Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Lines of soldiers stood in front of us. Their well-polished armor glistened in the evening sun. nearly two hundred of them stood at attention as my father addressed them with a booming voice of authority that did not match his normal personality.

Standing in the front line of the two hundred soldiers was a man I actually recognized. Kadmos, the captain that threw me in jail. I smiled wickedly at him as my father continued his speech. His eyes had gone wide when he saw me standing next to his new commanding officer. I was going to have fun hanging that little incident over his head.

“Our duty first and foremost is the protection of the people. Always remember that.” My father continued. “I will not allow any abuses of power under my watch. If I find anything I do not approve of, I guarantee you will receive ten times the punishment you inflicted on an innocent. Losing your job is the lightest sentence you will receive.”

Captain Kadmos’s face paled significantly after hearing this. His eyes continuously flickering between me and my father.

After my father’s speech was done, and he had explained our objective in this time of crisis, he began splitting the guards into groups.

An area outside the city wall would be designated as the quarantine zone. We would begin by rounding up all the sick and escorting them there. There were many other groups Otto set up to do this task besides my family, but all the people would be sent to the same quarantine zone.

Our family was in charge of a large section of the lower city. It was a place I had been to before, and it helped that Donte was extremely familiar with the people and surroundings.

My father wasted no time giving out commands and getting everyone to work. The lower city was the area most impacted by the drug, and extremely populous. We had very little time to accomplish our goals before thousands of Demonkin began appearing.

While my father was preoccupied, Kadmos approached me. He still looked pale and did not meet my gaze.

“I… I wanted to apologize for what happened… before,” Kadmos stuttered.

“You mean when you threw me in prison, despite the fact I had not committed any crime.”

“y… yes that. Please do not tell your father. I need this job. I can’t afford to lose it.”

“It is possible, but there will be a price for my silence,” I replied with a grin.

“I do not have much money,” he mumbled uncomfortably.

“I do not want money. What I want is your cooperation. My father will be putting each of my family in charge of a small unit of soldiers. I want you in mine, and I want you to listen to me as a proper soldier. No treating me as a kid. Understand?”

“You are leading a unit? You are just a… I mean… yes, I will follow your orders to the letter, commander.”

“Good,” I replied happily. This would make my life much easier. “I will not make things hard on you. You will still be the captain of the unit. I just do not want disobedient soldiers who will not listen because of my age.”

“Yes, commander!” Kadmos replied with an official salute.

I waved my father over and explained that Kadmos would be in my unit. My father had no complaints, Kadmos was not the only captain, and someone willing to listen to me was a good thing. Nine more soldiers that served under Kadmos were put in my unit. They seemed hesitant at first, but a round of yelling from Kadmos brought them in line.

Charly also gained a unit of ten soldiers to command. This would be his first-time leading soldiers, and the nervousness in his voice was obvious. Leading them would be a good experience for Charly, and my father’s favor was obvious at a glance. The ten soldiers he picked were extremely well-disciplined and did not openly express any distrust in their young commander.

The rest of the one hundred eighty soldiers were split evenly between my mother and father, and then again into more teams of ten. The two of them were well versed in command, so there was very little discontent about the new commanders. Also, it probably did not hurt that more than a few of the soldiers recognized them as general Arthur’s Silver Blades.

My grandmother had refused to take a command, stating she was too old for that sort of taxing work. Instead, she decided to stay at the quarantine zone. There, she would be able to organize the staff and the sick and put her talents to much better use.

My father still did not trust Donte enough to give him his own unit. He wanted to follow me, but instead, I sent him to the Painted Rose for now. If the madam there had gained any more information, we needed to know. I just did not want to go there myself.

Once the structure of the units was lined out, we began to move. Each of us went our separate ways as we scoured the city for the sick.

 

 

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While a notice had been sent out commanding all sick citizens to report to the quarantine zone. Only a few would actually listen and obey, especially in the lower city. The only option was to go from house to house, knocking on doors and inspecting the homes for any sick.

