The rebel leader's body was racked with fever, dreams and strange visions for days. Rainer struggled to separate reality from fiction, which was superimposed on his eyes by his tired mind. The burning pain in his body and the metallic stench of blood drove his senses crazy. Wolf could not know when he was talking to existing people and when he was talking to people who never existed. For everything seemed to him to be a long, intermittent dream or nightmare. The last four years of his life on many days were as real to him as images of demons dancing around his rush, waiting to pounce on his body and tear it apart with their sharp teeth.
Sometimes Rainer walked among the fields, admiring the majesty of the storied mountains and the rolling sea. Admiring the crops that so eagerly climbed upward toward the bright rays of the sun. In the next moment, the man was fleeing from the dark, gray and frightening mountain slopes crashing down on him. He was running from mythical giants throwing huge, sharpened spears in his direction, which almost hit his wolf-like body every blush. More than once it seemed to him that the shadow of the wicked Magnar, about two meters tall, was sneaking into his part of the cave, wielding two, long and razor-sharp swords in his hands. Sometimes, in turn, he saw Colin. His foxy, not tall stature, who served some kind of herbal infusion with a truly awful taste and smell into his mouth.
Rainer had been shouting some orders for days, the content of which he himself did not know. Whatever words came out of his mouth, the man was unable to remember what he said for more than barely a few moments. After that he would fall asleep, wake up, scream and fall asleep again. This worst state grated Rainer for a little less than a week. After that, his condition gradually began to stabilize. The man had less and less fits of rage and delirium with each passing day as a result of the high fever, which was dropping.
His disorientation and difficulty in understanding where he was, despite his improved health, continued for days afterwards. During this time, the man slept for days and nights without dreaming anymore. The scraps of memory that remained in his head showed him images of various people coming to his part of the cave. He knew he had been fed by someone. He couldn't remember what or who put the spoon in his mouth. However, he could tell by the consistency of his vomit, which was on the stone floor, that he must have eaten only various kinds of decoctions and soups during that period. Rainer didn't say much at the time. He continued not to grasp with his thoughts what was going on around him, which was not helped at all by the burning pain in the side of his body.
After more days, Rainer began to collect his thoughts. First, it started with the fact that he didn't sleep the whole days and nights, but most of them. He also knew that he was talking. Well, it is difficult to actually call a conversation throwing out single words accompanied by pain. Nevertheless, the man did his best to respond when clearly someone expected any words from him. What he did not remember were the people who were the senders of those requests. The faces of all the people who came to visit him merged into one blurry whole. The tones of these people's voices were also indistinguishable to him. All the wolf could hear was the noise of his own throbbing blood in his ears and the screeching, reminiscent of the incessant sound of crickets chirping.
Rainer did not dare to open his eyes or move his head most of the time. Every spoken word caused him pain, so he really didn't say much. Once he was more conscious, he realized that he was nowhere else but in the rebel hideout then after a while, he heard a voice all day long. A voice that spoke to him as if in an ancient, strange and unintelligible language. The culprit was that this voice was telling Rainer about strange stories that featured strange characters.
He heard a story about a pair of a man and a woman in love and a snake that made the woman eat a forbidden fruit by which these people were banished from some magical land. He heard an unbelievable story about how soldiers crawled out of a huge horse figure and opened the gates of a certain city and destroyed it. There was also a story about some warrior in green armor who took his own severed head in his hand and left some kingdom.
For a while Rainer wondered if it was his brain playing tricks on him and he was hearing some hallucination again. In a way, he feared that his fever was returning again, because the stories he was hearing were truly bizarre and incomprehensible to the rebel leader. Soon, however, after some time, the voice he heard began to gain color. Rainer knew the voice, but wasn't quite sure who it belonged to. It wasn't until he heard a story about an enchanted sword stuck in a rock and a Slavic dragon living in one of the local caves that Rainer knew who the sender of these strange stories was.
From time to time, the wolf would widen his eyes slightly and silently listen to the voice of Colin lying next to him, holding the book in his lap. Rainer didn't know exactly by what miracle the fox had survived all those days when he was plunged into an agonizing state and could not protect him. From time to time, to make sure that Colin was not a phantom, he would gently place his hand on his hand or leg. Despite his scant strength, the man would apply pressure to the boy's coat to see if it was really him. Whenever he did this he heard the man's reassuring words. Colin would say "take it easy," "relax," or "I'm here." He could feel that fluffy fur between his fingers and the boy's warm skin, which made Rainer smile despite the immense pain.
