Maxi covered her mouth with a shaking hand. When Ulyseon’s words finally sank in, she was suddenly overcome with the urge to vomit.
Ulyseon looked mournful at Maxi’s sickened expression. “Please consider how devastated Sir Riftan would be if something were to happen to you, my lady.”
“But…But…”
Her face crumpling in anguish, Maxi clutched Riftan’s copper coin. She could not chase the image of the black, rotten ghoul corpses out of her mind. She did not want to end up like that, but the thought of never seeing Riftan again tore at her heart.
She was certain she was not the only one who felt that way. Idsilla had a brother who cared for her greatly. The other female clerics had friends and family of their own, and no soldier wished for death.
Maxi looked at Ulyseon pleadingly. “Then l-let’s…b-bring a few more with us. I-I won’t ask that we take everyone—”
“We cannot turn back, my lady. Imagine the commotion if we did,” Garrow replied, adamantly shaking his head.
The two squires’ woeful expressions reflected her own.
“We also don’t want to abandon the city, my lady,” Ulyseon said miserably. “Please try to understand. For us, Sir Riftan’s orders come first.”
Maxi’s eyes stung with tears. “Th-There is a Livadonian noblewoman wh-who came to Eth Lene with me. She is a mere girl of eighteen…but she c-came because shewas worried about her brother. She said she would see him a-after the war….”
For a moment, Ulyseon’s expression grew troubled before he shook his head. “It would be too dangerous for us to return now, my lady. I am sorry, but your safety is our priority.”
“I-I am not that important! I’m n-not the lofty noblewoman you think—”
She bit her lip as she began shaking with sobs. Garrow watched her with a bewildered expression. He sighed, taking the reins of Maxi’s horse.
“We have no time to waste arguing, my lady. There might be monsters lurking about the city walls. We must cross the gorge before we’re discovered.”
He tugged at the reins, and Maxi’s mount obediently followed. Maxi tried to suppress her tears as he dragged them along.
The faces of the people she cared about flashed through her mind. There was Ruth, who always looked out for her despite his grumbling, and Idsilla, who always tried to act strong despite being tenderhearted deep down. Then there were Hebaron and the female clerics, whom she had unknowingly grown very fondof.
It wouldn’t have made much difference had I stayed in the city. I would have just become one more ghoul that the returning army would have to deal with.
Though she desperately tried to justify escaping, she could not deny that she was abandoning everyone to preserve her own life. Maxi squeezed her eyes shut, tears splattering on the saddle. Her heart sank in a dark, bottomless ocean of helplessness and guilt.
Think of Riftan. Remember your promise to him. You assured him that you’d be careful, that you wouldn’t do anything reckless….
Despite her efforts, tears continued to trickle down her cheeks as they pressed onward. The trio rode wordlessly through the darkened forest. Again and again, Maxi turned to look behind her. She thought she could hear screams echoing from afar. She could not tell if the sounds were real or an auditory hallucination caused by her guilt.
Ulyseon suddenly spoke up. “I think we’ll have to change course.” He caught sight of Maxi’s haggard face and flashed her a sympathetic look. “I sense a horde of monsters coming this way,” he said, his expression hardening. “We should turn back.”
“How many?” Garrow asked gravely.
“About thirty…no, forty.”
“Trolls?”
Ulyseon stared into the dark forest as if he could see through the trees and shook his head. “Kobolds or red goblins, most likely. It’s best we just avoid them.”
Garrow turned his horse around. He then handed Maxi back her reins and said grimly, “We truly cannot go back now, my lady, so please ready yourself and follow our lead.”
Fighting to suppress her sobs, Maxi bobbed her head. Ulyseon took the lead and galloped away. Spurring her horse behind him, Maxi desperately tried to regain her composure. This was not the time for her to be crying like a child. Ulyseon and Garrow could be endangered because of her.
They traveled through the dense forest for about twenty minutes before Ulyseon pointed up the slope. “This way, my lady. We’ll follow this path to cross the mountain.”
The path was so narrow and rugged that it could hardly be called such. Maxi stared at it with dismay. “Do we have to…go up?”
“It’s likely that the monsters sent garrisons up north as well in case we tried to escape. Going around is no longer an option,” Ulyseon explained. “We’ll have to climb over and head east.”
