The snowfall was thick and the gusting wind strong as Aldric and his warriors rode northward. Usually, the overwhelming, wintry bitter cold would have caused their teeth to chatter and bodies to shiver, an uncomfortable, unbearable condition to be in, but not so this time, which pleasantly surprised him. With the thick fur jackets, thermal underclothing made of material he had never seen or heard of before, and wooly hats, gloves, and socks, not to mention waterproof boots with thick grips underneath, he and his men felt nothing but warmth as they traversed against the elements.
Pausing a brief second from observing the haphazard pathway ahead, he shifted his attention to look behind him, to ensure his men were keeping up with the undeniably fast pace. Instantly, he noted that two of the three carriages were not within his sight. He reined his stallion to a stop and said loudly over the howling wind, "Where are the other two carriages?"
"Far behind," Theo replied, half shouting.
In the distance, Aldric saw the two carriages looming their way toward them, a speed which was considered fast prior but now was slow in his eyes, and he understood why. Those two carriages were carried by Norsewood's horses that had not been looked at and enhanced by Quinn's magical pills where as his, Theo's, Vincent's, and the four horses from Bedford that led the coach Liam was driving, had.
Aldric had known that during the journey from Bedford to Norsewood, his adorable bride had checked and healed all their stallions daily whenever they had made a stop to camp for the night. He had known, too, that she had analyzed and given them medicines, as she had him, which explained why his stallion was so strong and fast, a beast that could rival the speed of the high-tier monster cheetahs.
Sitting on the front driver's seat next to Liam, Elio said, "My lord, we have no time to waste."
Aldric understood, and the moment the other two carriages finally caught up with them, he said to the soldiers, "We'll head on first to the northern station. Catch up as fast as you can but be sure to be safe. There should already be equipment and supplies, hot meals and drinks, in the carriage if you must camp for the night."
"Aye, my lord," one said while the others nodded.
His instructions given, Aldric turned his stallion, and he, Vincent, and Theo were off, with Liam driving the coach that carried Elio and three other soldiers.
Aldric had expected at least a full day's ride along the quickest route but was pleasantly surprised when barely five hours had passed, even through the wind and snow. It was already evening, and the moment he spotted the northern station against the barely visible light of the last league of the day, a two-story building constructed of stones and wood, and the smoke rising from the chimney, he nudged his stallion to go faster.
The sound of horse hooves against the ground must have caught the soldiers' attention because they came out, some with weapons drawn and ready for battle. Were they expecting hordes of monsters to be invading this far into the territory? Aldric wondered. If so, then it seemed the situation was more problematic than he had initially thought.
Once he got closer and his soldiers recognized him, they lowered their weapons and hurried over while a few at the back shouted, "It's his lordship! It's Lord Norsewood! He has arrived!"
"My lord!" one greeted.
"My lord!" another said.
Aldric didn't miss the look of relief in their tired eyes and knew the circumstances were dire here. Pulling his stallion to a stop, he hopped down, and after addressing each man before him by name, he said to one, "Take me to Connor."
"Aye, my lord."
"My lord!" Connor Carter, Elio's older brother and captain of the Boarder Protection Troop, came rushing out.
Slapping his hand on the older man's shoulder, he said, "Connor."
"My lord," Connor said. "Thank the deities you've arrived."
Inside the station, Aldric went into the great hall and scanned the area, noting many of the men lying on the cold, stone floor with wounds haphazardly wrapped with torn, bloodstained cloths. They looked haggard, their eyes glazed, their skin stained with blood and dirt.
"My lord," one man said. "You came."
Aldric knelt on the floor and took the soldier's outreached hand. "Ryan," he said.
"How's Nora?" Ryan asked. "How is she? And our children?"
This, Aldric thought, he could answer without any feelings of discomfort, stress, and burden. As the lord of Norsewood, he had always been the bearer of bad news, a difficult and taxing duty he had to carry out, especially after a battle, raid, or monster invasion, and lives were lost, and there had been much bad news where Norsewood was concerned. This time, however, it was different. This time, he felt this sense of delight at passing on the news.
