Why did they leave the wounded here?
Charlotte should have known better. She was one thing to come here and tell me what the villagers wanted while she brought me food, but the brute and the girl had no reason to stay in my shack. I built it deep in the woods for the very reason to keep everyone out. It was not meant to be the tribe's clinic.
I had the spirits heal their wounds regardless, and they only needed rest. But it didn't have to be my place. They would have been better off anywhere else and I felt anxious and even jumped when Charlotte arrived for her morning visit. My brain was a mess.
"How are they? Everything's fine?" She asked without a greeting.
"They were fine already yesterday," I complained. "How long do you plan to keep them here? Couldn't sleep a wink."
"Come on, they won't bite you." She claimed, unconvincingly.
"Who knows what they will do when they wake up?" I asked. "The last thing they remember is that they were fighting. Waking up in a stranger's place, maybe they will panic and attack me."
"You are overthinking it as always." The chieftain waved me off. She didn't take my worries seriously. "They won't bully you, nobody will."
"And what if they carry some kind of disease?" I knew they didn't since the spirits diagnosed them already, but still...
"They fought, weren't poisoned or sick," Charlotte shrugged.
"Just what the hell happened to this girl anyway?" I inquired. The least she could do was to fill me in if I already had to treat them. "Hana was smashed and scratched, I can understand that, but she was malnourished, exhausted, electrocuted, burned, and her joints looked like an old woman's despite her age. As if someone drained her life force."
"I don't know, we found her like this." She claimed, sitting down. "As for Hana, they engaged a wizard in close combat. Or maybe it was a mage since she was pretty strong, and had a gargoyle with her. It rammed itself into Hana to allow the human to retreat."
"What? Where did this happen?" I asked upset. "Will they attack the village too? Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"
"We ran into them by the old capital. Had nothing to do with it, but Hana recognized their little sister and rushed in to save her." Charlotte gave me a short explanation, and my jaw dropped. "It was more important to heal them than the details."
"Wait, this is Hana's little sister Omerta?" I asked, and the chieftain nodded. "The Omerta, that serves Alpha and a member of the Twelve Champions? And she fought nearby?"
"Yes, that's about sums it up." I had no idea how she was so calm. I paced back and forth. "By the looks of it, it's Ten Champions now."
"I'll have to look for a new place," I mumbled, sweating heavily. "I sure don't want to have anything to do with either the humans or the New Order. They are both horrifying. I've got to hide somewhere."
"You are overreacting." She claimed. "Anyway, I came to check on these two and inform you that the hunters acquired a wyvern hide. They want it tanned as soon as possible. Can you do something about that?"
"You can't be serious. We have much bigger problems now. The Inquisitorias might consider some sort of retaliation." I tried to warn her, but she didn't look me in the eye. "Wait, they're already on their way here? There is something else you're not telling me."
"Sharp as always." She nodded, and I was about to throw up. "Well, we may or may not have been visited by the Goddess of Luck. About a week ago, to be exact. She was adamant, that she just possessed her body, whatever that meant, but I decided to let her stay."
"There is no way!" I shouted so loud, that my patients finally woke up. At least the girl did. This was the worst-case scenario.
"Wait, so that girl wasn't the Goddess of Luck?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, still looking sleepy. I had no idea how long she had been awake. "Or was she? I thought I was hallucinating, but she sent some strange images into my head, and wiped the floor with that necromancer."
"A necromancer?" I wheezed as things got worse by the second. I still couldn't process that the Goddess was here. My heart beat so fast, close to a panic attack or sudden death, probably both.
"Well, she drained off some of my life force." She claimed, checking her arms and legs, before looking at the chieftain, seeming surprised. "You are Charlotte. I haven't seen you in ages. So you were here too?"
"Stop with the reunions, just tell me what are you doing here?" I demanded, and she eyed me up. I didn't like that at all.
"Wait." She pointed her finger at me. "If I was near the old capital... You must be Gitaut, right? This is my lucky day."
"No? Don't call me that." I started to panic and looked at Charlotte for help, but she seemed surprised too. "Where did you hear that name?"
"Hah, the Demon Lord put a bounty on your head." Omerta giggled, sounding excited. "Anyone who brings in the orc sorcerer who attended the Magic Academy before the Collapse can get a thousand gold reward. If I take you in, all my failures will be forgiven and I can give him information about the Goddess of Luck..."