It was an extremely invasive process, but it had to be done. Even a single Demonkin running wild inside the city could lead to hundreds of deaths.

My leather boots stomped through the mud as I moved to the next house. soldiers flanked me on all sides. They seemed to have decided I was an escort mission that needed to be protected. While the soldiers no longer complained openly after Kadmos reprimanded them, they still did not treat me as a commanding officer. To them, I was just some brat their real commander allowed to tag along.

It was not worth complaining about though. My power right now was practically nothing. Nox was my only real strength, and I could not even use him in public. The only useful object I had in a fight was my dagger. It was not like I could tell them I was one of the Five Calamities and led armies numbering hundreds of thousands.

Kadmos knocked on the door of the flimsy wooden shack. “City guard open up!”

No sound came from the other side of the door. Kadmos’s eyes began to shine. “Two inside.” He said with confidence. The soldiers around him nodded as he gave one final warning. “If you do not open the door, I will bust it down.”

The sound of shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door. With the click of a lock, the door slowly creaked open.

A small, gaunt woman stepped out of the shack and fell to her knees in front of the guards. “Please, do not take my husband. He is all that I have left.”

Through the now open door, I could see a man on a bed. His face was contorted with pain. He clawed at the sheets with fingers far longer than a normal person. This man had already begun to mutate. We were too late.

I looked down at the kneeling woman with pity. “Everyone afflicted needs to be taken to the Quarantine. You can go with him if you want, but he still has to go.”

“No! No! No! I will not let you take him!” The woman started shouting hysterically. She rushed back into the shack. grabbing a bag, she dumped the contents out onto the floor.

Among the various oddities now scattered across the floor was a small sack. A faint orange light shined through the crude fibers.

“Stop her!” I shouted.

The soldiers hesitated for a moment, and at that moment the woman grabbed hold of the sack and emptied the entire contents into her mouth. She swallowed down the glowing orange sand haphazardly, dumping much of it on the front of her shirt and floor.

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The soldiers finally moved to restrain the woman, but it was too late. Her eyes began to glow with an amber light. Bright flames ignited in her hands.

“You will never take him from me!”

Uncontrolled fire spread through the room. The furniture began to burn. The woman pointed her hand toward the closest soldier. A torrent of flames slammed into the armor. The soldier screamed as he flung himself away. He rolled on the ground, pounding on the red-hot steel. The smell of burnt flesh filled the small shack.

One of his companions dragged the injured soldier outside. Kadmos charged forward, a large shield held in front of him. Flames connected with metal again, and the shield began to glow bright red. without missing a step, Kadmos threw the shield.

There was a loud crack as the heavy metal connected with the woman’s shoulder. She tumbled backwards, causing flames to spread everywhere. The entire room filled with smoke as furniture caught fire. The nearby bed with the sick husband began to burn. Eyes flying open, he screamed as the fire touched him. The woman watched in horror as flames began to spread.

Without waiting for the useless soldiers to act, I dashed forwards. I pulled the smoldering blankets off of the man, grabbed his ankle, and pulled. With a loud thump, the man fell to the floor. Just in time as the flames spread to the straw-filled mattress. The entire bed went up in a brilliant flash of fire.

“I… I didn’t mean to…” the woman gasped; eyes glued to the pillar of flame.

Still holding the man’s ankles, I attempted to drag him further from the inferno. It was not easy moving the man twice my size. I pulled and he only moved a short distance. The soldiers noticed my plight and lent a hand. with their assistance, I was able to move the man out of the smoldering shack.

I looked over at the woman. The flames on her body had died down. She was staring at the inferno with an empty gaze. There was no fight in her now.

Kadmos approached cautiously. She did not put up any further resistance as he bound her hands and led her out of the shack.

Outside, a crowd had gathered. Many were hauling pales of water to extinguish the blaze before it spread to other houses. among the crowd, more than a few were shouting angrily at the guards, blaming them for the fire.