The last time he had seen Nora, she had been smiling and crying, with tears of joy, that the children were healed from their fateful burns and other wounds from the raids and were now running around and drinking hot cocoa to their heart's content.
"They're fine," he said. "Your children are healed, Ryan."
The man looked confused and asked, "Healed?"
Aldric nodded as he drifted his gaze along the man's severely injured body. "And soon, you will be, too."
Ryan wanted to ask what his lord meant, but Connor pulled him away, saying, "We'll leave that for later, Ryan. Now, his lordship needs details on the reports."
He nodded, and Aldric followed Connor up the stairs. Lying there on the floor, his body in agonizing pain and his wounds bleeding, Ryan chuckled as tears flowed down his dirt-stained cheeks. His children, he thought, had been healed. But how? By whom? Was it even possible?
Up on the second floor where the soldiers' sleeping quarters was located, Aldric was shown more injured warriors, and he knew time was of the essence. He'd need to take care of the monster subjugation as soon as possible and return so these soldiers could be healed. Their very lives were in danger, after all.
Back in the great hall, Aldric stood in front of the fire, his gaze fixed on the glowing flame, his mind racing. According to Connor, fifteen of the seventy soldiers had lost their lives to monsters; ten were severely injured and their lives were hanging in the balance; twenty were moderately injured, while the rest were minor, allowing them the ability to still fight despite the lack of food.
The thought of food caused Aldric to spin around, and he asked Connor, "Have you and the soldiers eaten?"
Connor shook his head. "Not for three days straight, my lord. We have no stock left. We managed to drink, with water melted from the snow. Perhaps you've brought some supplies? But with Norsewood in such dire circumstances, and the people..."
"I've brought food," Aldric said and once again felt the overwhelming appreciation toward Quinn and her thoughtfulness toward the soldiers she had yet to meet.
"You... brought food?" Connor said, his eyes wide with both disbelief and relief. "But the citizens."
He patted the man on the shoulder and then turned his attention to Liam, Elio, and the three soldiers that came with them. They had already brought in the supplies Quinn had prepared for them, and Liam and the soldiers were currently going over them and taking the essentials out of the boxes.
Aldric said to Liam and the soldiers, "Take care of the injured."
Liam nodded and said, "I'll get the first aid kit." Having learned the importance of taking care of injuries from Quinn during the short time they had lived and traveled together, he knew exactly what he had to do and started instructing the soldiers aiding him. "Mathew, start boiling water. We'll need a lot of it to wash the injured from head to toe."
The eighteen-year-old soldier nodded and rushed off to begin his duty. A few other soldiers went with him to help.
To Craig, a soldier a few years older than him, Liam said, "Bring the cleaning supplies and new sets of undergarments and clothing."
Craig nodded and left, along with two other soldiers.
To Elliot, he said, "You and I will start taking care of the injured."
The older man nodded, and while they worked, Theo and Vincent brought out sleeping bags and other essentials and took them upstairs into the sleeping quarters. Meanwhile, Aldric, with Connor and the other men watching, took out his storage pouch and retrieved meal boxes and stacked them on the dining table.
"What are these, my lord?" Connor asked as the other soldiers came closer to inspect the shiny black boxes with compartments they had never seen before.
"These are meals boxes. Start distributing them out," he said.
Connor and his men did as instructed, while a few others rushed out to call in the rest. Meanwhile, Aldric took out dispensers and placed them on one side of the hall where the men could easily access them.
Aldric had to lowly chuckle in amusement. He couldn't believe Quinn had prepared him drink dispensers, like the ones back at Norsewood Manor. These ones contained, as she had told him, hot and cold water, cocoa, and coffee.
Soon, the hall was filled with about forty soldiers, including Ryan, and each had the meal box and a mug of hot cocoa in front of them. Though the aroma exuding from the box smelled divine, none knew how to open it, and they wondered if it was magic.
Finally, Connor sat down at the table, and Aldric said, "Pull the edge like this."
