassed in front of what felt like half the village.
One of the farm boys was kind enough to bring him an ox when Matthias had told him of the 'mission' Torleif had given him. The animal was old and slow, but was still capable of pulling its weight on the farm where it belonged. It didn't utter a noise or make movement in complaint when Matthias lead it before a cart and started working on fastening all the straps and reigns.
Matthias yawned in exhaustion and could feel his eyelids getting steadily heavier as he worked. He leaned against the side of the large animal, resting against its soft fur, finding comfort in the warmth against his cheek and the faint sound of a steady heartbeat that was slowly lulling him off to sleep right where he stood.
He would just have to suffer through the consequences after a night awake. When the guards had brought him back to the farm after his late night stroll, he continued to be just as unable to catch some sleep as earlier that night before Lukas had arrived. So when dawn about to break, he got up and snuck out again to retrieve his boots before the rest of the town awoke, leaving him with one less thing to worry about having to explain to any others.
Finally sleeps was within reach all he had to do was to allow his mind to drift off. That was until a lighthearted chuckle filled the air.
"You certainly pick strange places to be catching catnaps" the voice laughed.
Matthias was awake in an instant and spun around in surprise and confusion to locate the voice. It turned out to be Tino laughing at him from the doorway of the nearby stable.
"What do you mean" Matthias asked, poorly hiding a yawn. "I wasn't sleeping."
"Not yet" Tino chuckled and crossed his arms. "And you weren't exactly acting awake during Torleif's lesson earlier today from what I could see. Usually you are one of the most dedicated at the practices, but today, I swear it was almost humiliating to watch. Isn't that why he sent you out on firewood duty?" Tino ignored the curses Matthias angrily muttered under his breath and his lips quirked upwards in amusement. "And you weren't sleeping last night either. I heard you walking about, I can almost swear I heard you talking to someone and then you were gone. I asked Berwald and he said you were not on night duty."
Matthias crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "Okay, so I didn't get any sleep last night, what about it?"
Having caught on to the other male's discomfort, Tino snickered even more. "What was it that kept you up? And where did you go?"
A guy, Matthias thought to himself. It was a very secretive and attractive guy, and quite possible also a very dangerous one. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that the last statement was most definitely true. But it was nothing he was ever planning to tell Tino anything about it, or anyone else for that matter.
"I will find out eventually you know" Tino said when Matthias remained quiet. "My best guess for now is that some girl is messing with your head, judging by that dreamy look you have got on your face whenever you think nobody is looking. And I've seen the girl in this village staring at you and Berwald both. To them you guys are heroes and it would not be strange for any of them to admire you."
Matthias snorted loudly. To him, the village girls had never had any importance. Back in Griven he might have waived or winked at them while working in the fields to make them blush and giggle madly as they walked by even if he never meant anything by it. Before she died, his mother had started to bring up the subject of marriage, saying it was about time he started a family of his own, but he could never imagine settling down with any of them. "Are you jealous they are not staring at you instead?" Matthias asked tauntingly hoping the question was good enough to turn the subject around and away from what was on his mind. He was not going to let Tino get any further insight to his thoughts. He could not risk having anyone find out about Lukas.
Tino's reply first came in the form of a furious reddening of his ears, clearly visible even if they were hidden under his blonde hair. "I don't care about that!" He sputtered out, barely capable of getting the words out. "I mean, they have no reason to know who I am, I did not save the town from the soldiers. Not like you two did."
"But you still care enough to notice that they are staring at me and Berwald." Matthias could barely hide his amusement as Tinos face started to gain the same shade as his ears at the mention of the smith's name and was reduced to sputter out long lines of incomprehensible stuttering.
Matthias laughed and patted Tino on the shoulder. "I'm just messing with you. But I'm wondering what are you doing here? Did you come looking for me or something? Did Torleif send you?"
