The floorboards creaked and groaned under the weight of myself and the unconscious man on my shoulder as we entered the dimly lit log house. A fire that had burned low still offered the occasional flicker of flame though was mostly glowing embers now, which issued a light smoke i thought was most welcome as it helped cover the strong scent of blood that had begun to hand dense in the air and pool across the timber. We approached gingerly so as not to startle the woman in front of us now sitting amongst two deceased men. It was Edgar who offered the first words to break the heavy silence.
"Maise, you have to get out of her."
"No."
She was still crying and clutching her dead husband to her chest.
"The Lord of the Trees is going to try something."
She looked up weakly at me, eyes flooded with tears.
"Flower Lord… Can you bring back my Greg? Please, can you?"
"I don't know, but i want to try something, and every second matters, so please leave him here for now and I'll try my best."
Maise nodded confirmation and with a brave look, stood unsteadily, nearly toppling over as Edgar leapt to her side. Her tartan dress was soaked through from chest to tail in blood both from her husband and the bandit nearby. I had to briefly look away and compose myself once more as she rushed out of the house with Edgar supporting her under one arm. I shut the door behind them and formed a sharp wooden knife in my left hand before separating it.
"What do you plan to do here."
"Just checking a hypothesis"
Lowering the unconscious bandit down from my shoulder and laying him next to Greg, I reached out and held my finger over the stab wound on the deceased husband's chest.
[Healing Herbs]
The familiar liquid dripped from my finger and immediately began to work stitching back together the flesh as it had done twice before.
"Simply healing him won't bring him back to life."
"Yes, Yes, just shut up for a second."
Next i placed the knife in Gregs lifeless hands, and tying his fist shut with small vines around the handle, lifted his arms and plunged the knife rather crudely into the bandit's throat. It wasn't a proud moment for me, killing a defenceless man, but i had to test this none the less. confirming visually that the knife had severed the artery, i leapt to my feet, and then from the blood-soaked room that now resembled an abattoir more than a home and sprinted through the clearing to the gathered villagers.
"What's going on, is my Greg ok?"
"Please just wait here, I can't guarantee anything. All we can do is wait."
Maise began to sob uncontrollably again. Eline had joined the villagers now and had an arm wrapped around her trying to comfort her.
"There, there Maise."
Eline looked up at me sorrowfully but worked up a smile and mouthed silently at me Thank you.
I wasn't sure i should be thanked. Sure, I had saved her the night before, but they likely wouldn't have been attacked if i had been smarter about it. No. No I did what i had to do at the time. My mind was in turmoil and there was still the issue of returning to the three i had rescued earlier from the hideout, and Gerard was still on the loose. I don't know how long those injuries will keep him down for. This new life was beginning to weigh on me. There seemed to as much death as the jungles I'd fought in some fifty thousand years ago. The clearing had grown tense, and the villagers had begun discussing the next steps to take with the bandits who remained alive.
Edvar walked back over to me from a group of men that included his son, deep in discussion and ventured a question on what had transpired within the house after he had left. I had opened my mouth but didn't have time to answer. Just then a scream launched from the mouth of Maise, and she set off at a bound towards her house. Greg had stepped into the light of the clearing and bracing himself on the doorframe of his house, looked out at the village in a daze. Maise nearly tackled him from his feet as she embraced him.
"Ohh Greg, Ohh my Greg, you're ok."
Greg was clearly still delirious but that didn't stop the rest of the village running to his side and joining Maise in the perhaps a little over zealous embraces of celebration.
"Incredible"
{You like that?}
"No-one has ever used The System to resurrect the dead before. We understand the mechanisms behind it, but how did you come to that conclusion?"
{I figured that if Greg killed the person who killed him and he absorbed the light, The System would take the path of least resistance and restore his consciousness rather than rewire a brain to match the bandits. Of course, i had to make sure his body was capable of staying alive afterwards.}
"You really are something else."
The crowd of villagers had begun cheering and Greg seemed to have regained his senses for the most part and was now in a deep embrace with Maise. Both were now crying and laughing and the mood of the village suddenly felt much lighter. I still had more work to do, however. Proceeding from building to building, i healed any of the villagers who were injured and after half an hour finally managed to sit down on the cool grass. It was finally over. My body was completely exhausted and beaten to its limits. Gerard had really done a number on me with that last kick.
"Lord of Trees"
"Please just call me Selwyn"
"I told you he's Flower Lord" Maise chimed in with a laugh and a wink. "Told me so himself he did"
Edvar, Edgar and Eileen had gathered around me now and offered a hand to pull me back to my feet. I was thankful for this as i wasn't certain i'd be standing again by myself again that night. Edvar took the lead as elder and broke into a discussion that sounded to me as partly a sales pitch. I tried to follow on the best i could however my mind was wandering back to the lake now and the young group of siblings i'd left alone there in the cold.
"And i think that's why you should do it"
"Huh? ahh yeah sure."
"Fantastic!"
The three presents cheered out in unison. Great smiles of relief had broken out across their faces and i suddenly found myself wishing I'd been paying attention. What had i just agreed to?
"Look, I've got to head back down to the lake. There were some people i rescued earlier and i need to make sure they are safe."
"Of course, Flower Lord. We will send my son Edgar here down with you to help for tonight and in the morning a full group will join you to start the relocation and cleaning out this lot of their treasure."
I glanced over at the bandits but my capacity to take in any more of what was going on was gone. I simply nodded and set off towards the edge of the village once more, hoping to finally get some rest. The Villagers had secured all the separately now and stationed two men with axes to watch over them. Edgar called out to me as i passed the line of bound men.
"I'll just be one minute then I'll catch up with you."
Nodding, i left the village and continued down the path once more. I was thankful to be away from the noise and glad that i didn't have my detection senses up for what followed.
Edgar caught up to me only five minutes later with a large pack filled with cooking utensils, food and other miscellaneous objects he thought necessary for an overnight trip to the lake.
"Sorry for the weight, i just had to help setting up for the execution."
"Execution?"
"We've never done one before in our village so were not sure what you will need when the time comes."
"What are you talking about?"
"When you kill the bandits. their light is yours Flower Lord."
"I don't plan on executing anyone."
Edgar looked visually confused at this last remark, as if I'd just turned down my share wealth and riches.
"Are you saying you're offering us the light?"
"I'm saying we should hand them over to the authorities and collect the bounties, right?"
"But then Castle Holm will just kill them, take their light and offer us some coin."
"Jesus Christ this place is brutal."
"What is Jesus? Sorry I'm not familiar with that term."
"Forget it, for now I just want to get to the lake then sleep."
We trudged on down the rest of the hill in silence and the journey passed by without incident. No way am I executing people tomorrow.