The soldiers huddled around me once again. They were protecting me in case the crowd became violent. This time, I did not mind. I did not want to fight an angry crowd of protesters.

Kadmos stepped forward to address the shouting mob. “We are here under Chancellor Otto’s direct command. Our only intentions are to escort those who have grown sick from spark powder to the quarantine zone. Prolonged use of the drug causes madness, and even kind people will become violent. This woman burned down her own house and nearly killed her husband. As for him, you can see the effects of the drug for yourself.”

The crowd had grown silent as they looked at the deformed man. He was rolling around on the ground, clutching his head. Even though he was still in the early stages of mutating, his hands and feet were nearly four times the size of a normal person's. His fingers especially stood out, reaching nearly as long as a normal person's thigh. Guttural sounds escaped from his throat, but it was clear they were not supposed to be words.

“Chancellor Otto wishes to treat the afflicted. Nobody will be punished for having used Spark Powder. We only hope to save as many people as we can.”

Among the silent crowd, a single man stepped forward. His eyes were transfixed on the man rolling in the mud. “No one will be punished? You promise?

“Yes. I promise.” Kadmos said, removing his helmet. “I grew up in lower Aktey too. I know how hard it is to trust the guard, but this is a time of crisis. Now is the time we all band together to help one another regardless of our background.”

The man took another few steps forward. “I have used spark powder too. Will I end up like his?”

“Not if you are treated in time,” Kadmos replied.

“Then… I would like to go to the quarantine please.”

A few other people among the crowd hesitantly began to step forward. They were scared, but what they saw in the man on the ground scared them more.

In total, we escorted nearly twenty people to the quarantine after this one trip into the lower city.

 

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The quarantine outside the city walls looked more like a military encampment than a place to treat the sick. Thousands of heavily armored soldiers stood at attention everywhere you looked. Rows upon rows of tents were set up to house the sick.

The encampment was split into two sections. There was an area designated specifically for those who had already begun to mutate. It was also the only place without guards. Instead, lines of soldiers surrounded the section. Rows of palisades were set up. Workers were still preparing various traps and heavy siege ballistae. All of it was facing inwards. They were prepared for a Demonkin outbreak at any moment.

As my soldiers escorted the group towards their tents, I saw my grandmother giving orders to a group of servants in charge of taking care of the sick.

“Remember, do not waste supplies. We are on a limited budget. However, that does not mean you should neglect your patients. Each of you has been assigned to a group of tents. Do everything in your power to keep the people happy, and more importantly calm. I do not want any more violent outbreaks. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am.” The servants replied before scurrying back to their duties.

“You almost sound like a military officer,” I said, patting my grandmother's back.

“Discipline is discipline regardless of profession,” My grandmother replied. “How was your first patrol?”

“Eventful, but also effective. I gathered twenty for treatment, and one that needs to be sent to the other side of the quarantine.”

“I do not understand what your parents are thinking. This is not work a child should be doing. Even if they want you to gain experience leading soldiers, there are better ways to do it. Why don’t you stay here with me? I will talk to your father. I am sure he will agree.”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head, “This is something I want to do. Besides, if you are trying to protect me, the quarantine is probably more dangerous than anywhere else.”

“Good point. At least you have well-trained guards watching you as things are now.”

“Any luck finding people that can treat the afflicted?” I asked curiously. The innate talent required to siphon corrupted energy was rather uncommon, and I was worried we would not find any at all.

“Only one,” My grandmother replied with a sigh, “The worst part is he also only gained his power through the drug. His ability is completely unstable. At best he may be able to treat a dozen people a day.”

“How many people have already shown up at quarantine?”

“Over three hundred patients! It is only the first day and we are already over three hundred. There is no way one person can treat them all before they fall past the point of no return.”

“Do all you can for now. Tonight, I will visit the church. They might have records on how the various divisions handled the drug beyond what I know.”

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