The Reaper's Voyage

Chapter 43

Silas's lack of sleep for the past four days brought on excruciating headaches, short tempers and slow movements of the body. He was given many herbs but none have resulted in any form of cure which aggravated him further.

Unable to handle anymore of it, he's decided to come up with what he thinks is a solution to the nightmares. He scours the cities with his knights—excluding Tiarnan—and picks up random people from the side of the roads and drags them out of their houses. Chaining them together on ropes and to the backs of horses with wagons attached to them while they are pulled to the easiest route to Naelund.

"King Casteron, what is the meaning of all this?" A random man asks as he hides his wife behind his back.

"Do I need a reason?" He tilts his head to the side. "I AM KING!" He calls for any of the guards that are the closest to him. "Gather them with the others."

A total of fifty innocent people were either torn from their families or dragged away with them, living a manageable life assembled like a sheaf of corn and hauled to a barren Naelund.

It doesn't take long for Delyth to get the news. She conspires with the cooks quietly, asking them to cook enough food for one hundred people, also promising that Silas won't hear a whisper of their involvement.

Three hours later, the food is done and packaged in baskets while she sneaks her way to Naelund. She included a few fruit and plant tree seeds to help them refurnish the nation. It will take a lot of months but the only good thing that came out burning Naelund was that it actually helps the soil.

"You're going to get yourself killed, Delyth," Tiarnan had whisper-yelled when he found out what she was doing.

"As long as they get to live a few more days, that's fine with me. Are you going to help me or not?" She hugged the baskets closer to her while looking over her shoulders every three seconds.

Tiarnan bounced on his legs and looked around the corners. "Of course. I'll try to clear the paths for you to leave. Be careful." He bent low and pressed a kiss on top of her head and gently pushed her on her way.

She had to borrow a wagon from one of the Naelundians after explaining to them why she needed it so desperately. And with the directions they gave her, she finds her way safely to the border of Naelund where she sees the families crying, not knowing what to do next.

Still feeling paranoid, she looks behind her and sifts through the bushes not too far behind for even the slightest bit of movement that seems suspicious. She climbs out of the wagon and crosses the border over to them and hands a man that steps forward the basket.

She observes the barren land that once was her home. The greenness and softness of the grass brushes against the heel of her foot. Each blade waves as easily as a flag would on a strong windy day. The shimmering sun glistens on each strand, highlighting the dew on the grass. Nostalgia washes over her when her eyes catch the sight of what is left of a well the Naelundians would use to fetch even half a bucket of water—if they were lucky. The replenished view of her home replaces the memory she has of it when she saw it last.

"Your life will get harder after today but with a little determination, teamwork and faith, you will get through this. Every bite you take will have to be sanctioned and saved. Treat this like you would if you were in a drought. There are some seeds for fruit trees and plants to keep you going. I will be back with wood to help you build houses. If I'm not back in the next few days, assume I am dead or wait for someone who comes in my stead." Delyth addresses them, her heart clenching at the looks of fear in their eyes.

Innocent people will now have to go through the life she had. They will now have to fight with blood, sweat and tears on the land the people that lay in ashes below their feet had. Only to suffer the same fate in the end. The cycle continues.