Ch 52

  The journey back to the spot where Matt had found the four men was slow and uneventful, marked only by his steady issuance of orders to direct their formation. He arranged those not carrying anyone in a protective ring around those who were—regardless of their injuries. At the same time, he organized a rotation system so that everyone could alternate between carrying others and keeping watch, ensuring that no one’s stamina was overtaxed. Fortunately, the group had chosen to travel light; they carried only the weapons they had originally taken and minimal clothing.

  During the march, Matt tended to three of the minor injuries, before they reached the pond where he had met the rest of the group. At the water’s edge, he tossed a stone into the center and waited, its ripples mirroring his cautious anticipation. When no one came forward, he sighed deeply and departed without searching further.

  Thus began the longest and most arduous part of the trek. Matt had to carefully verify his landmarks along the way, pausing to point them out to ensure that, if needed, anyone could retrace their steps back to the old camp. The journey dragged on well into the morning, and as the sun climbed higher, Matt had managed to mend every injury—except for those severe enough to hinder walking entirely. During these long hours, he shared the details of his recent experiences and the troubling situation at the fort. In turn, his companions recounted how their seven scattered groups had been forced together in the desperate scramble to escape the goblin assaults.

  These attacks, in particular, had consistently targeted the men, as the goblin leading each group of monsters charged straight at them. Out of the 18 deaths witnessed, only six were women. Yet, Matt’s thoughtful frown betrayed his concern over the ten bodies that remained unaccounted for, four of which were believed to be fallen women. He wondered silently whether the goblins had kidnapped them or if these absences were the inevitable result of desertion. In his private reckoning, he accepted only the eight confirmed deaths as concrete, while the missing souls lingered as a painful uncertainty.

  Nevertheless, the intelligence gathered proved invaluable as he finally arrived at the fort. After unloading his spatial storage, Matt made his way to meet Eleanor, even as Emily busied herself settling the others into a semblance of order.

  “You look miserable,” Eleanor commented as they reached a secluded area. “So, how bad are things out there?”

  Matt, stifling a yawn as he surveyed the area, replied, “Healing resources are extremely scarce. The group I just brought in is composed entirely of level 3 members or injured individuals—and not one among them possesses the skill to heal. I suspect that healing magic is reserved for those at level 5 and above.”

  Eleanor pursed her lips. “I don’t fully agree, but we won’t know until your patron is willing to share some information.”

  “All I can say is that choosing our path is only half the equation; our innate aptitude makes up the other half,” Matt explained.

  “Right, so those who start with an advantage will continue to lead. Do you think any of your new arrivals are worth extra attention?” Eleanor inquired, her tone edged with concern.

  “Not more than ensuring they don’t try to take over,” Matt admitted. “Frankly, I worry about the dynamic this will create. They’re competent enough to have already built a functional wall for protection, which might disrupt our established order.”

  “Then why did you bring them here?” Eleanor pressed. “Sure, their numbers can be useful, but I thought you were trying to avoid power struggles.”

  Matt sighed deeply. “I do want to avoid them, but they all need healing. While I managed to treat most of the minor wounds on the way back, taking care of the rest is going to be an arduous, long day—and night—for me.”

  Eleanor shook her head. “It’s going to be a tough week for you, then. Don’t rush through their treatments. Emily and I can triage them and stagger their treatments over time. This way, we can integrate them gradually, while they’re still dependent on our support.”

  “No, we’re likely to get hit hard in the coming days,” Matt insisted. “I want us at full strength when that happens.”

  Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly did you encounter?”

  “The goblins were targeting their group—and I’d bet they’ve followed us here. Then I encountered a group of four men who could very well be part of a larger force that didn’t come along,” Matt explained, his voice measured as he recalled the events.

  “What is your intent?” Eleanor asked.

  “We need to double our minimum required group from eight to sixteen. If anyone is leaving the fort, we must station guards at every inner gateway. If we can trap the goblins between two walls, it might yield better results than engaging them in an open confrontation,” Matt stated, outlining a possible plan.

  Eleanor then shifted the topic. “Do you think this round of repairs will seal the gap in the wall? We haven’t seen anything but the space beneath it be restored, and things are only going to get more dangerous than before from what you’re saying.”

  “No, I’m willing to bet that there’s iron embedded in the walls in some form to reinforce the structure,” Matt noted. “Speaking of which, any updates on our search for iron?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “We managed to collect a handful of iron sand after a full day of work, using that method where grooves are cut into stones and running water, along with sand, works its magic. But no matter how you look at it, that amount is far too little. We need to find a faster way, though our tools are extremely limited,” Eleanor replied.

  A sly smile tugged at Matt’s lips. “I bet if I checked out the goblin village, they’d have everything we need.”

  Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I know you’re not actually suggesting that you raid it again.”

  “There was so much there, so many resources that could make life here so much better,” Matt concluded, his tone revealing both ambition and a hint of mischief.

  "Just as long as it isn't any of the beds you described," Eleanor countered firmly. "Still, I think it's a bad idea at this stage of things. Instead, I would like to change our rules about fires and have them burning all night long. The only problem is that we can't bring any wood inside the fort without it mysteriously vanishing on us."

