Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Seventeen - Distract

Scourge Seventeen - Distract

It doesnt take too much effort with all of us working together to get Inigo outside. Esteban insisted that we bring him over to the carts right away, so thats what we do, Felix and I carrying his legs and Esteban holding his torso up.

Inigo mutters and seems a little out of it the entire time we move him. I cant make out more than one word in three, but I think hes praying again?

A devoted worshipper of Luto might be able to obtain Lutos blessing to resist a poison, right? Esme asks.

It sounds plausible to me, I say with a bit of effort. Inigos on the heavier side, what with his clunk boots and all. The smell isnt helping any. Lutos domain is over grief, right? Thats the healing magic.

I thought he was a death god? Felix asks. Shes not struggling quite as much as I am, so I cant allow myself to flag here.

Sorta. Hes the god of mourning. Funerals and stuff like that, I say.

Then why would he care about healing stuff? Felix asks.

Just because hes the Lord of Mourning doesnt mean he encourages mourning, Bianca says. His followers are often battlefield healers, or show up when theres a plague. They heal those that can be healed, provide poppy wine to those that cant be healed, and generally take care of the funerals that come after.

Esteban grunts as he shifts Inigos weight to get a better grip. Lots of soldiers worship Luto. Plenty of guards and mercenaries too. As far as gods to worship before a fight goes, Lutos not a bad choice.

Some of the other Lions see us coming, and they rush forwards to help carry Inigo. I should probably be a bit insulted that they dont think that Felix and I can carry him the rest of the way but really, Im just glad to be away from the stink.

Esteban lets go of the wounded guard and talks to Ran whos quick to root around in a sack filled with vials and what looks like packets of dried herbs. He has the others lay Inigo down on the end of one of the carts and gets to tending him right away.

You girls did alright, Esteban says to us with one of those serious nods guys make sometimes. Think you can find anything else in there?

No harm in looking, I say. Felix is the one with the good ears though.

Lots of practice, Felix says with a quick grin.

Did you find anything in the main building? I ask Esteban.

Just paperwork, nothing that would interest you, he says

I blink. Is he underestimating us, again? What is up with the people in this country? You do know that all of us can read, right? I ask.

Esteban quirks an eyebrow at us. And what makes you think youd be able to draw anything from the reports I found?

Well, mostly Im assuming that well be able to figure it out because were smart, I said.

Smarter than I am? He asks.

I shrug. Probably, yeah.

He sniffs. Well, theres no doubting your self-confidence.

You dont need to worry about doubts when your confidence is backed by certainty, I say.

Esteban laughs, then smacks me on the shoulder so hard I almost stumble off my feet. I can see why Teo took a liking to you. I wish some of the boys had half the balls you girls have. Ill give you the reports once Im done with them. Go scout around some more. As a group. Dont need to lose anyone in there. And dont eat anything. There might be poison in the meals they left behind.

Got it, I say as I rub my shoulder. Im sure thatll leave a bruise.

My friends and I leave the caravan to scout out the outpost again. We spend a good hour walking into every building, poking and prodding everything and pulling Felix away from the pantry and kitchens, just in case.

We find a whole lot of nothing.

The armoury is nearly empty, Esme says. And a good portion of the foods just gone.

Were delivering food, I point out while I look around the main courtyard of the outpost for any clues we might have missed. Its probably normal that theyre low on food.

Or they took what was left with them when they left, Esme says. They didnt just leave on a whim is the point Im trying to make here. They planned to leave, at least a little bit.

I dont know enough about outposts like this to say whether or not thats normal, but Im leaning on all of this being kind of weird, I say.

Its definitely strange, Bianca says. The guard might have left to support Vizeda if the city knew they were going to be attacked, but I dont think they did. This is raising more questions than its answering.

I shake my head. Theres not much more to see here. Maybe we can interview Inigo a little, get some more answers out of him. Until then were just going to have to guess.

Teo walks into the outpost, then jogs over to us. Were heading out again. Theres no point in leaving food behind if no ones going to eat it, and we need to reach the next outpost before nightfall. Thats where well be resting tonight.

Alright, I say. Come on girls, lets head back.

The caravan takes a minute or two to realign itself out of the outpost, then we all start to climb back down towards the main road leading out of Vizeda. The donkeys dont like the ride down, even though gravitys helping them along.

A few minutes after were on the main road and on our way to the next outpost, Esteban walks up the length of the caravan and hands me a black book filled with dog-eared pages and some sheets stuck into it. You said you four were able readers. Maybe you can make sense of this.

What is it? I ask as I take the book. I need to be careful, some of the pages are loose.

Thats the outposts logbook. The captain of the guard is supposed to keep it up to date at all times. He might have let something slip thatll tell us what happened.

I nod. Did you find anything? I ask.

I hardly have time to read and lead this caravan. Seeing as you all seem to have time to chit-chat and gossip, I might as well put you to work.

I pout as he stops and lets the caravan move on until he rejoins one of the carts at the back. Hes so rude. Were not chit-chatting, were having important discussions about our differing political ideologies and why everyone elses opinion is wrong. Might as well split this up, I say.

We each read for a bit? Esme asks. Why cant just one of us read the entire thing?

I open the book to a random page. Its just rows of dates and times, with some notes on the side next to them in nearly illegible font. I guess the hiring process for a captain doesnt involve having nice calligraphy. Well, if youre volunteering, I say before I snap the book shut and give it to Esme.

She looks at it, pouts, then glances up at Felix. You still need to practice your reading skills, right?

Nope, Felix says. Im happy with how good Ive become. No need to practice any.

Bianca sighs. I may as well read it myself. There might be references that you wouldnt understand.

Esme sniffs. Fine, well read it together. Come on, if this isnt an excuse to sit on the cart, then nothing is. She places the book on the back of the cart, then hops onto it and sits on the back before tapping the wood next to her. Bianca joins her, and soon the two of them are shoulder-to-shoulder, eyeing the contents of the log.

What do you think happened? Felix asks me.

I kick a rock off the road while folding my hands at the small of my back. I dont know.

Come on, you have to have an idea. You always have ideas.

I roll my eyes, but I do say whats on my mind. I cant help but imagine that everythings connected. Its probably just like, narcissism or something. Not everythings about my business, but... yeah, I feel like things are linked.

I can see some of it, I guess. Someone wanted to attack the city, so they killed off the guards, or maybe bought them off? And then they created a big monster horde to attack the city. Itd even make sense with the walls. Someone had to plant something that exploded under them, Felix says.

Yeah, but the attack didnt destroy the city. It feels like a lot of work not to win.

Felix chuckles. Maybe they didnt want to win? Sometimes, back in Santafaria, youd get a kid to steal something from a shop, and while the shopkeepers running after them, all the rest of the kids would run in and grab everything.

A distraction, I say. Yeah, that might actually make some sense. But then, what did they distract people for?

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