Chương 68: Chapter 043 The Caravan Of The Dead

Anna served the tea and sat down with her own mug and biscuit.

"She bakes all the time." She smiled at Zia.

"Helps me in the kitchen. She's definitely going to be offered Novice Cook and Novice Baker when she's older."

"Best jobs ever." Zia nodded.

"We're thinking of sending her to school after summer." Anna gave Jack a sidelong glance.

"And I'm teaching her about herbs. Might even get her some experience with a healer if I can pull a few strings." Cain took a long sip of his tea and nodded.

"She'd be good at that. She was quick to help me back on the road." Zia smiled up at him, pleased.

"I fed you apple juice and kept you cool while you slept on the road." Cain's eyes widened.

"Really? I was so out of it. The last thing I remember was finding the road to Lundun and resting my eyes for a few minutes. Next thing I knew, I woke up in the Guild's infirmary with a big bill." Zia nodded.

"I put your cloak under your head and used the water to dab your face, and the apples to feed you. And-and when a goblin attacked, I did what Dad did…" Cain interrupted.

"A goblin attacked? One of the undead?" At the mention of the undead, Jack and his mom looked confused. Zia shook her head.

"A normal one, erm, I think. It-it didn't have blue eyes. The wolf got it."

"The wolf?" Cain looked puzzled. Zia glanced at Jack.

"Zia says a wolf with one green and one amber eye protected you through the night," Jack said. Zia nodded in confirmation.

"Though she didn't mention the undead?" He looked down at his half-empty tea mug.

"I've seen that wolf. It followed me for a while when I was injured. It could've attacked, but it didn't. I can't explain it." Cain stroked Zia's hair.

"We saw the wolf the night before. Made me think of Apollo Lycaeus. It must have followed us." He shook his head.

"A living goblin attacked us? While I was unconscious?" he asked the little girl.

"Hm-hmm." Zia nodded.

"It was going to get you, but, but I stood like Daddy with my sword." She frowned.

"Someone stole it! But then the wolf got the goblin and dragged it away. It got more when I was sleepy, and I was keeping you cool. Then, then the mean man came who didn't help. But the nice man gave you a drink of, erm… something, and more water." Anna looked confused.

"Are you saying a goblin attacked you, and you had a sword…" She looked to Cain, who nodded, "…and you were going to fight the goblin, but a wolf got it first?" Zia nodded.

"That's what I said. Yes."

"Okay." Anna nodded with a bewildered look. Jack chuckled.

"You mentioned undead?" Cain nodded.

"The caravan was attacked by hundreds of undead. I know it's hard to believe, but we were chased by them for over two days." He looked down at Zia, who was starting to look anxious.

"They… destroyed the caravan. We were the only two to reach Lundun. Over three hundred people."

"That's terrible." Anna covered her mouth with both hands. Jack scratched the back of his neck.

"That would mean a necromancer." He'd read historical accounts of necromancy in the Royal Library.

"Did some of the undead have glowing blue eyes?"

"Yes." Zia and Cain answered together. Both nodded.

"We never saw him," Cain added, "but there had to be a necromancer herding them. They used tactics. Bad ones. He wasn't a general, but with the numbers, he was effective." He shook his head.

"The Guild and the guard don't believe me. The fools think the pneumonia caused hallucinations." He slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Sorry." He looked to Anna, who smiled.

"They're sayin' it's just another goblin raid. No one wants to believe a necromancer's out there."

"They didn't believe me." Zia clenched her fists.

"The Vircunt wouldn't let us in his nice wagon." Anna shook her head. Jack chuckled. Cain laughed.

"There was a Viscount in the caravan that saved us?" Zia shook her head.

"No. It was before the others. The black wagon stopped, and the men with swords gave you a drink of pink stuff, and some water and food." She paused to think.

"The mean man said something mean and left us."

"Bastard!" Cain spat, making Zia jump.

"Sorry… a Viscount left us on the road to die?" Jack and Anna didn't look surprised. Some nobles were like that. Zia nodded. Cain's eyes narrowed.

"Did you hear them use the Viscount's name?" She shook her head.

"Was there a symbol on the side of the carriage?" Jack asked. Zia nodded.

"A yellow bird carrying a key." Jack narrowed his eyes, scanning his memories.

"Was it an eagle, clutching a key in its talons?" She nodded again, then grabbed another biscuit.

"That sounds like Viscount Rowlings…" Jack muttered.

"He owns a large mansion in Swanwyk. Swanwyk Hall. That's on the road to Brindlecross." He knew Viscount Rowlings from his past life. He'd spent a few weeks at Swanwyk Hall as an Apprentice Scribe, searching the man's private library for references to ancient elven texts.