"I don't think so," Charlotte said, perfectly calm. I could see her hand reaching for a dagger but the witch noticed it too and changed her tone.
"You are right, it would be distasteful after you saved me." She sorted herself out. "I thought I was a goner there, thank you."
I couldn't imagine why that lunatic Alpha put a bounty on me. How did he even know where to find me? And Omerta's aura scared me.
"Hey, can I meet with the Goddess?" She asked a moment later. A cold shiver ran down my spine. "Please, I promise to behave but I want to thank her... If she weren't here, my brother would have died for sure and I wouldn't be alive either."
"About that..." Charlotte pointed at the still-sleeping brute. "They prefer to be called Hana now, I just wanted to get this out of the way before they wake up. They identify as women so it's your sister? Sibling."
"What? He's gay now?" The witch looked surprised. "I mean if he was with you the whole time I'm not exactly surprised."
"Couldn't you all just please get out?" I lost my patience.
"See, you are Gitaut, I knew it." She pointed at me. "What a collection of weirdos, and I wanted to avoid this place completely."
"No, I'm not." I lied, but it was a far cry from convincing her. "I'm just a humble shaman, helping the nearby tribe with my spirits. That is all. I never went to the Magic Academy, like the one you seek..."
"Riiiiight... Fine. I'll see myself out, but you should come as well. Even if you are not Gitaut, the Goddess is a hottie." She claimed, walking towards the door. "And she has quite the magic potential."
As if I didn't know that. I had mixed feelings that needed time to be sorted out but lacked such luxury. Charlotte grabbed my arm suddenly.
"You'll come too and meet her." She declared. I was at a loss. Why? I mean I wanted to, but not now, not like this. Omerta was leaving, her brute of a sibling still asleep. Charlotte looked serious and was much larger and stronger than me, effortlessly towing me towards the village.
"No. No, please don't, I don't want to go near people today, I need to keep an eye on Hana." I tried holding onto something but ran out of luck.
"They will be fine, you said it yourself." The chieftain was adamant, and wouldn't let go. "It is high time that you meet Nati. I was letting you stay with the tribe, not outside of it so get yourself together."
Omerta already reached the courtyard full of noisy kids playing some strange games. Smoke rose from the blacksmith's shack and I saw all the tribesmen staring at us, wanting to run but was held firmly.
Among all the orcs, a beastfolk girl just exited the workshop. She had extremely long black hair in two braids, her skin glistened in the sun and her fluffy tail swung behind her. It seemed like she was happily explaining something, and to call her beautiful was an understatement.
She was mesmerizing. She nodded towards the chieftain, then walked towards us after noticing Omerta. The curiosity in her eyes made her look adorable, but the big realization I hoped to see after our eyes met for a split second was missing. They revealed no emotions at all.
I was crushed at the thought that she had forgotten me but she flashed an awkward smile and looked the other way. Charlotte still didn't let my arm go, otherwise, I would have run away already. Hana's little sister sent an impish grin my way and loudly whispered.
"You are either that Gitaut, who had a history with her, or you fell in love with a stranger in record time." She said, adding a wink on top. She was right about both of those... And she just casually greeted her.
A few moments later, they hit it off already. They talked with the blacksmith about something, but the chieftain just shook her head and dragged me along. With her this close to me, it was impossible to concentrate but I had a wyvern hide to inspect.
The Goddess was the very reason I started to deal with magic. Had she not convinced her master to let me enter the library, I would have remained an ordinary servant, but she could tell I had potential, and I would have done anything to impress her. I just didn't have the time.
When the old capital disappeared, and the Inquisitorias chased her off the world, I wanted to die. I wished to disappear with the other five million, but I was lucky or cursed enough to be away when it all happened. While I barely started my studies, the spirits of this forest called out to me, and this was where the chieftain later found me as well. She said she wasn't the Goddess, but still...
I couldn't look the other way. She was still breathtakingly beautiful and was here all week. Why didn't they tell me? I felt like the spirits also mocked me, and Charlotte certainly was.
"Hey, are you still here?" She shook my shoulders. "Help with this wyvern hide, will you? I need you to speed up the rot."
"There is nothing to speed up on it..." I noted, absent-minded. I forced myself to turn towards the stretched-out hide but I could only mumble. "My heart was rotten away a decade ago..."