Tino finally recovered a bit and in an instant his embarrassment was forgotten and he flashed a smile. "No, he did not send me to end your punishment before you've even begun. I don't think he will forgive you for not paying attention before you return completely exhausted and with that wagon filled with firewood. He is sending out scouts, trying to figure out where the king's army is heading next. I just have to saddle up and decide on where to start looking."
"You're about to go out scouting without even knowing where to go?" Matthias snorted again, the earlier light atmosphere in the room had evaporated when the dark reality of their situation was brought up.
"It's not like any of us know where to begin" Tino said. "We just have to send out riders in different directions and pray one of us is lucky enough to find the main army. We are beginning to run out of time before we will be forced to live this town due to the lack of food."
"I'm aware of that" Matthias muttered grimly. "So what, are you just going to saddle up and flip a coin on with direction to head in?"
Tino shrugged. "One direction is as good as any other. But I was thinking I should start going east and get closer to the capitol. It would be illogical for them to start destroying towns on the outskirts first and leave rioting towns untouched close to their capitol."
Matthias' brain was shifting into high gear, for he sensed a chance to send Tino in the right direction. It almost seemed like fate to receive information and the chance to do something about it so easily. "You have a point there" Matthias said. "But the soldiers don't only intend to destroy, but to take our supplies as well. Had I been them I would have headed north first."
Tino looked surprised. "Really? Why?"
"Think about it. The winter comes sooner to the northern towns; they have to harvest what they can weeks before the southern towns do. If the soldiers want any supplies at all from the northern towns, they can't strike them at the middle of winter, it will be too cold and the remaining resources hardly worth the effort. But if they strike those villages first and take their food, the winter will finish them off and they can still raid the southern towns."
"I don't entirely follow your logic" Tino said thoughtfully. "But maybe there is a point in going north. I don't think any of the other scouts are heading in that direction yet and we need to spread out to cover as much ground as possible."
Matthias could hardly believe it. It was almost too easy convincing Tino to change his mind and go north instead of east. He cleared his throat and the sudden sound brought Tino out of his thoughts. "I have better head out now if I even want to fill this cart before nightfall. Good luck on your scouting." Then he tugged on the reigns and led the bull and towards the forest.
Tino returned 12 days later, late in the evening. Riding like he had a demon at his back urging him on, directly into the village square before he finally stopped up in a cloud of kicked up dust. His eyes were wide and scared as he scanned the crowd, mouth opening and closing like he was trying to speak. But he never got as far as to get any words out before his yes became unfocused and he fell out of the saddle and hit the ground like sack of potatoes only to be lying still on the cold dirt.
It took a few seconds with everyone around just standing frozen in shock, staring at him before Berwald was the first to run towards the unmovable heap on the ground and turn him over, desperately calling out the scout's name in hopes he might regain consciousness. Next to follow was Torleif; he pushed his way through the crowd and crouched down beside Tino.
Then Matthias made it up to them and got to see just what terrible state Tino was in. His clothing was torn in several places. It was also covered in mud and what appeared to be dried blood, a lot of it. But it was impossible to tell if it was his or if it belonged to someone else.
Torleif checked for a pulse with two fingers to Tino's neck and sighed in relief when he got confirmation that the scout was still alive. "Tino" He said gently. "Can you hear me kid? What happened out there?" He asked the last question more to himself; it was not like Tino was in any state to answer. "Damn it, we need to get him inside. He is ice cold, probably dehydrated and who knows what happened to him. Berwald, bring him to the farm, I'll be right there."
Berwald nodded and carefully picked up the unconscious scout in his arm and headed towards the house they used as a main base for their planning.
Torleif turned towards Matthias. "You run and get Eir, she is the best physician we have, we need her right now, go!"
As Matthias rushed towards the house they used as medical centre, people backed away to clear a path for him. He could hear Torleif bark out orders to the people remaining on the training grounds. "We might have to move very soon, start packing your belongings, but only the things we will need, weapons, food and clothing- Leave valuables behind, we will not have use of that where we are going."
