With Fingers Crossed Behind Back
Nila's home or rather poorly constructed hut made out of twigs and what not, is not too far away from the place we met. On top of it, a weird ball of blue light is shining which does not look unsettling, however, I tense up since there is no way for me to run in case this is something dangerous. Nila notices my reaction to the light and explains its purpose.
"Do not worry about it, this is "Polaris" which scares off darewolfs and other monsters that are terrified of magic. It also… actually never mind, lie here for a moment, I will collect some medicinal herbs, if I find any. Do not take off that arrow."
I raise a brow at her abrupt change of subject, but before I am able to ask anything, she flings me into the hut and cancels the levitation magic. Then all I can hear are her receding footsteps on top of grass. If I remember correctly Polaris is the name of the north star, beacon of the night and sailors best friend. I am not sure if I was told about it from any of the gang members or by orphanage kids, but for some reason this information is stuck in my head. Perhaps, to find a north star is my dream? Or rather I feel jealous for whoever has something to live for? Right now it does not matter, I have a goal in life, an impossible one, but with great reward. I will be living for this reward until the very end, even taking a helping hand of a weird woman whom I nearly killed.
Yet, as I am staring at the ugly ceiling of the hut which seems like it can shatter at the slightest whim of nature, I can't help but wonder why she would help someone like me? Well, she does not know about my deeds yet, but there is another oddball who showed total disregard for common sense and honour. Heindrich, no matter what I did, continued yapping about his wish to save me. Even the judging gazes of his own comrades did not shut his lousy mouth, even my own words and actions had but futile effort to change his mind. What kind of motive might be behind it? Could he be an enemy, an agent or even a friend of Solitaire? At least this connection is the only explanation that I see.
And right after I reach some flimsy conclusions, I hear the sound of footsteps getting closer. I immediately panic and take out a twig out of the hut to protect myself, regretting the abandonment of my dagger. But as soon as I see Nila's hair slipping into the tent, I relax a bit and have a look at her hands. They are full of some plants I do not recognize, a paste in a small bowl and a weird green rope.
"Very well, now brace yourself, since it will hurt." she explains casually to which I do not bat an eye, but as soon as she pulls out the arrow out of my thigh, I yell in pain, "WHAT THE FUCK?"
She narrows her brows at me, then grabs the paste from the bowl with her fingers and applies it to the wound from an arrow. The intensity of pain increases, I scream once again, but this time Nila takes the twig out of my hand and sticks it into my mouth as if I am some kind of dog, "Just bite on something, no need to be this noisy."
Her words make me huff in annoyance, but I do not say anything, mostly because my teeth are clenching this twig. It does not taste of moisture which indicates that this shelter is good enough to protect the inhabitant from the rain. Seems like I judged her building skill too harshly, I doubt I would be able to achieve the same result. After the paste is put into my wound, she applies some leaves around it and ties them with that rope as a cherry on top.
"Well, then, let it stay for a day, and then I will use another healing spell, which should put you back on your two. As for your shoulder, I guess you should just walk it off."
"And what kind of suggestion is that?" I ask through the twig in my mouth, to which Nila shrugs and replies, "I only know how to treat something before applying healing spells. If it does not fix up your arm as well, then I am not sure what else you should do about it. I am not a doctor after all."
She sits beside me, but not too close, still keeping her distance. She takes the book out of her suitcase that I did not notice once we arrived here, and starts flipping its pages in silence. I keep silent, assuming she has something to say about magic or medicine, but after a while she sighs and nonchalantly says.
"You should take a bath tomorrow, this is rather hard to read with you around."
Even though I cross my hands, I can clearly feel that there is no malice or attempt to hurt my feelings in her words. Seems like she is straightforward like that, which is not a bad thing, since I can expect fewer lies from her. Thus, after further consideration I only sigh at her words and continue observing this elf.
Despite her displeasure, she continues skimming across the book, clearly showing that there was not any goal to show me something. Nila reads because she feels like it and my presence does not interest her in the slightest. What a strange woman. Not only does she help a man lying in dirt in the middle of nowhere out of simple pleas, but also shows a lack of interest in why I happened to be here in the first place. However, most concerning is the fact that she helps someone who attacked her. From her explanation, elfs are far more accepting of the concept of death, but would any elf be fine with spending time with someone who nearly took their lives? In the end, she was about to abandon me at first, but something made Nila change her mind.
"Nila, why did you choose to help me?"
"Because you asked me to." she says while still buried in her book.
"But it just does not make any sense! I attacked you, yet you still accept and help me. And I did not hear any of your demands, do you mean that you do not expect anything in return? Anyone would be suspicious of that!"
She raises her eyes from the book, but does not face me, instead directs them at the ceiling. Her listless expression does not change, which confuses me even further. How can anyone be this calm all the time?
"I guess this is a natural way of doing things in the Schöltum region, huh?" she lowers her chin now facing me, for the first time I can see her smile, "Very well, if you are so eager to make this a fair deal, then how about you escort me out of the Schöltum region? Preferably to Dlayla."
"Dlayla? Why?" I tilt my head. The Dlayla region, as I remember, is neighbouring Schöltum.
"I do not like it here, the money I collected throughout the region is worthless here, that's why I do not see the point in staying here."
So she yearns for refuge in another place due to the lack of use for money? Perhaps, we are not so different after all. After hearing her reasoning, I smile back at her and nod in approval.
"Sounds good to me. As I heard, these regions are divided by a narrow strip through the monster realm. I guess you need protection?"
"No, no, I just need assistance in traversing these lands… I am not very good with direction." she murmurs and turns away while her ears drop. But then she adds, "I do not think you will be much of help in the monster realm anyway."
"Not much of help?" I narrow my brows and clear my throat, trying to sound as stern as possible, "I already killed the darewolf that wandered into this region, so you know." With Solitaire's assistance, but my point still stands, I can fight. I also killed the mage, Michael Crawley, but prefer to keep it to myself for the time being.
Nila squints at me, carefully observing my whole body. After a few seconds she speaks up, "I can hardly believe it, considering your body build. But if that's true, then that would be helpful."
"How do you think I ended up here in the first place!? I was fighting the darewolf, but then stabbed in the back by my comrades once I took its life."
It is a lie, but I can't slip her underestimating my abilities, I am way better than you think! And judging by the thoughtfulness in her expression, my little made up story works, thus I should not tell her any more about it. Then, she stands up and comes up close to extend her hand.
"Then let it be a deal, for helping you recover, you will navigate me into the Dlayla region."
I extend my right hand and firmly grasp hers. But after a second, my grip weakness, feeling the discomfort in her touch. It is rare to see anyone whose hand is smaller than mine, which makes this exchange slightly uncomfortable. Yet Nila's gaze is brazen with pride, as if she strikes a good deal here and now. She does not realise that her goal is the same as mine for the time being, thus this deal falls into my favour.