The fox really spent a lot of time with the wolf. However, it got to the point where Colin would disappear for hours and leave Rainer alone in his cave. The man was then always nervous about what was happening to the boy. This lasted until the wolf's strength began to return to him more quickly, and he himself began to form longer sentences composed of more words. The boy half-wordedly explained to Rainer what was happening, but the man still didn't fully understand. He was not the only one telling him what was going on, but also Liv or other visitors to his part of the cave.
According to what Colin told him, the wolf shouted the fox's name in a fever for the first few days. He reportedly threatened that if anything bad happened to the teenager, Rainer would rip everyone's heads off. Reportedly, in a fit of fever, the tone of voice and behavior of the rebel leader was so terrible that it didn't even occur to anyone to drag Colin to jail again. Instead, the fox stayed in Rainer's cave always in someone's company, just in case. Axel was also expected to survive, although his rebels didn't treat him as leniently as Colin. The bull continued to stay in the prison cave tied up with several ropes and under the watchful eye of a doubled guard. Axel, however, had nothing to complain about. After all, he was still breathing.
The man guessed that everyone was expecting his recovery to raise important issues with him that required his personal decision. That's probably also why until something happened no one bothered him with details about the issue of the failed prisoner escape, the war or Noa and the whole related process.
The latter's case, however, was really important to Rainer. However, as long as he could not move with his own strength, he could not do anything about the man's case. The man seemed to understand for the moment who had murdered the guards and led the fugitives out of the hideout. Although rumor had it that Colin and Axel had pointed to Noa as the one who had helped them escape, Rainer guessed what had really happened. Thinking about it, the wolf honestly smiled under his breath. The fact that Colin pointed to Noa was a very clever play on his part, even though the black fox was in fact not the one who helped them escape. According to Rainer, Colin once again confirmed his cleverness, intelligence and prudence by not pointing out the real helper of the fugitives. With who actually did it, Rainer was yet to talk when he gained strength. He knew that solving this case would not be as simple as it might seem.
Noa, who had blatantly lied while testifying during the "three-judge" period, was himself now accused of treason. This ploy must have caused consternation and confusion in the camp, which helped Colin survive. Arguably, Noa was now seen as a madman willing to kill Colin only to then release him and buy into Magnar's favor. As a result, he was imprisoned in one of the cave cells and was guarded by sentries, presumably for his own and others' safety. However, he was not treated like a prisoner, except that he was not allowed to leave the cave until the matter was cleared up.
Of course, the wolf had a different view of the situation, but he preferred not to anticipate the facts. Since there were suspicions that the black fox had lied during the "Tri-court," the verdict had to be overturned and, after all, that was what Rainer cared about most. Wolf, of course, was aware that this was certainly not the first situation in which perjury had occurred during the "Tri-court". When lies or insecurities come to light, it's better not to perform a bloody eagle on the accused. The gods only know what punishment could await people for murdering someone as a result of an unlawful trial, which, after all, was supposed to be sacred.
The fact that Colin did not flee to North Hill, but returned to the hideout to save Rainer's life also meant that the rebels could no longer simply kill him. What he did probably momentarily put him in a winning position especially since he himself pierced Axel's leg with his sword. This meant as much as betraying his own family. And while in truth the bull probably wasn't angry with Colin about the mere fact of being stabbed by him, Axel probably wondered which side Colin was on now. After all, the fox's attack on the bull was not personal and was not intended to kill him. None of that. For Colin, in a sense, stabbed not Axel, but Magnar himself. The son defied his father's overt will and did not sink his blade into Rainer's heart, even though he had the opportunity to do so.
Did this mean that Colin had terminated his obedience to his father? Everything pointed to that, which, however, did not mean that this was actually the case. Colin remained silent on the matter. Rainer guessed that this was a difficult topic for the boy, one that the fox preferred not to broach for the time being. The wolf could only guess how much the rebellion would gain from the fact that Magnar's only son had turned on him. He could have guessed, but the truth was that he didn't think about it at all. He was more concerned that with such a move Colin was ensuring his safety and that he was in no danger. There would probably come a time when the boy himself would say what he was going to decide about his father. Rainer was not going to be the one to pressure him.
Signals that were reaching Rainer, however, indicated that perhaps Colin might actually be dropping his father's case. It turned out that the fox had come up with an idea, which he shared with Liv and also Rainer's other friends. However, he didn't want to reveal to the sick man exactly what it was about, as the man shouldn't be pondering war plans or conspiracies or political alignments right now. All that mattered was that Rainer should get back on his own feet quickly and be able to continue leading the rebellion relatively uncomplicatedly.
