Maxi had been sick with worry even before the appearance of these creatures; now she was close to losing her mind entirely. After half a day of tending to the wounded while trying to ignore the noise, she was at the end of her tether. Distraught, she went to see Ruth.
“Ruth…c-can’t we send the spirits away with magic?” she asked desperately.
They were in the sorcerer’s small tent located next to the Remdragon Knights’ barracks. Ruth looked up from the parchment he had been scribbling on. He had clearly been working on the rune for Hebaron’s injury, as his desk was piled with reams of parchment filled with complex runes.
Ruth wearily pushed the parchment aside, rubbing his eyes. “Are you referring to the banshees? We could, but we’d be jabbing a hornets’ nest. We would have to deal with far more dangerous things than just their wailing if we anger them. If divine magic wasn’t enough to drive them away, then it’s best to simply leave them alone.”
“B-But…they’re making everyone anxious,” Maxi whimpered. “Even the patients are growing restless.”
“They’ll be gone in a day at most. They’ll leave once they’ve cried their hearts out. Seeing as you’re here, my lady, would you mind helping me with this?” He handed her something that resembled a flat tray.
Maxi accepted the item before she knew what she was doing. “Wh-What’s this?”
“It’s a magical device for the ramparts. It should be easier now that you have experience making one.” Flipping the polished monster bone, Ruth pointed to the intricate engraving. “You only have to engrave this rune on this spot right here.”
Maxi hesitated. “B-But I don’t know how…. I only copied runes onto parchment last time.”
“It’s not that different from drawing on parchment. You just have to squeeze the rune into this empty spot. I would like to do it myself, but I already have my hands full trying to break Sir Hebaron’s curse.”
Ruth looked worn out as he rubbed his neck. Seeing that his exhaustion far outweighed hers, Maxi pulled out a chair and sat down without another word. She mused that having something to do might help to calm her nerves.
The white disk appeared to be made of wyvern bones. She carefully began sketching the rune on the underside.
Contrary to her hopes, her concerns for Riftan and the banshees’ wailing made it difficult to focus. After running her shaky fingers over the smooth surface of the magical device, Maxi clutched her forehead.
“I can’t do it. M-My head feels empty….”
Ruth heaved a sigh. “Worrying won’t change anything, my lady.”
“You know…it’s not something I can control. I’m not l-levelheaded like you, Ruth. I feel sick with worry that s-something bad might happen. I-I can’t stop thinking…that the banshees are a bad omen….” Maxi looked up at Ruth with teary eyes and bit her lip. “Riftan said…he’ll start an all-out war. What if we lose? Wh-What will happen then?”
“My lady, the Remdragon Knights have overcome greater adversities than this. You must trust in Sir Riftan. Besides…” Ruth trailed off, and his expression grew skeptical. “I’m not sure if Sir Riftan can successfully turn it into a full-scale war. The trolls are well aware that it’s to their advantage to drag this war on. They won’t be baited so easily.”
“B-But…i-isn’t there a battle raging as we speak?”
“It’s merely one of many skirmishes launched by the monsters to chip away our numbers. They used the same tactic to capture several of our castles. Trolls have limitless regeneration. They can heal themselves of any wound in a day, while humans cannot. They know that fighting more battles will give them the upper hand, so they’ll likely avoid entering an all-out confrontation. And with the coalition army in such disarray…I doubt they’ll manage to lure the monsters out.”
Maxi’s face fell at Ruth’s explanation. Even after hearing that an all-out war was unlikely, her heart only felt heavier.
She felt like a child desperately trying to hold off a whipping. Even if the men were able to overcome the current crisis, it would only delay the inevitable, bloody conclusion. It would be better for them to end this war while the odds were still in their favor.
Collecting herself, Maxi picked up her quill once more. If Riftan was successful, they could return to Anatol at the end of this battle.
For once, Maxi prayed that Ruth was wrong. She wanted this torturous period to be over as quickly as possible. Gnawing her lip, she tried once more to focus her attention on outlining the rune.
By the time the rain clouds retreated and the sun beamed across the sky, the banshees disappeared along with the mist. Still, the trepidation brought about by their visit hung over the castle. The faces of the soldiers were strained with a new tension, while the female clerics spoke less and less each day.
Maxi desperately kept herself busy to keep the heavy air from crushing her under its weight. Attempting to drive theuseless thoughts from her head, she dutifully tended to the twenty or so men remaining in the infirmary during the day. At night, she helped Ruth search for a way to break Hebaron’s curse or worked on the magical device for the ramparts.
True to Ruth’s predictions, a large-scale battle did not happen. Reports stated that the monsters had retreated when the scale of the battle began to grow. The coalition army had given chase, but the unfavorable terrain had forced them to fall back mid-pursuit.
In the end, they suffered forty-six casualties, and the war returned to a state of inconsequential skirmishes. The infirmary, which had managed to empty two-thirds of its cots, once again became packed with wounded soldiers. Maxi heaved a sigh as she surveyed the influx of patients. The accuracy of Ruth’s prediction gave her goosebumps. While it would merely take half a day for the trolls to fully recuperate, it would no doubt take at least a week for the women to treat all the injured.
The coalition army was bound to dwindle the longer the war dragged on. Maxi was certain Riftan knew this as well. Even while bustling about the infirmary, she could not stop worrying that he might wage a reckless battle out of impatience.
Her worst fear was that Riftan would be struck with an incurable curse similar to Hebaron’s. From what Ruth had discovered so far, the most efficient way to break the curse was to kill its source. However, locating the creature responsible among the army of monsters was like finding a needle in a haystack. Even if they were to win the war, they would have no means of tracking down the creature if it managed to survive. Hebaron would likely suffer a slow and agonizingdeath. The thought that Riftan might suffer the same fate rendered Maxi frozen with fear.
She irritably scrubbed at her ashen face. The lack of sleep over the past few days made her head throb, and she constantly felt dizzy. She tried to empty her racing mind as she stirred a pot of herbs on a brazier.
