Chapter 93: Aftermath

POV Eliza

“Eliza!” <Lynn>

Lynn jumped up and hugged me. The momentum caused us both to fall over. I wrapped my arms around her body and stroked her back. I heard Lynn shuffling and crying. After a few minutes, I heard a cough next to me.

“Ahem, thanks for saving me.” <Girl>

I turned my head and saw the second person I had rescued. It was a girl around 12 years old. She sat restrained on her legs and trembled slightly. She seemed to be struggling to keep herself under control. On impulse, I let go of Lynn, stood up and took the girl in my arms. She then began to tremble more and cried too. Her self-control broke down and her tears flowed unrestrainedly. Lynn sat down next to me. She had stopped crying by now, but her voice was still heavy with tears.

“Eliza, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I had already given up hope.” <Lynn>

“I'm glad I got there in time. What happened anyway? I didn't get much out of Ken.” <Eliza>

Over the next few minutes, Lynn told me the events from her point of view. They had accompanied the merchant, but didn't know at the time that there were bandits in the area. She hadn't heard much about the robbery. She was not on guard duty at the time and had been asleep. When she was woken by loud shouts, it took her a while to get up and grab her mage staff. However, the overwhelming force meant that she had no choice but to surrender. In the time she had been trapped, she had been able to overhear the bandits and learned that they had only been in the area for a few days. They probably had a total of three hiding places and moved back and forth between them. The girl was a traveler in another wagon that had been attacked. Both were probably to be sold to someone as slaves or servants. But luckily I came to the rescue. Lynn's beaming smile alone was worth the effort.

At the end of the story, Lynn leaned over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She took me completely by surprise and I was speechless. The feeling of the kiss on my skin was warm and pleasant and the fact that she was bright red in the face told me a lot. But I hadn't looked at Lynn in this way before. Lynn was pretty and sweet, but I doubted Lynn would still like me once she found out I wasn't human and had lied to her about it. Apart from that, I couldn't live in the empire permanently without danger. And then there was the matter of the heroes, who were very unlikely to let me live.

All these things were going through my head and I had other things to worry about. We were still on the battlefield and there were several dead bodies nearby. The smell of blood was in the air and would attract animals, so we had to get out of here. Another problem was that the girl had fallen asleep in my arms.

“Lynn, we have to get out of here first. The dead will attract animals and I don't know if the bandits who escaped will come back.” <Eliza>

“Yes, you're right. Where are we going? I don't know where we are at all and I can hardly see anything.” <Lynn>

“I know where we're going. Just follow me. I'll carry the girl here.” <Eliza>

I stood up and picked the girl up in my arms. She was light enough that I could carry her too. Lynn grabbed my coat from behind and trotted after me. We walked for about an hour until we arrived at my shelter in front of the cave. I didn't feel any other people around. I lay the girl down and covered her with my blanket.

“I've built a little shelter here. You can rest here. Tomorrow we'll go to the cave and see if we can get your equipment back.” <Eliza>

“That would be good. I feel so naked without it.” <Lynn>

I made a small fire and boiled water for hot tea. Lynn didn't want to go to sleep, but preferred to sit by the fire with me. I sensed that she wanted to say something, but she was quiet. So I stayed quiet and continued to make the tea. When I handed her a mug of tea, she took it with a quiet thank you. She blew on the hot tea and occasionally took a sip. It was a while before she spoke.

“You know, Eliza, I was scared, really scared.” <Lynn>

I sensed that she didn't want an answer, but was collecting her thoughts and looking for the right words. She probably just wanted to talk about it.

“I was convinced that my life was over. Maybe not that I had died, but at least that my joy in life was gone. It was only a few days, but it seems much longer. I never saw daylight in the cave and had lost all sense of time. I was tied up the whole time and wasn't allowed to get up. I wasn't allowed to speak either and was completely alone with my thoughts and my fears. The longer I was trapped, the more negative my thoughts became. The bandits talked about what they would do to me and only the leader stopped them. I was more valuable as a commodity if I remained unharmed. So I was safe from attack, but I could only think of one thing where I would be more valuable if I was physically unharmed. The thought of this terrified me and I felt pure disgust. It got worse and worse and my hope of rescue dwindled with each passing day.” <Lynn>

Lynn took several sips and continued to collect herself. I could feel her struggling with her emotions.

“It got worse the day before yesterday when the little girl was caught too and became a prisoner. She tried to be brave for a long time, but in the end she was about to break down. She was very brave.” <Lynn>

She glanced at the sleeping girl and then continued.

“Yesterday that suddenly changed. A messenger was sent out with the task of delivering a message. He is traveling to Murembach to a contact man so that the loot can be collected. I assume that means the two of us too. Wait, he could come back any time with reinforcements.” <Lynn>

Lynn startled and looked around in panic. There was fear in her voice.

“Don't worry, Lynn. He was the first one I could turn in. I intercepted the message. It will help us find the people behind it, but that's not my job. I'll hand everything over to the Guild.” <Eliza>

“Phew, that's a relief. You're strong, Eliza. I'm really jealous.” <Lynn>

“You can do it too, Lynn. I also had a lot of advantages in the fight. I was able to act from ambush and pick my spot. The bandits didn't expect it and in the end they got in their own way. They were also individually weaker than me, thanks to my training.” <Eliza>

“I'm happy for you and I'm glad. Eliza, please forgive me, I'd love to keep you company, but I've hardly slept the last few days. I'm pretty tired. Can I ask you a favor?” <Lynn>

“Sure, whatever you want. Provided I can fulfill it.” <Eliza>

“I'd like to lean against you. Then I'll feel much safer and can sleep in peace.” <Lynn>

“That can be arranged.” <Eliza>

“Thank you. I'm free then.” <Lynn>

Lynn sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. It took her less than 10 seconds to fall asleep. She had a peaceful face and was breathing calmly. After a while, I put her head in my lap so that we were both more comfortable. I leaned against a tree and thought about how I was going to proceed, especially with regard to Lynn. Lost in thought, I stroked her hair.