More days passed and with each, successive sunrise and sunset Rainer gained more strength. He was finally able to get up from his lair composed of rushes and take his first steps on the stones of his cave after such a long hiatus from walking. Surprisingly, it didn't cause him many problems, although he still had to be careful of the uncared-for wound in the side of his abdomen. He also had other wounds on his body from his memorable fight with Axel, but these were quickly beginning to heal and posed little threat to the man. However, the wolf's improved health was not to be prematurely rejoiced. It was known that it would still be a long time before the wolf returned to his form from before the fight.
Rainer's rehabilitation was assisted by Colin. The boy took the greatest care to ensure that the wolf did not give up walking around the table in his part of the cave. He helped him stretch, took turns bringing him food with Liv and also washed his body with moist water. This was embarrassing for Rainer, but the man did not protest once. When the teenager's moist and warm hands touched his back, the man always felt a pressure in his throat but also warmth in his stomach. He could no longer deny himself. He finally had to accept the fact that Colin's physical proximity pleases him and gives him quite a bit of pleasure.
He could no longer fight these thoughts of Colin being closer to his heart than he thought he ever could be. They owed a lot to each other. Colin saved Rainer's life, Rainer saved Colin's life. All this time they got along so well with each other, laughed, talked... cared about each other. Until recently, it seemed to the wolf that he was, in his relationship with Colin, his protector. After all, he was the one who took care of his comforts, mental peace and also entertainment. He was always friendly, talkative and caring to him. He defended him at all costs and risked his own position in the ranks of the rebels, just so that not a hair of the boy's head would even twitch. In the end, it turned out that the fox also cared about the wolf's welfare. That, like Rainer, Colin cared about his life, health and happiness. The boy did what he could to make the man's time confined to the bed, or to be more precise, the rush bed . After all, no one forced him to read Rainer stories from distant lands. No one made him feed the wolf when it was unable to hold the spoon in its own fingers. Rainer even had a suspicion that Colin sang some quiet melodies under his breath to ward off the nightmares that haunted the man during his restless sleep.
"I think these shooting stars actually have something in them. " - Rainer thought with perversity, remembering what Colin had told him about it while they were taking a bath in the hot springs.
Under Colin's tutelage, Wolf continued his study of Latin reading. Admittedly, he didn't particularly feel like it, but he could see that Colin enjoyed passing on his knowledge. Besides, Rainer recognized that the ability to read these letters would certainly come in handy in the future, so he tried to strain his mind as much as he could. Unfortunately for him, this came with considerable difficulty.
First they started with a story about a Slavic dragon. After a few moments, however, Colin began turning the pages of the book.
- What are you doing? - Asked the confused wolf. - I was doing great.
- True, you did great telling the story from memory. - The boy giggled. - After all, I know you didn't read.
- I read. Please do not groundlessly accuse me of fraud. - Replied Rainer smiling from ear to ear.
- Well, sure. - Protested the teenager. - You're already telling the story from memory, that's not reading and don't argue.
- Not at all. - Laughed the man quietly. - I can read it even with my eyes closed. - He continued the joke.
- With your eyes closed? That's further proof that you didn't read. - Laughed the boy. - Then try reading this.
Then the fox stopped the pages of the book. Immediately, the carefully painted icon of some king wearing an ornate crown on his head was discernible. Rainer cautiously, feeling the pain piercing his bandaged wound, leaned over the illustration and the bold inscription.
- Well. - The man began seriously. - This is... a leg... a legate....
- Legend. - Corrected the boy to the man.
- Let me finish, I know that there was written "legend". - Replied the wolf cheerfully, poking Colin on the shoulder. - Legend... about... the... kid... the kind....
- About the king. - Said the boy further with an amused smile under his breath.
- Exactly. The legend of the king... A... Ar... Arr....
- Arthur. - Finished the boy for the wolf. - See? The tale of the dragon you can already recite from your head and not read. This is another proof.
- Ouch. - Replied the wolf carelessly. - Somehow I just liked the story best.
- You will like this one too. - Assured the boy. - There is a lot of sorcery in it and it tells about the ancient Britons.
Rainer momentarily squirmed upon hearing the word "sorcery." He then looked with his yellow eyes straight at Colin with a meaningful look.
- What? - The boy asked himself. - The theme of spells in legends is always cool, in my opinion.