Eir the physician was none too happy to be interrupted while she was busy working on a patient by the door being torn open and the gust of cold wind that followed. But her face changed from annoyance to worry when she saw the look on Matthias's face, eyes wild and desperate as he gasped for air after the run. "What happened?" Her voice was demanding and she stood up and stepped towards the door.
"It's Tino" Matthias breathed. "He's returned from scouting, but he just passed out before he could tell us anything, just please follow me, we don't know what is wrong with him."
Eir nodded brusquely, "Lead the way."
They rushed the streets to the house where Torleif had told Berwald to take Tino. People had already gathered outside the doors, hoping to snatch up some news. Matthias elbow his way to make it to the door and dragged the physician along with him. Inside they followed the voices to the kitchen where people were standing around the table where they apparently had put Tino.
"Get out of the way!" Eir ordered and pushed her way through the crowd. "Let me see the patient and please clear the room and give the poor boy some air and privacy."
They immediately cleared a path for her, all except Berwald who refused to let go of the young scout's hand. She gave him a hard look, but it was not enough to make him back down. She just sighed and put a hand on Tino's forehead, then two fingers on his neck, checking for a heartbeat, just like Torleif had done earlier. She opened his shirt and started checking him for any other injuries, muttering to herself the entire time.
"Is he going to be okay?" Matthias asked impatiently, taking a few steps closer.
Eir turned to glare at him. "He should be fine" she hissed angrily. "But he needs time to recover. He has no severe injuries as far as I can see, just a few scratches and cuts from on his arms and face, so the blood on his clothes does most likely not belong to him and there is no way for me to tell where it did come from. The worst thing right now is his fever, it's really high. He's been out in the wilderness for hours if not days, probably riding around like some madman, it was not exactly the brightest thing he could have done. We just have to hope that the cold hasn't made its way to his lungs, because that would be a lot more serious than just a simple fever."
"But you said he would be okay" Berwald interrupted anxiously.
The physician turned back to him again. "Yes, he will be, but you need to give him time and I have to get his fever down. If you want to help him get better, you can fetch me a bowl of water and some clean rags. And you…" She turned back to Matthias. "You can bring me some blankets and sheets. Now, go, both of you."
Matthias ran off, happy to get away from the furious woman. There were not many blankets remaining anywhere in Dalahurst. They had been distributing what they had between the villagers and all the refugees that had arrived. He tore open all the cupboards he could find and grabbed anything that even resembled the required items before he rushed back to the main room.
Eir didn't even look up from her patient when Matthias returned. "You have returned. Now strip the bed by the wall and put on some fresh sheets."
He did as he was ordered and then he could hear the steps of Berwald arriving as well. He had no idea of what to do, so he just stood by the foot of the bed, holding the blankets and waiting for Eir to give him more commands.
"Good," Eir muttered, she still sounded angry and frustrated the way she was barking out orders. "Just put the water on the bench for now and then you can help move him over to the bed. Of all the places you could have put an injured patient; the first place that came into your minds was a table. It's a wonder there is still men alive around here."
Berwald didn't look as he was able to say a word. Eir moved out of the way and Berwald lifted up Tino and carried him to the bed. "What now?" he whispered.
Eir pointed towards the benches. "Bring me the water and rags now and I can start working on getting his fewer down." Berwald did as he was asked and Eir immediately dipped one of the rags in water, twisted it and draped it over Tino's forehead. "There we go" she whispered softly and gently stroked his cheek, no longer sounding like the angry old lady she had earlier. "That should help you feel better soon I hope. Now we just have to wait and pray."
It took a few hours for Tino to show any signs of waking. Berwald refused to leave and sat next to Eir as she kept a careful eye on Tino. Torleif had lied down on the bench to catch some sleep while they waited and Matthias found himself nodding off to sleep as well, leaning against the wall by the bed.
He was awoken by Berwald's quiet murmur. "Look" and was awake in an instant.