"Viscount Rowlings," Cain echoed, his left fist clenched in anger. Jack, Anna, Cain, and Zia sat at the kitchen table drinking tea and eating misshapen biscuits. But as the tea cooled and the biscuits dwindled, the silence returned, lurking like a question no one wanted to ask. Cain shifted in his chair, eyes moving to Zia, then to the half-empty biscuit tin. He cleared his throat.

"So, what happens now?" Zia looked between them, confused.

"What do you mean?" Anna set down her mug.

"Where you live, sweetie." Zia frowned.

"Here. With you. And Jack. And Polly. And baby Richard." Cain gave a soft laugh, but his eyes didn't join in.

"I promised you I wouldn't leave. Remember?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She nodded.

"You said you'd look after me. You promised." He looked down at his hook.

"I meant it. But things change. I can't give you what you need. Not like they can." Zia's eyes brimmed with tears.

"You're leaving me? Ev-everybody leaves me."

"No! Not leaving. I'll visit. As often as I can. If your new mom's alright with it." Cain looked to Anna. Anna reached across and put a hand on his.

"You're always welcome here. Anytime." Cain's jaw clenched.

"I'm going to work hard. Save up for a proper clockwork arm. Not this junk." He tapped the hook.

"Costs a small fortune, but it'll make me useful again." He didn't say it aloud, but Jack suspected it wasn't just about gold or glory. Does Cain blame himself for not being strong enough to protect them all? Zia hugged Cain.

"You are useful. You saved me." He smiled and ruffled her hair with his left hand.

"Not for raising kids. You need more than a broken warrior with no coin."

"But I love you," she whispered. Cain closed his eyes.

"I love you, too, little warrior. That's why I'm doing this. You're safe here… better off." He took a deep breath.

"I can't give you this… a loving family." Zia looked over at her new mom, then Jack, and then back at Cain.

"Then you can live here too!" Anna chuckled.

"I wish it were that simple."

"But it is," Zia argued.

"You, you can share Jack's room like I share Polly's." She nodded, having solved the problem. Cain laughed at Jack's expression of shock.

"Tempting, but I'd eat you out of house and home." Anna stood, brushing her hands on her apron.

"Well then, you can at least stay for dinner. I'm not letting a good man leave my house without feeding him first." Cain looked moved.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. You can help peel the carrots," she replied without thinking. Cain laughed.

"I haven't got that attachment yet." He lifted his hooked hand. Jack laughed.

"Looks like I'm on carrot peeling duty." Anna looked horrified.

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Zia looked confused. The giant adventurer chuckled.

"If I can't find humour in this, I might as well give up now." He rhythmically tapped the hook on the table.

"I can always become a one-armed drummer." Anna, Jack, and Zia began preparing dinner while Cain watched. As Zia helped, she kept glancing back at Cain, as if she were trying to memorise him before he disappeared again. From there, dinner came together with an easy rhythm. The smell of roasting vegetables, spiced gravy, and fresh-baked bread soon filled the kitchen, wrapping the space in a cosy warmth.

A stew simmered on the aether stove, and Cain couldn't stop glancing towards it with the hungry reverence of a man too used to dried rations and trail meals. Polly and their father returned just before dinner was ready. After a few awkward introductions, they all sat down to eat a home-cooked meal. Cain took a long sniff of the food and sighed.

"You know, maybe moving in wouldn't be such a bad idea if I get meals like this every night." Jack smirked. If Cain kept getting fed like this, they'd need to reinforce the floorboards. Zia giggled, her eyes bright. And for the first time, Jack saw her truly relaxed. So this was what healing looked like. Laughter over stew, mismatched biscuits, and the slow stitching of broken people into something whole again.

Cain ate like an unwelcome guest at first, surrounded by a family of strangers. He'd never been good at relaxing outside of adventuring. Anna insisted he have seconds. He tried to refuse, muttering something about not wanting to be a burden.

"Nonsense," she said, already piling more stew into his bowl.

"You've lost half your bodyweight since you walked through the door." Cain opened his mouth to protest again, then closed it. The stew was too good. He ate the second bowl faster than the first. When Anna offered thirds, he lifted his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright. You win. Gods, this is better than anything I've had in a tavern… or anywhere really. Most of the time, I'm eating something that I have to guess the species of." Most of his meals were hunched in taverns over mystery meat pies or wolfed down on the road before something tried to eat him. But here, in the warmth of the kitchen, surrounded by the scent of fresh bread and laughter, something began to soften in him. Polly wrinkled her nose.

"Ew."

"How are you not as fat as a cow ready for slaughter?" Cain asked Jack's father. Their dad chuckled.

"I had to learn self-restraint fast." Anna laughed.

"Not at first, you didn't." She patted her stomach.

"I remember the extra belly you grew in your twenties." Her husband gave a rare, hearty laugh.

