World Witout Wizards: Guard

"Shut up!" Lysandra's bossy voice sounded. There was utter silence.

No matter how hard I tried to summon the spider again, I couldn't do it. I thought I was lost, but a few minutes later, I heard the guards and Lysandra bickering at the door.

"Do you want me to come in, master?" she asked in a deliberately loud voice. "I came here on your order." I couldn't answer. The girl was playing to the crowd. "I'm sorry I'm late, these warriors are simply unbearable."

"They can actually communicate without words" one of the guards exclaimed with respect and admiration.

"As you command, master," Lysandra nodded and walked to the door, slamming it in front of the guards.

Then she sighed softly and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Now tell me, how did you manage to drink the elixir of awakening with no preparation and survive? Why aren't you answering? Nod if you can hear me!"

Luck Check

Base 1

Bonus 0

Dice Roll 1

Requirement 3

Failure

But, I was too weak to nod, I could only blink. But the short-sighted girl didn't notice it. Unfortunately, I couldn't speak or mumble, so I just lay on the bed like a rag doll.

"You're lucky. I've noticed your magic spider. Vasilisa was so frightened of the insect that she screamed and alarmed all the guards. Do you know that tomorrow you, me and Vasilisa will be taken to the Northern capital? If we leave here before we can prove the house belongs to you, they'll take everything."

The girl sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was very tired, the events of the last few days had exhausted her as much as the torture she had endured. Her wounds were healing much slower than mine. Most of her body was still covered in bandages. But even with the bandages, she looked very exciting. However, my dirty thoughts quickly faded... I was depleted…

"You're lucky," Lysandra said thoughtfully, "if I hadn't lived so many years with the warlock and didn't know what magic could do to a person, you'd be dead. But after all these years, I've learned what to do. Now Vasilisa is cooking a nutritious mutton broth, so you'll drink it. The healing potions could restore you as well, but unfortunately Oulsast brewed them in secret, so I can't cook them up; moreover, I can't smell the magic in his house. The damn soul slavery has exhausted me."

The girl was silent for a few minutes. I knew what she was thinking. If we hadn't gone to the lake that day... she would have been free now... I seriously doubted it. Both of us would have been killed. If I hadn't taken her v.i.r.g.i.n.i.t.y that day, our lives would have been different... We would both have been among the dead. We're still alive. We mustn't give up. I can still find my parents. I'll be able to find the mages who probably escaped. I have to believe in myself.

Strength Check

Base 1

Bonus -2 (exhausted)

Dice Roll 3

Requirement 2

Success

Stamina Check

Base 1

Bonus -2

Dice Roll 4

Requirement 2

Success

Dexterity Check

Base 0

Bonus -2

Dice Roll 4

Requirement 4

Failure

Through sheer force of will, I raised my hand to touch the girl's palm. However, I was too weak, my hand missed and fell her on her bottom.

"What are you doing?" Lysandra jumped up, staring at me in surprise. I slapped my skinny hand on her a.s.s.

"You don't have the strength to nod, but you're strong enough to grope?" The girl was outraged. "You're thinking about s.e.x all the time. Men are really good for nothing!"

Yesterday I couldn't have answered such an accusation because I was too stupid, today because I was too weak... When I recover, I can discuss it with Lysandra on an equal footing.

Thanks to the elixir I had drunk, I was now educated. I knew about percentages, fractions, the States... What? What are the States? Why do I have such thoughts in my head? I felt as if I were in some other place in my life... but which one? My thoughts faded like smoke.

"If my life didn't depend on it, I would leave you in this state, and you'd live only a couple of days. But unfortunately, we're connected, so you owe me from now on."

I wanted to remind this insolent broad of her position, but I was too weak. I'll have to put up with her nagging and teasing. I had a necessary and noble purpose: to save my own skin. As soon as I get better, I'm gonna to put this girl in her place. I began to devise an insidious plan to get the better of her, and after I'm done with her, she'll beg for forgiveness.

A few minutes later, Lysandra left and returned with Vasilisa. None of them trusted the guards and they dragged a heavy lidded cauldron to the bed. The scent of meat filled the room, I was very hungry.

After they propped me up on the pillows, the girls began to spoon-feed me. The thick broth tasted very nice. I'd never tasted anything more delicious in my life. Perhaps I thought so because of exhaustion. With each gulp I took I felt my strength returning, spreading through my body, nourishing my muscles. My dried-up blood vessels were filled with fresh blood, like a dried-up river returning to the old canal after heavy rains. LIFE returned to me with every beat of my heart.

"Do you feel better?" Lysandra asked absently. Surprisingly, I even managed to nod. However, the moving black dots emerged in front of my eye after this simple motion.

"Calm down. It's okay. We can get you to the toilet if you need it. We're not little girls. We've seen you and other men n.a.k.e.d."

"I saw only my father and brothers nude," Vasilisa mumbled sheepishly, "and you, master."

"If he survives, he needs to know that he owes us. Perhaps he even will free us." Lysandra grinned, "at least, you. Unfortunately, he owns my soul."

"I don't want to leave him," Vasilisa replied defiantly. "If the master wants it, I'll give my soul to him willingly, if only he lets me!"

"Are you crazy?" Lysandra asked abruptly. "Why would you want to do that? Being free is always much better than being a slave, especially if he is your master. He's almost dying now because of a little thing. Before that he got into such a fight that he would have been killed if we had not helped him in time. If he dies, our lives will end too."

"I don't care!" the girl answered. "I've never lived as well as with him! I wear silk clothes and sleep on a soft bed. I would have given everything for a day of this life. When I lived with my father and mother, I used to work on the farm all the time. If I had married in my village, I would have had twenty-seven children and devoted my life to them: feeding them, dressing them, doing the housework…"

"I don't want to listen to this nonsense," Lysandra waved her hand. "Wait until he recovers and sign a contract with him. This is your life. But keep in mind, I overheard the guards talking. We won't live more than a week. Tomorrow we'll be sent to the gladiators. This is certain death."

"Stop swearing," I said with difficulty.

"He's talking!" Vasilisa exclaimed.

"It would be better if he remained silent, he looks smarter that way," Lysandra replied sarcastically.

"Enough. Tell me what happened while I was asleep."