  "I suspect that once there's enough wood for all the work the fort needs done, it will stop disappearing," Matt commented thoughtfully. "So how about tomorrow you organize everyone to clear trees and haul them into the fort? As for the iron sand issue, I trust that you and the others can figure out a way to increase the collection rate. Honestly, if it wasn't so far away, I would suggest that the area this group came from might make a good processing site since it has a decent-sized pond nearby."

  "Considering they could only work for a few hours yesterday due to the time it took to travel back and forth from the riverbed, that might actually make sense—if we didn't have the goblins to worry about."

  Matt frowned, wishing the fort was closer to the riverbed. However, he wasn't about to try and figure out how moving the fort and dungeon worked at this stage. After taking a moment to ponder, he decided the best course of action was to trust Eleanor to figure things out as they moved on to other matters. These included the minimal progress on building forges and the ideas set to be tested for making charcoal. They just needed the right kind of wood first, which was proving to be the hardest part of their plans. They needed to find enough dry hardwood on the forest floor for their needs, as it would take months otherwise.

  Besides wishing he hadn’t dumped all the wood he’d gathered into the fort’s repairs the moment he returned, Matt left the meeting with a tentative hope that things would eventually fall into place. As he made his way toward Emily, who had meticulously arranged supplies for those in need of healing, his thoughts began to drift toward the task ahead. Although the woman he had carried back was in far worse condition, in his eyes she wasn’t the only one hanging by a thread. Despite his inner turmoil, he kept his worries to himself until Emily approached him, a look of genuine concern etching her features.

  “We’re going to need to do a few things before I agree to let you heal some of these people,” she said, her voice trembling slightly with urgency.

  “Oh, and what exactly is that?” he asked, his tone mixing curiosity with unease.

  “You must cut away any infected flesh that has begun to rot,” she explained, “or, alternatively, sear it away by heating a sword until it’s red-hot and then piercing the wounds to cauterize them.”

  “I can handle the infections using the healing techniques I applied along the way back,” Matt responded. “It might add considerably to the time it takes, but I fear that a few of them won’t survive the intensive procedure you’re proposing.”

  “You’ve only just met them,” Emily countered.

  “The same could be said for you and the others when the goblins struck,” he shot back, a hint of irony in his voice.

  “Do you really trust them?” she pressed, her eyes searching his face for reassurance.

  “I don’t trust them completely,” he admitted, “but I believe that the mere prospect of healing is enough to keep them docile—at least for the time being. Just mentioning that I could heal them transformed their attitude from defensive to cooperative in mere minutes.”

  “And what if they hold us hostage, forcing you to heal them between battles once they’re well?” Emily asked, her brow furrowing with worry.

  “How do you see that ending?” Matt replied coolly.

  “With you giving an answer about whether some people are worth the experience,” she answered cryptically, leaving a heavy silence between them.

  “I admit that possibility has crossed my mind, but I don’t expect this group to push me over that line,” he conceded. “Still, history has a way of proving that once two sides covet what the other possesses, even the best of men may turn against one another.”

  “How can you care so deeply about helping others and yet be so pessimistic about what lies ahead?” Emily wondered aloud.

  “I see reality for what it is,” he said softly. “Most people simply want to live their lives in peace, but even the gentlest of souls can be driven to cut down another when survival is at stake.”

  With that, Matt moved forward and lay down next to the injured woman he had carried. He gently touched her hand as he took on her injury, and in that instant, his body erupted in a fiery sensation as the infection, coursing through her blood, took hold of him. Then, as if his own blood had suddenly turned to ice, he felt the infected cells perish, replaced by new ones. Countless questions swirled in his mind about the nature of his mysterious ability and whether it was steadily shortening his life. But he merely gritted his teeth as he sensed the wound in his gut beginning a similar transformation—a slow, agonizing process in which an icy, burning sensation crept deeper into the opening with every passing moment.

  Meanwhile, the woman who had just been healed sat up and looked around in bewilderment. She quickly recalled the fragments of conversation she’d had with the others before deciding to see if a stranger could heal her. This stranger was now grappling with her old injury, while a woman she didn’t recognize gave her a suspicious look that clearly conveyed distrust. She couldn’t blame them; she wouldn’t trust herself either. In a world where survival was the priority, if someone didn’t improve your chances, what was the point of keeping them around? Still, the woman understood that it was crucial to earn the trust of this new group for the time being, so she cleared her throat before speaking.

  “Hi, I’m Jaelyn, and you are?”

  “Emily, resident bookworm who has no books.”

  “I see, and I take it he’s the one who just healed me. Is he going to be alright?”

  “Give him an hour or so. Though, if you want to show your gratitude, you might consider stopping the pretense that you’re not the leader of your little group.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Please, the way the others look at you and the fact that they insisted on having you healed first make it obvious you’re important. None of the others you came with seem like the type to take charge. Even now, I’m sure they’re looking this way, wondering if they should step in.”

  Jaelyn smiled as she gave the woman before her a second look. Like Matt, it was evident she had acquired new clothing since arriving in this new world. The only questions were her relationship to Matt, how powerful she was, and whether she was worth keeping around. However, before Jaelyn could dwell on those questions, she needed to understand more about Matt and what motivated him, as one thing was certain: he was worth making an ally, at least for now.