"Too true. You need a will of iron to live with a great cook." Anna gave him a smile in response to the compliment. Jack's dad turned to Cain.

"That arm giving you much trouble?" Cain glanced at the cheap, hooked prosthetic.

"More annoying than anything. I can't fight with it. And the ones that respond like a real limb cost more than I make in two years." He frowned.

"And that was before I lost an arm." Despite being intimidated by the giant adventurer, Polly couldn't help herself.

"You could always become a bandit… a one-armed bandit." Polly smirked, but Jack could see a hint of apprehension behind the confidence. Cain smiled, then gave a roar of laughter. Other than Zia, they all laughed. Jack explained the joke to Zia, but the little girl from Brindlecross had never seen a slot machine before, so she still didn't find it funny. Their father rubbed his beard.

"I know a dwarven inventor from the Academy. He's a bit odd, but brilliant. He's looking for someone to test a new kind of prosthetic limb. It's an experimental model where they add runic channel inscriptions directly into the severed limb. He claims it'll give better responsiveness than the current mechanical designs." Jack recalled that type of design from his past life. Though they hadn't become widespread due to the cost. 50 gold for the cheaper versions.

They were used by those without the thousands of gold to afford a Master Healer. Cain looked up.

"He's not asking for coin?"

"Not a copper. Just wants detailed feedback. And maybe someone with thick enough skin to handle it if it goes wrong. You could lose more of your arm." Cain considered that for a long moment.

"If it means I can hold a sword again, I'd like his name." Jack's dad nodded and scribbled the contact details down on a slip of paper.

"Tell him I sent you." Cain folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thank you." Their father smiled. By the end of the meal, Cain looked fuller and more at peace than when Jack first met him. When it was time to leave, Zia clung to Cain with one final hug.

"Promise you'll visit?" He hugged her.

"I swear it. Whenever I can."

"You'd better," Zia threatened.

"Or I'll come find you." Cain laughed.

"I don't doubt that, little warrior." Zia smiled at the new nickname. Jack walked Cain to the courtyard outside. The night air was chilled and still. Cain pulled his cloak tighter.

"That mask you were wearing earlier," Cain said as they reached the gate. Jack stiffened. He thought of the adventurers he'd killed and the three that still wanted him dead.

"Yeah?"

"Don't know what kind of trouble you're in. But if you ever need help…" Cain looked him dead in the eye.

"Find me at the Guild." Jack nodded.

"Thanks. I will." He glanced back towards the front door, checking Zia was out of earshot.

"What happened to Zia's family?" Cain frowned.

"During the undead attack, Zia's mother was knocked into a river. Her dad jumped in to save her. Last I saw, Arlen—that's her father—was holding his wife above the water as they were swept downstream."

"Any chance they could survive?" Jack asked.

"Arlen was a Journeyman Warrior, like me." Cain leaned against the wall.

"He served in the King's Army. A good fighter and as brave as they come. I've no doubt he got himself and his wife to dry land. The problem is, the river flows into Wraith's Corridor." He paused to gauge Jack's reaction. Jack's eyes had widened.

"I see you've heard of the place. No one gets out of Wraith's Corridor." Jack nodded.

"Poor kid."

"She's strong-willed." Cain smiled.

"I'm glad she's found a new family. I won't forget this. Need any help, find me at the Guild." He patted Jack on the shoulder with his left hand.

"Anything, Jack. I owe you big time." Jack braced himself. Shit. That's some shoulder pat. He felt like he'd been hit with a rubber mallet.

"Oh, and thank your mother again for the meal." Cain patted his stomach.

"I haven't felt this full in years. You're a lucky man having a mom like that." Jack nodded as he noted a brief, forlorn expression from the huge adventurer.

"She's a wonderful mom." Cain smiled, then turned and vanished into the darkened street, his footsteps fading into the quiet. Jack stood in the gateway for a while, staring after him. The stars above blinked into place, one by one. He watched them, wondering just how many promises a man could make before the world made him break them.

Jack spent a couple of hours creating a partial copy of the encrypted blood magic grimoire from memory using his skills [Perfect Recall] and [Copy Text].

"That's a good start. I'll try to get the unencrypted version done tomorrow." He'd limited what he copied to material that couldn't be used to hurt anyone.

"That should be more than enough to prove Baron Greaves and the others are blood mages." He smiled as he imagined the noble blood mages hanging from a gallows. He put the new pages with the rest of his evidence against Greaves and the others, and got into bed. He planned to anonymously share the information with the Inquisition the following afternoon. If I'm lucky, they'll arrest Greaves before the hunt.

It was a tight timeline, but the Inquisition wasn't known for messing around; they tended to act and worry about the consequences afterwards.