- Magic does not exist. - Rainer noted. - Granted, dragons and mythical swords in rock don't exist either, but no one believes in those. Belief in witchcraft fools people.
- Right, yet since both you and I don't believe in witchcraft isn't it nice to at least imagine that there is a wizard somewhere casting ancient charms?
- Just take a walk and visit Agape. - Replied Rainer in an irritated voice. - She will charm you with as many spells as she can come up with, and poor imagination she does not have.
Colin, hearing the man's comment, fell silent. Then he leaned over the book as if he wanted to cut off the subject as soon as possible and Rainer already knew that he would have to start the conversation with Colin earlier than he had planned.
- You don't have to pretend Colin. - Added the man quickly, before Colin began to read the first words for the man. - I have already managed to guess everything. - After these words he winked at the boy with one eye.
- That is, what did you guess? - The boy asked himself without taking his eyes off the book.
- That Noa did not free you. No Noa's spell also killed the guards there, if we're already talking about magic. - He said confidently but calmly. - Don't be afraid. I know you had nothing to do with it... with that escape and murder. I also have no intention of revealing the truth to anyone.
Then Colin swallowed his saliva loudly and his hands trembled. Rainer, without waiting a moment, grabbed the fox's hand gently and began to rub it tenderly with his rough finger.
- Take it easy, kid. You're safe, you're in no danger. - He reassured the boy, then quickly added with a confident voice. - For the rest, as far as I can see, you don't need my protection. You've done very well on your own.
- I kept silent not because I didn't trust you. It's not like that. - He was immediately interrupted by Colin, without taking his gaze off the book. - I... I don't understand it. She is crazy. - Then the boy suspended his voice for a moment filled with feelings of fear and horror. - First she wants my death and then she frees me? Only crazy people act like this. It's illogical. Illogical and... terrifying.
Rainer smiled under his breath and then let go of the boy's hand to embrace him around the waist as he sat beside him on the trunk of a felled tree in his cave. Then, despite the pain in his wound, the man began to soothingly rub his hand over Colin's body.
- I thought so too at first. - The man admitted. - I've had some time to think about it, and I think I already know why she played it all that way. I have to admit... she is more cunning and clever than I thought. She can adjust her plans to changing circumstances with the ease and cunning of a fox. - Replied a slightly smiling Rainer.
The boy only rolled his eyes in response to Rainer's obvious joke. Clearly the boy did not like the joke, but he did not hide his resentment. After a while he spoke up again.
- If you have a logical explanation for her actions, I'd love to hear it. As far as I'm concerned, she's just crazy. - Replied Colin looking around to the side, quite as if someone might be eavesdropping on them.
- Hey, take it easy. - Rainer interrupted Colin. - After all, you know that you are no longer in danger. No worries. - The man tried to calm the boy by speaking to him calmly and tenderly. - You know... I have to make sure, but I have a feeling that she just stopped believing in the victory of the rebellion and wanted to... survive. - That last word, the man stressed very strongly. - She wanted to survive until the end of the war here, and after the war, if we lost, she wanted to survive under your father's rule. Everything would have worked out according to her thoughts, if she hadn't foreseen that I wanted to free you myself.
- Probably. - The boy admitted, again staring blankly at the pages of the book. Then, after a moment of silence, he began to speak further. - You know I had to try to escape with Axel. I had no way out.
- I know, I don't blame you or Axel, you know that. - Confirmed the man, continuing to smile under his breath and surreptitiously looking at the boy. - Unfortunately, Axel can't hope for better treatment....
- No harm done. They let me see him, they took care of his wound, they feed him and he's not cold. He's got better conditions than he deserves after almost taking out the rebel leader. - Said the boy, although the last words seemed to make him really uncomfortable. - He's a little annoyed that I just happened to have to choose his leg as a target... well. It seems that he won't be able to stand on his feet again until the end of the war.
- I'm glad they let you visit your uncle. - Admitted the wolf sincerely, while nodding his head. - However, it makes me wonder very much... how did you convince my friends to do all this?
- Well, you helped me a little bit with that. - Said the boy, whose face began to blush.
- How could I help you? - Rainer was surprised. - I was unconscious.
- Not quite. - replied the boy reluctantly. - During the fever you talked a lot about me... you threatened everyone... I told you about it, don't you remeber?
- Ah yes, that's right. - Replied the man immediately. - It slipped my mind, sorry.
