Chapter 51: What the hell just happened?

Since I used so much strength earlier, fighting the wizard and then healing myself, I had to put off healing myself again. With Chandra's efforts getting the last of the poison and completely draining the last of my reserves. I didn't even notice that there was some left until I thought about it. I wanted to see if I could heal specific spots, and not use too much power instead of the brute force method that it felt like I had been using. But now that was going to have to wait until after I recovered some of my strength.

Thinking about that house, I still hadn't looked into the pouches to see what they contained. My guess was that a couple of the pouches held coins, since I heard a tell-tale clinking when I picked them up.

Hell if I had been thinking, I probably could have just used my sword to lift the bar in the office where I killed Steven. Chandra should have told me. But then I am her teacher, it is my job to teach her.

Thank you, Bright Lady, for keeping me healthy. Now I just need the wisdom of the Gods to figure out how I am going to deal with two princesses without them throwing me off a cliff.

I received a playful smile in return. If I didn't know better I would have thought that she was laughing at me.

Must be my imagination.

I wasn't going anywhere so I lay back and relaxed, biding my time before I could use my healing again. Tomorrow was going to be nasty; unless most of the soldiers fled, I would end up having too many and not enough hung. I planned on relying on their selections as to the worst. The rest were going to be tasked with cleaning that house. That was punishment in itself.

Heh. They are going to hate me. The barracks are going to reek of burnt flesh for a while. And that house, making them parade through that house will hopefully think twice about letting maniacs roam free.

I rested, ate, and healed for the rest of the day. Both ladies checked on me, but neither would actually enter my room. I knew they weren't colluding, but worried nonetheless. Grant, thankfully, was keeping away from me, and I informed Gallor in no uncertain terms that if he bothered me I'd throw him out the window. I knew that he was not brave enough to try anything, in the hope that I would be leaving soon.

The cook herself brought my dinner to me, all fruits and vegetables with dipping sauces for each. I thanked her, and thanked Chandra silently for remembering to keep meat off the menu. The cook's earlier dislike of me seemed to have evaporated. I even got a tentative smile with dinner. One of the ladies must have had a word or two with her.

I actually went to sleep at dusk with a little help from my diminishing first aid kit.

Armand was sitting on a chair outside my open door when I awoke. From his position he could see all three of our doors on this floor.

It looked like the ladies thought that I needed to be watched over, too. Not that I could blame them. I was out of it last night.

"Morning, Armand. Did you have a quiet night?" I asked while slowly rolling over to sit up.

"Yes, Milord."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Sitting was not as bad as I expected. I glanced down at the stitches and saw that they were healing well. Better than well, actually. I would say phenomenal, if I hadn't seen what magical healing could accomplish. A single night's rest was equivalent to a week's worth of normal healing, maybe more.

Someone brought me fresh water last night, and I used it to clean up. My razor was on its last legs, but I was not about to start using a straight razor just yet. I used one of the towels as a bib, I needed to keep the stitches as dry as possible.

"Would you wake Chandra, Armand?" I wanted backup today, and I'd rather her than anyone else.

"Right away, Milord." I could hear him knock as I started dressing.

"Armand, I would like you and Hector to keep an eye on Lady Megan while Chandra and I see to the soldiers," I said to the quiet soldier when he returned to his post.

"Word is that you killed the wizard, Milord." That was a first, I don't remember Armand ever initiating a conversation with me.

"Yes, he and the garrison commander; Sergeant Tate."

"Be careful, Milord." I took that as a dire warning. He had to be worried to venture that much.

"I shall. I will also take care of Chandra." He nodded as if he expected nothing less.

I went downstairs for an early breakfast, I was famished. The cook was already in the kitchen making bread. There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread. I greeted her and asked for breakfast for two. She was so surprised that I treated her like a normal human being that she had problems addressing me.

"Was there a problem taking the child back to her parents?"

"No, Milord."

"Make sure that the girl sees a priestess, preferably one from the Earth Mother. She will probably have nightmares for a while, and will need someone to talk to."

"Yes, Milord."

"Good. And thank you again for taking her home, I appreciate it. For our meals today, I don't think that either Chandra or I will want any meat." With that, I left so that she could start my breakfast.

Chandra joined me just as the cook brought out our breakfast.

I outlined my plan for the morning, I figured that all of the men were guilty of turning a blind eye. For those, I was going to have walk through the house and clean it. The ones that participated would die, hopefully by hanging. Chandra would not be going upstairs. That was not something that I thought that she needed to see. I had hoped to be able to keep her on the main floor by relying on her to protect my back.

She might have accepted my orders to protect Megan last night and act like a good Postulant. That, however, did not extend to this morning. I could see the infatuation in her gaze. She had all night to think about it and probably did.

"Chandra." I had her attention all morning, I needed less of it if someone did something stupid.

"Yes, My Lord."

"I need you to focus. There will be a lot of trained soldiers that won't be happy with me. It will be your job to watch for the unexpected. Don't hesitate to strike first if you feel that they are about to attack."

"Of course." That brought back her spoiled teenaged girl attitude.

"Good. Remember that."

It was almost dawn, and I wanted to be at the barracks before the men scattered for the day. Of course the best laid plans can always be destroyed by a beautiful woman walking in the room dressed and ready to accompany us to the morning activities. And she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Are you sure that you want to come, My Lady? This won't be pleasant."

"I am sure, My Lord," she stated in no uncertain terms.

Yea.

Having Hector and Armand dressed and flanking her was a sure sign that she had already made up her mind.

"Morning Hector, I'm not sure of the reaction that I will get this morning. If the locals give the slightest excuse I need you to remove Lady Megan from the area. I don't care if you have to toss her over your shoulder and run, just keep her safe." I addressed the men, both saluted me. The no nonsense behavior of these two let me sleep better at night. I would have to think of a suitable reward once we were settled somewhere.

"I am not made of porcelain, Charles."

"Tough, it is that or not go. If I say run, you run." She did not look pleased at my tone and my words.

Maybe a little diplomacy might help before she bit my head off. "Megan, until I deliver you to your father, your safety is my primary concern. I will not let you be harmed."

"Yes, My Lord, you've made sure that is abundantly clear." My eardrums frosted over. There would be a price for restricting her.

I led us to the barracks. Our procession caused people to open their shutters and stare. They knew trouble when they saw it, in a town this small. The news must have flown like wildfire yesterday.

I decided against knocking this time, and just opened the door and walked in. They needed to believe that I had a right to tell them what needed to be done. Megan had that right, but I wanted to shelter her as much as possible from this.