At first Tino's only movement was an occasional jerk of his head, but then his arm moved before he awoke with a bloodcurdling scream and sat upright in panic. He seemed completely unaware of where he was, his eyes roaming around the room but taking no real notice of his surroundings.
Eir responded immediately, pushing him back down in the bed. With a jerk of her head she signaled for Berwald to help. "Keep him still, he might hurt himself." Then she turned her focus towards Tino again. "Calm down, you're safe here. Nobody is going to hurt you, you're safe."
Then without warning, Tino stopped fighting and broke out in hysterical sobbing instead, his entire body was shaking.
Berwald more or less pushed aside the woman so he could sit right next to the scout and pulled him up against his chest in a comforting hug, ignoring the disapproving look from Eir. "What did you see out there?" He asked urgently. "Tell us what happened to you."
Tears were streaming freely down Tino's cheeks, but he calmed down considerably. "I found them" He sobbed. "There are thousands of soldiers are marching through the north, I saw them. At first I just found a village that had been forced to give up all of their resources to the soldiers. There was barely anyone that had dared to stay behind after they left. Most of the villagers had started heading to the south in hope that they might survive the winter if they make it to someplace warmer. Because they realized they would have no chance if they stayed behind without food or proper clothing. Then I continued searching for the army."
"And you found them right?" Matthias interrupted. "Where?"
Tino continued sobbing and nodded. "I found the army by the village of Aeston, but I was too late, it was already burning when I got there." He brought up a hand to wipe away the tears with the back of his hand, but it only took a few moments before new ones came to replace them. "I wanted to help them so bad, but there was nothing I could do. The army was standing in formation just outside the village, shooting people that were trying to escape the fires, taking them down, one after one. They showed no mercy and killed everyone, men, women and children all alike."
Torleif came up to them. "Then that is where we have to go. We will not let them continue this slaughter unchallenged."
"There is still more, isn't there?" Berwald asked, seeing that Tino didn't' seem at all relieved to hear Torleif's words.
"There was a little girl" he whispered and wrapped his arms around himself. "She almost managed to make it all the way over to the forest and to safety. I figured she could be saved, so I rode up to get her, pulled her up on my horse and headed for the forest. We were out of the reach from the arrows and so I thought we would make it. I don't know what happened after that. I just remember a bright blue light and then everything went black."
Tino took a few breaths, chocking back a few more sobs. "When I awoke it had become morning again. The army was gone and village was almost completely reduced to ash. There was not a single sound to be heard, no birds, not even wind. That light was not natural, it was magic. I'm certain of it. The horse was dead, but when I started walking home I was lucky enough to find one in the forest that had escaped from the village. I knew I had to return here and let you know."
"And what about the girl" Berwald asked softly.
More tears made their way down Tino's cheeks. "When I found her she was bleeding. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. She died in my arms, just a little girl." He looked down at his hands, still covered in the dried blood and the sobbing returned at full strength as he desperately tried to dry it off on the blankets to no avail. Then his eyes fluttered shut and he fell back to the sheets, unconscious yet again.
Matthias was anxiously chewing on his lower lip as he watched healer show Berwald out of the way grab the scout's face between her hands and force one of his eyes open only to see white. Guilt stabbed at gnawed at his gut for having sent Tino to the north, directly into the arms of the enemy. It felt as if it was his fault that Tino had suffered through such horrors. He should have found another way to convince Torleif to march north; he should have been the one to scout in the north himself, then Tino would have still been alright.
He was startled by a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned to see Torleif had moved directly to his side without him having noticed.
"I never knew I could feel this much anger and hatred" Torleif growled angrily, but so quiet that only Matthias could hear his words. "We will march to the north, even if winter is aiming directly at us and will fight us with every step we take. The king's men are cowards, using sorcery to slaughter innocent villagers for refusing to give up their only food when they already have superior forces and weapons. You go and make sure everybody has started packing for the journey; we will leave as soon as Tino is back on his feet and able to show us the way. We will make them pay for what they have done"
