Realm of Monsters - Chapter 633: Bargain Struck

Chapter 633: Bargain Struck

  Stryga watched in horror as the goddess dragged a helpless Gwyn away by the neck. Gwyn reached her hand out to Stryga, tears in her eyes. “My lady,” she called out silently.

  “Gwyn, I’ll find you, I swear!” Stryga cried.

  Gwyn smiled weakly and whispered, “No, I will find you.”

  Fear turned the corner and Gwyn disappeared from sight. Death dressed himself at the edge of the hot spring, then glanced at his son. “Syrus, pick her up.” He turned without waiting for a response and headed down another tunnel.

  Syrus grabbed Stryga by her shirt and dragged her away. She didn’t fight him, the fight was gone from her. Gwyn was gone. And she was being dragged to her probable execution. It was over.

  The floors passed by in a blur and Stryga found herself staring at a floor of chiseled stone and ornate inlaid gold patterns.

  “Lord Stjerne. Lord Syrus. Welcome,” said an unfamiliar feminine voice.

  Stryga slowly looked up to find herself in a bedroom the size of a temple. Pillars that were closer to works of art stood tall across the room and at its center was a bed fit for giants. A goblin woman, a priestess by the looks of her clothes, stood at the bedside. A figure wrapped in thick blankets sat hunched over in bed, her face obscured, except for a couple of white hair strands strewn about.

  “Hello, Silvana, a pleasure to see you as always.” Stjerne smiled.

  “You honor me, my lord. If I may be so bold as to ask, who is this?” asked the priestess in the same voice Stryga heard earlier.

  “This is the Blue Rose, War Master of Holo’s Shade, Lady Stryga of the Great House of Veres,” Stjerne introduced her with a somewhat sardonic tone.

  “You…” Silvana narrowed her yellow eyes.

  “Leave us,” spoke a somber voice from within the blankets.

  “My lady— Very well…” Silvana bowed and left, but not before giving Stryga a death glare.

  Syrus bowed and left in silence as well.

  The blankets fell away, revealing a woman, no, a goddess, whose beauty was marred only by the dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept in a fortnight.

  “Lunae,” Stryga mumbled in recognition.

  “This is the one I met in that village,” said Stjerne.

  “And spared,” Lunae noted, annoyed.

  Stjerne didn’t respond to that. “I had Syrus search for her as you requested, it took him a few days, but he succeeded.”

  Lunae stared at the stump where Stryga’s left arm had once been. “Did you do this to her? Or was it Syrus?”

  “Neither.” Stjerne to Stryga. “How did you lose your arm?”

  “Do not lie to us, I will be able to tell,” warned Lunae.

  Stryga took a shaky breath and recounted the tale of how she had ventured into Vulture Woods, encountered a small company of Lunisian soldiers, spotted a dragon, and fought the beast. “…After I stabbed the dragon in the neck with my sword she escaped, though she seemed severely wounded. I do not know if she survived. I collapsed from my injuries and the next thing I knew I was recovering in one of the soldier’s tents. That was when— Syrus found me.”

  “What made you decide to rush into Vulture Woods like a fool? Were you not aware of the dangers lurking in this forest?” asked Lunae.

  “I was aware, but it was a risk I needed to take. So many have already died because of what we did at Lunis. I swear I never intended to raze Lunis, only cripple its military. I know we were in the wrong. I only hope that you give us a chance to—”

  “My city is gone. My people are gone. My brother is—” Lunae clenched her jaw and breathed in deeply. “You say you did not intend to murder countless innocents? Is that what you would tell their families? Would you tell their parents that you did not intend to murder their sons and daughters? Perhaps you didn’t kill them with your own hands, but you still led the soldiers who did. Their blood is on your hands.”

  Stryga bowed her head in shameful silence. What could she say? What in all the world could somehow make right the evils her army had committed?

  “I do not care what you came here for,” said Lunae. “I do not care if you think saving a few of my soldiers somehow might balance the scales of the lives you took.”

  “I never—”

  “Silence!” Lunae roared. “You deserve to die, Stryga Veres. But I will not give you that luxury. You will live out the rest of your days knowing the full weight of your sins. In Vulture Woods. You will never see your home again. You will never see your family again. You will feel the pain that you inflicted upon my goblins.”

  Stryga paled but she dared not speak.

  “Death, her magic,” said Lunae.

  “As you wish.” Stjerne grabbed Stryga by the shoulder and hoisted her up. With his other hand, he placed the flat of his palm on her sternum. A sudden burning sensation stabbed into her heart like a stake. She couldn’t help but scream in pain, her body spasming uncontrollably. Finally, he released her and she crumpled to the floor and curled herself into a fetal position, shivering and covered in sweat. The burning sensation was still there, albeit dulled.

  “He has sealed your mana. You will never be able to cast a spell again. Let us see how you survive in these woods without your precious chromatic magic,” sneered Lunae.

  Stryga slowly looked up at her, her teeth chattering. “D-Do what you wish with me, but please spare the people of Holo’s Shade. They are innocent.”

  “Were my people not innocent? You are in no position to ask for anything,” Lunae scoffed.

  Stjerne knelt on one knee and looked at Stryga, his gaze firm, but curious. “What is your ask?”

  Lunae frowned, “Death, what are you—?”

