Maxi glowered at him. “R-Riftan…is not invincible.”
The knight opened his mouth as if to retort but abruptly clenched it shut. An inscrutable emotion flashed behind his cold eyes.
“You coming here will not change anything,” Sir Kuahel said, his voice as icy as his gaze.
Maxi was unable to answer immediately.
“I am aware of that,” she finally said. “I-I merely…wish to see him, e-even just from afar….”
Embarrassed by her own words, she felt the burning flush creep from her cheeks up to the tips of her ears.
Kuahel Leon regarded her with an enigmatic expression. “Calypse is most likely camped a day’s journey from Serbin Castle. It would be highly improbable for you to chance upon him.”
Masking her disappointment, Maxi took a breath and replied as calmly as possible, “I-It does not matter. I will be c-content to be near him and be a-able to hear his news.”
That seemed to silence him. Maxi looked up imploringly at the knight’s impassive face. His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he turned around and grabbed the cloak he had hung on a branch.
“I do agree that it would be less burdensome for me to pretend not to know of this matter than to be forced to provide you with a personal guard,” he quipped dryly. “You may do as you please.”
With that, he slowly ran his eyes over her with a glazed expression. Suddenly realizing just how ragged and filthy she must look, Maxi hunched her shoulders with shame.
The knight opened his mouth to say something, but swiftly turned and left instead. It seemed as if he had stopped himself from blurting out something inappropriate.
When he was out of sight, the tension in Maxi’s shoulders finally eased. It was not likely that he would interfere with her plan. Indeed, her actions were of no concern to the lofty commander of the Temple Knights.
After quickly composing herself, Maxi returned to the camp and helped the female clerics prepare breakfast. By the time they had finished assessing the conditions of the wounded and the party set out again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Those who were well enough mounted their horses once more, while those who were not rode in the wagons. As a result, the already narrow wagon became even more cramped.
Wedged between passengers, Maxi nodded off to sleep. The other female clerics, bone-weary from the events of the last two days, also had no trouble dozing despite the constant rattling of the wagon.
They traveled for what seemed like half a day when the wagons suddenly came to a halt. Maxi groggily opened her eyes. Outside the window was a towering rampart. They had reached Serbin Castle.
Maxi snapped to attention. “I-Idsilla…I think we have arrived.”
Idsilla, who had been sleeping with her head on Maxi’s shoulder, jerked awake. She leaned over Maxi and stuck her head out the window.
The firmly secured gate swung wide open, and the wagons began to roll forward once more. As they passed through the gate, Maxi surveyed the city with wide eyes. Signs of the former troll occupation lay in the rubble that stretched in every direction.
Half of the rampart had collapsed, and dark piles of ashwere scattered about the place as though everything had been burned down. Had it not been for the tightly packed rows of tents and the Livadonian banner in the center, Maxi would have thought it was a forsaken city.
The soldiers made the wagons form a long line, then opened the doors.
“We have arrived,” a soldier announced. “You may come out now.”
Maxi stepped out of the wagon along with the other women, and one of the soldiers led them through the tents.
“Follow me,” the soldier said.
As the women made their way through the camp, Maxi saw horses tied to a makeshift fence and soldiers hauling items around the tents. Clerics bustled about as they tended to the wounded. Maxi strained her neck in her efforts to find a familiar face and ended up bumping into Selina as the soldier guiding them abruptly stopped.
“This area is for the women,” he instructed, opening the flap to the tented barracks.
It was a low tent, its floor covered in a thick layer of hay. Bits of cloth were spread out on the hay for use as makeshift cots. Maxi scanned the interior with a dark expression. It was clear that this place was set up solely for sleeping; it was utterly bereft of any private space.
The cots themselves lacked proper bedding, and the tent was so narrow that Maxi did not think they would have any space to move while they slept. Even so, one by one the women crammed themselvesin.
Maxi and Idsilla chose the cots at the end, unpacked their bags, and promptly went outside. A cleric greeted them and explained their duties.
