Every day, the women were expected to prepare breakfast and dinner for the army and tend to the injured. On top of that, they were also tasked with ensuring that the camp never ran out of water, washing laundry every ten days, managing the horses, collecting fodder, and occasionally serving the knights. The color drained from Maxi’s face as she listened to the barrage of tasks, but she was in no position to complain.
She steeled herself and got to work. Though she wished to inquire about the Remdragon Knights, her heavy workload did not allow her the time to speak with any of the soldiers. Inwardly, Maxi gnashed her teeth in frustration.
Selina evidently felt so bad for her that she snuck away and somehow managed to collect news of Eth Lene Castle. Maxi was stacking kindling for a fire when Selina approached and motioned for her to come closer.
“It appears that Balto has sent reinforcements, and the situation isn’t all that dire,” Selina whispered.
Maxi turned away from lighting the fire, her face streaked with soot.
“I-Is that true?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
Selina nodded. “Sir Riftan apparently played a significant role during the battle. They say he managed to hold off an assailing troll army—nearly a thousand in number—with only two hundred knights. He truly is worth a hundred men.”
Despite Selina’s praise for Riftan, Maxi’s face fell. Her blood ran cold as though she had been doused with freezing water.
Trolls were monsters with bull-like proportions, possessed of frightening regenerative powers that allowed them to reattach nearly severed heads—Maxi had seen that gruesome strength firsthand. And yet Riftan had fought athousand of them with an army but a fifth of their number. What in the world was he doing?
Instead of feeling relieved by Selina’s words, Maxi felt her heart spasm. She tentatively opened her mouth. “A-And the casualties?”
“Don’t worry,” Selina assured her. “They say that none of the Remdragon Knights were killed during the battle.”
Maxi’s relief was short-lived, as Selina added hesitantly, “But…I’m told that some were wounded.”
Fear skittered through Maxi’s chest. “D-Do you know who?” she asked frantically. “How many…Are they seriously wounded?”
Selina gave her an apologetic look. “I’m afraid I do not know. The men only told me that some of the Remdragon Knights had been gravely injured and that they stopped advancing after the battle to treat the wounded.”
Maxi scrubbed her pale face with a trembling hand. The faces of the Remdragon Knights quickly flashed through her mind. As long as their bodies were not severely mangled, they should have been promptly healed with divine or healing magic. Still, stopping the advance meant that the injuries were serious.
Maxi was fretting over who had been injured when Idsilla interjected. “Have you heard any news of Elba?”
Selina shook her head. “The only thing I managed to find out is that the Livadonian Royal Knights are camped somewhere near Eth Lene Castle.”
Idsilla sullenly hung her head. Placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder, Selina added reassuringly, “Men from each garrison should come down to Serbin Castle soon for provisions.We should be able to hear more then, so do not worry too much.”
Idsilla brightened a little at Selina’s reassurance. After promising that she would inform them if she learned anything more, Selina hastened away to tend to the tasks she had put off.
Maxi vacantly stared after her for a moment before recovering her composure and returning to her work. Her whole body dripped with sweat and her cheeks burned from lighting the fire, but she found that the dizzying heat helped to dispel her morbid thoughts.
She tried to calm her racing mind as she boiled herbs in a cauldron. After waiting for the tea to cool and feeding it to the patients, she cleaned their wounds with a wet towel and applied some salve. When she was done, she went to help with the meal preparations.
There was barely any time for her to catch her breath. When at last she returned to the women’s tent to rest, she no longer had the energy to even lift a finger. The sweltering tent reeked of sweat and horses. Though the stench made it difficult to breathe, Maxi was too tired to feel repulsed.
Stretched out on her cot like a withered cabbage leaf, Maxi mulled over what to do. There was no way she could continue living like this until the war ended. As she listened to the snores of exhausted women and the buzzing of mosquitoes in the dark, Maxi felt her resolve dwindling.
Her eyes welled up with tears. She missed Riftan terribly, and she also yearned to be back at Calypse Castle. Even so, it had been her choice to come here. Maxi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to harden her wavering heart.
—
The next day was justas busy as the last. Maxi rose before dawn and washed her face in the stream, then went to check on the wounded.
There were three hundred injured men in the camp but only five hierarchs who were capable of divine magic. As a result, the male clerics focused their attention on treating those in critical condition, while the rest were tended to by the female clerics.
After making sure that none among the wounded had died overnight, the women gathered at the tent barracks set up at the center of the camp to distribute herbs. The cleric in charge of directing the female clerics handed each of the women a palm-sized wooden identification tag as he spoke at length.
“As I’m sure you have managed to gather, most of the men are suffering from fractures. Since many are unable to move without assistance, you will have to feed and bathe them. You are to check their conditions twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If any are not lucid or have a fever, you are to inform me immediately.”
Maxi strained her ears to make sure she did not miss anything as the cleric continued his rapid instruction.