Connor and the other men widened their eyes in pleasant surprise, and the moment the lid came off, steam puffed out, and enticing them before their very eyes was beef and vegetable stew served over steamed white rice, soft bread, and chocolate pudding as dessert.
Connor gazed, just as every other man did, in astonishment, their eyes glued to the heavenly meal before them. How was it possible that a box could hold something like this and still retain the heat? Indeed, Connor was afraid to touch it in fear the food blessed to them would disappear. His eyes still on the meal box, he mindlessly grabbed his mug and brought the rim to his lips. He gulped down a mouthful, and instantly widened his eyes and loudly said, "It's sweet."
His words caught the men's attention, and they turned to look at their mugs, too.
Vincent said, chuckling, "Yes, that's just about everyone's expression when they first try that. It's hot cocoa."
"Hot cocoa?" Connor said.
"Hot cocoa," Ryan murmured and then took a taste of it. Suddenly, he felt as if his whole being was melting in the warm deliciousness, and he thought about his wife and children.
Elio said, "Michael and Lisa loved the hot cocoa."
Ryan widened his eyes. "They've tasted this?"
Elio chuckled. "Not just taste. They gulp it down every chance they have until they get a stomachache from drinking too much."
Ryan chuckled at hearing that. His children had drunk this sweet drink until they got sick from it. Was it that abundant back at Norsewood Manor? But how?
Aldric said, "Eat up, men. There's no need to worry about tomorrow's meal. I've brought enough meal boxes for every one of us to last for the next two weeks at least."
At hearing this, there was a cheer of elation, and everyone started picking up the cutlery made of material they had never seen before and started digging in. There was a chorus of joyous chuckling as they ate and murmurs of how very warm, hearty, and delicious the meal was.
"What's this white thing?" Connor asked.
"How is the bread so soft?" a warrior asked no one in particular.
Of course, no one dared touch the chocolate pudding yet as they knew it was very likely dessert and wanted to keep it until last.
Elio said, "That's rice, Connor."
"Rice?" Connor echoed the word as if it was sacred, along with some other men lifting their heads and their eyes wide in surprise.
"You mean the animal feed rice?" one soldier asked, astounded.
"Yes, that animal feed rice," Vincent said. "The grain our land grew for generations that we had no idea what to do with it apart from feeding the chickens."
"That rice could be turned into this?" another soldier asked.
"Thanks to your new Lady Norsewood," Theo said. "A darling little lassie blessed to us by the deities."
"My lord's new bride," a young soldier said.
"That'd be her, lad," Theo said. "She prepared everything we've brought here, including the very meal you're eating, for everyone." He nodded toward Liam who was currently cleaning a man's wound with antiseptic. "That lad there is Liam Fairchild. He's our lady's cousin. He's one of us now and will join our academy come spring, if we still have an academy, that is."
Indeed, the school building had been burned to the ground with naught left the last Theo saw it, and once again he mourned at the loss of the beloved place. But alas, now was not the time to lament a destroyed building, for a new one would be constructed in its place. It was the people, the teaching, and the name of the school itself that was important and needed preserving and passing on. Now the most important thing was to do what they could to save these injured men, subjugate the monster, and return to Norsewood Manor, or what was left of it.
While the men had their meals, Aldric headed into the washroom and took out the large, round wooden hot tub from his storage pouch. He had no idea how it worked, but just as soon as he touched the little magic circle on the side as instructed by Quinn, the larger magic circle at the base of the tub glowed, and water materialized and then started rising.
This was Quinn's unique magic, and once again, he was blessed to have her in his life. Now his men could wash away the dirt and grime from their bodies, cleansing away their exhaustion.
After taking out bathing scooping bowls, bottles of bodywash and hair shampoo, as well as washcloths and drying towels, he returned to the hall and said, "After your meal, go and wash yourself and wear the new clothing we've brought. I want every one of you clean and your belly filled with warm food and hot drinks. I want you all to sleep well tonight, and tomorrow, we start hunting down the monsters that dare to invade our land."
Loud cheering erupted, and Connor chuckled; he couldn't help the tears from brewing in his eyes.