  Stjerne held his hand up, cutting her off. He glanced back at Stryga and asked once more. “What is your ask?”

  She licked her chapped lips and swallowed the little saliva in her mouth. “I… Please, spare the people of Holo’s Shade. They have nothing to do with this war.”

  “On the contrary, the people of your city are very much involved in this war. They do not care what happened to Lunis. They wished their soldiers well as they marched off to slaughter children sleeping in their beds. Still,” Stjerne tapped his fingers on his knee. “I will spare Holo’s Shade if you agree to my terms. However, the soldiers already out in the field, alongside the Ebon Lords who were involved in this war will all die.”

  The Ebon Lords would not have agreed to declare war upon Lunis unless they had all agreed upon it in one of their council meetings. They were all a part of this, save perhaps for Atreus Thorn, he was still only an Ebon Aspirant.

  Stryga swallowed. “What are your terms?”

  “I want you to have a child and ensure that your bloodline continues to survive. Someday, I will return to your family and your descendant’s life will be forfeit to me. Whether that descendant is your child, grandchild, or someone further along, it does not matter. Their life will be mine. Do this and I will spare your precious city.”

  “My child…? What do you want with my child?”

  “You don’t have the luxury to be concerned by such things, do you? So, which shall it be, the life of one of your own or the innocent lives of tens of thousands? The choice is yours and it is fleeting.”

  Panic began to set in Stryga’s heart. “Spare my friend, Gwyn. She only came here to help me. She has done nothing wrong.”

  He shook his head. “I would, but your friend’s life has already been claimed by my sister and Fear does not like her toys taken away.”

  “Can you not convince her?”

  “I could, but I am already sparing a city and incurring the wrath of my wife for this bargain. You are simply not worth the extra effort, mortal.”

  Gwyn was gone. The horrid truth of that statement settled into Stryga like a sword into her gut. She pinched her eyes shut and resented her own weakness and mistakes. “…Is there anything else?”

  “Anything else?” Stjerne cocked his head to the side.

  “Some sort of trick or loophole to this deal? If I accept, will you still take the lives of others that I am not aware of? Like the villages under Holo’s Shade’s protection?”

  “Oh, no, nothing like that,” Stjerne laughed, a melodic sound. “I am not a liar or some trickster. I am reasonable. If you keep your end of the bargain so shall I. Of course, if you fail to keep it, then I will destroy your city and all who dwell within, as originally intended. Not that I think you would ever break your word, Miss ‘honorable’ Blue Rose.” 

  “I see.” She tried to hide a grimace.

  He raised his index finger, “There is one caveat, however. You cannot tell anyone about our little deal, if you do, you will die.”

  “…Anything else?”

  “Nothing else. No hidden tricks, no more deaths. See? Reasonable.”

  Stryga closed her eyes in defeat. “I agree to your terms.”

  He smiled and sliced his index fingertip with his own canine. Then he placed his finger in the open wound on her shoulder. Stryga winced as a cold sickening feeling stretched through her body, like roots settling into place. “The bargain is struck. Now,” Stjerne stood up and pointedly ignored Lunae’s suspicious glare. “Syrus will escort you back.”

  But Stryga was no longer listening. Her mind was beginning to wander into darkness, pain and exhaustion taking her. She begged forgiveness from her descendant who had yet to be born. “I’m sorry,” she whispered over and over until all she knew was darkness.

~~~

  Stryga awoke to the sound of crushing leaves and the sight of her legs dragging behind her. Her head swung from side to side as two pairs of shoulders hoisted each of her arms and carried her through the forest.

  She forced herself to look up and recognized the two goblins. One was Sevryn, the healer who had taken care of her wounds. The other was— Drale, was it? He had been on guard duty on the river where she had met Sevryn a second time.

  “Good, you’re awake. Can you stand?” asked Sevryn.

  She could move her legs, but the moment she tried to put weight on them they turned into wet noodles. “I can’t,” she admitted, ashamed. How low had she fallen?

  “It’s alright, we’re near camp,” Sev assured her.

  Though his words were true, she was exhausted and injured. The short walk felt like a long trek up a steep mountain. Finally, they spotted the camp in the distance.

  “We’re almost there.” Sev wiped the seat off his face. Even if she wasn’t particularly heavy, she was much taller and heavier than any goblin.

  “Why are you helping me?” Stryga muttered.

  “We found you all alone during patrol. Well, Drale found you. I was simply taking a walk to get out of camp for a while. When I spotted Drale carrying you by himself I had to help. You’re lucky you weren’t eaten. Gods only know there are countless hungry beasts around here.”

  “Why did you help me? You could have just left me,” Stryga glanced at Drale.

  Drale grunted.

  “Why help your enemy? I don’t deserve your help…” Stryga whispered.

  “…You saved my life. If it weren’t for you the dragon would have slaughtered us all,” Drale replied in a gruff voice. “I owe you a life debt.”

  “You owe me nothing,” Stryga muttered weakly. How many goblins had she inadvertently condemned through her actions? She didn’t deserve these people’s pity.

  “Our people take life debts seriously,” explained Sev.

  “Why do you think the captain hasn’t already killed you?” Drale added.

  “Good to know…” Stryga thought of Stjerne’s bargain. If she were to die now then everyone she loved back home would die as well. She needed to survive. For their sake, she would not die.