Soulseeker

Lithoniel 11.0

First draft

"...the food situation is now stable and we were able to find a safe path to the Ebonwood." Urilee said. "Moreover, the woodcarvers have been quiet lately."

The young hunter was sitting in front of Lithoniel, her legs crossed as she finished her report. Maybe it was because Urilee had taken part in the hunt of the Zaruk, or maybe it was just her personality, but she looked completely comfortable in her presence. Lithoniel liked that. Urilee was young, inexperienced and blunt to a fault, but she was also honest.

"That's good, Urilee. Very good." Lithoniel couldn't quite keep the delight out of her voice. "You've done an excellent job."

"I'd like to take credit for that, but it's all thanks to Kolvar. He and his..." Urilee cleared her throat." recruits are making the difference."

It took Lithoniel some time to understand she was talking about the casteless.

"Really?" Her eyes rounded in amazement. "Are the new recruits that good?"

Urilee gave a silent nod. "They are easing the burden on the other hunters. You know that we need a lot of wood but we didn't have enough men to hunt and at the same time protect the woodcarvers. Now we can do both."

"I see." Lithoniel seemed to muse on her words for a moment, then asked,  "What about our tribesmen? I knew that many of them were not happy when I decided to accept the casteless in our ranks."

"Not happy." Urilee's mouth twitched. "That's a way to put it."

Lithoniel lifted a brow. "Is my decision encountering a lot of resistance?"

Urilee shrugged. "That would depend on who you ask. You know that most of Jandar's former tribesmen worship the ground you walk on, Zarukslayer. They accepted the situation straight away."

Lithoniel grimaced. She was still having a hard time accepting that title. 

"The woodcarvers were the most accepting." Urilee went on. "You know that they were losing a lot of people because we weren't able to protect them. The erudites and a few hunters, however..." 

"They didn't take it well." Lithoniel said softly.

"They screamed bloody murder." Urilee said bluntly. "Especially the erudites."

Lithoniel looked surprised. "The erudites?"

"Well, you know the Erudites. They say that you're breaking the rules." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "But don't worry. Everyone knows that they just like to complain."

Lithoniel let out a tired breath. She should have expected that.  "What about the hunters?"

Urilee shrugged "They seem to trust you. You're the Zarukslayer after all." When Lithoniel grimaced a second time, Urilee grinned.  "Besides, Kolvar seems to have some sway over them. Some of the veterans are still grumbling, but now that the new recruits have proved their worth, they can't protest too loudly." 

"Then Kolvar was right. " Lithoniel said. "His spartan training is starting to bear fruit."

"Yes. But..." Urilee paused for a few seconds, clearly uncomfortable about what she had to say. "it came with a cost."

Comprehension dawned on Lithoniel's face. "...how many people did we lose?"

Urilee scratched her chin and looked away. "Thirty-two casteless so far."

Lithoniel suppressed a wince. She felt as though she'd taken a punch into the gut. 

"But the situation is better now." Urilee added hastily. "We lost a lot of people at the beginning but lately the casualties decreased considerably."