- It's okay, you might not have remembered it. You were in a really bad state... I don't think you remember most of the things that were going on at the time. - He said, then finally his gaze broke away from the old pages of the book and began to wander around the room. - Together with Olaf... well, and the rest of you, we decided that we would tell you together about the plan I came up with... I mean, Olaf asked me not to tell you for now. - Added the boy uncertainly. - Don't bother with it. Nothing can be done for now anyway and you need to rest.
The man, hearing these words, raised his other hand and began scratching his head with it with no small amount of surprise on his face. The fact that Colin had saved Rainer's life was obvious, but the man nevertheless did not expect that someone like Olaf would even want to talk about anything with Magnar's son. The information ignited not only curiosity but also anxiety in the wolf.
- I really missed a lot. - Admitted a bewildered Rainer. - However, I'd rather you tell me what's going on. I'm not sure if Olaf isn't up to something....
- Rainer... really, you should rest some more. - Said an embarrassed Colin. - Nothing can be done until the first spring melt anyway, and you should be now basically thinking of nothing but rest.
The green gaze of the fox's eyes finally met Rainer's gaze. The men gazed at each other for a while with half smiles on their faces. Admittedly, the boy's words did not calm Rainer down at all; on the contrary, they further aroused his curiosity and uncertainty. However, the man couldn't resist the sight of those beautiful emerald eyes, which literally put him in a daze and a kind of nostalgia that he didn't want to interrupt with talk of politics. Wolf still kept Colin next to him although he had the feeling that he could have been next to him much closer. However, he did not dare to get even closer to him. He knew that even though he wanted to, he couldn't just snuggle up to him. After all, both Colin and Rainer were men.
- I know you should rest but... there is one problem... - Colin spoke up unexpectedly. - I mean, I don't want you to do anything, just advise me on how I should proceed.
- What's going on? - Rainer asked.
- You know ... Noa's sister is trying hard to convince everyone that we liberated ourselves with Axel and strangled the guards. - Said the boy, which, however, did not particularly surprise Rainer. - Accusing him bought me and Axel time... but I have growing concerns... you know, in the end I am the intruder here, not Noa and his family.
- I see. - Replied Rainer without thinking, at the same time interrupting Colin's statement. - You did very well, by the way. Since Noa lied in front of everyone and was willing to sacrifice your life, I don't think you should feel sorry for him now for where he is.
The man then suspended his voice and grabbed his chin, which he slowly began stroking with his thick fingers. Although it was pleasant to spend the last long days in solitude in Colin's company, Rainer knew that each additional day of delay could only bring him harm. He then wrinkled his forehead and then began to slowly and with a wry expression due to severe pain, lift himself from the tree trunk.
- What are you doing Rainer? - A confused Colin asked himself.
- Unfortunately, this is the end of the duty free. - He replied still croaking in pain. - The matter with Noa needs to be resolved as soon as possible and besides, I am too curious about your "plan". Tomorrow evening we will discuss it in the big den in front of everyone. Let them see that you can be trusted.
- What? - again asked the surprised fox. - But Rainer, you were supposed to rest!
- I have rested long enough. - Smiled painfully Rainer, who walked with difficulty to a sizable wooden branch that served as a walking stick on which to support himself. - I even already know who will bail me out of solving the problems with Noa.
- Rainer, I don't like what you are doing. - Replied the boy, who tried in vain with his words to stop the wolf. - And in fact, I have no idea who can settle the issue of Noa without your participation.
- What do you mean who? - Replied the man smiling from ear to ear. - The person who stabbed him at the hot springs.
- That is, who? - The confused young man asked further.
- The one who stabbed him and who enabled you and Axel to escape is one and the same person. - He said, winking at Colin and smiling painfully.
- I'm the one who really has no idea what this is all about anymore. - Replied the boy full of resignation. - My head is too small to understand all these, bizarre conspiracies. The rebels are really complicated creations.
- Easy, Colin. - Replied Rainer, when slowly supporting himself on a dry, thick branch already approached the exit of the cave. - Now you take a rest. Have a beer and choose a story to read in the evening. Only please, no magic. There may be enchanted artifacts and mythical beasts, but no magic per se. Agreed?
The boy apparently decided that now the best option for him actually would be to drink beer, because he nodded and immediately took the wooden cup in his hand. Meanwhile, Rainer slowly, rolling painful footsteps after footsteps, began heading toward the cave of the druid Agape.
"If I had been full of strength, I would have taken an axe with me to this conversation." - Thought Rainer, delighted by this vision.