Chapter 65: Chapter 65: If you ignore me and get infected, I will shoot you through the head before you enter Riverbone
Soren raised one pale brow.
"They like me."
Kael’s golden eyes darkened.
Swanly felt another disaster forming.
Soren had started with their cubs.
Next, in Kael’s mind, the snake would probably steal his spot, the food, Swanly, and possibly the air.
Kael took the eldest and second cub first.
The smallest clung to Soren’s wrist.
"Snake good."
Kael peeled him away carefully.
"Snake tolerable."
Soren’s eyes narrowed.
The smallest looked confused.
"What tolerable?"
"It means not good."
Soren’s silver gaze turned colder.
Swanly rubbed both hands over her face.
"I am too tired for this."
Kael held all three cubs protectively against his body.
Soren’s tail moved once across the ground.
Swanly pointed between them.
"Neither of you will fight here. You are both too large to behave like jealous cubs."
"I am not jealous," Kael said.
Soren looked at him.
Kael’s ears flattened.
Swanly turned away before either male could lie again.
Thalara had crouched near the barrier with her claws pressed against the ground.
Her purple eye closed.
The roots beneath the tribe stirred.
She remained still for several breaths.
Then her eye opened.
"Do not burn them here."
Swanly stepped closer.
"Why?"
"Some roots beneath the gate still touch the Rot Nest."
A chill moved through the surrounding beastmen.
Thalara dragged one claw across the earth, drawing several dark lines in the dirt.
"If rot smoke enters those roots, it may travel beneath Riverbone. The ground could carry sickness under the dens before anyone smells it."
Swanly stared at the marks.
"How do you know?"
"I can hear the roots."
Of course she could.
At this point, Swanly would have been more surprised if Thalara said she could not hear ancient underground plants whispering.
"Is there somewhere safe?"
Thalara rose.
"Yes."
She led them around the outer side of Riverbone, past the stone wall and toward a dry patch of land where broad gray rocks pushed through the soil.
No living roots crossed beneath it.
Even the grass stopped several steps away.
Thalara pressed her black hand to the stone.
"The roots here are dead. The smoke cannot travel through them."
Swanly looked at her.
"That is very useful."
Thalara smiled.
Swanly sighed.
"I know. That is your happy face."
Thalara nodded.
Swanly turned toward the Riverbone males gathering behind them.
"You heard her. We burn the bodies here."
Several strong beastmen exchanged looks.
One of them glanced toward Soren.
Swanly saw it.
"You do not need to look at him every time I speak."
The male hesitated.
Swanly pointed at the bodies.
"Wooden hooks. Long tools. Do not use your hands. Do not let infected blood touch your skin."
The beastman looked at Soren again.
Soren said nothing.
Swanly raised her bow.
"If you ignore me and get infected, I will shoot you through the head before you enter Riverbone."
Every male went still.
One swallowed.
Then Swanly added, "If Soren tells you to do something stupid, I will shoot him too."
Soren finally looked at her.
His brow rose.
Swanly lifted the bow higher.
"Do you think I will not?"
The three cubs burst into laughter.
"Mama strong!" the eldest shouted.
"Mama shoot snake," the smallest said happily.
Soren’s expression became colder.
Kael looked extremely pleased.
Swanly pointed at the tribe members.
"Move."
They moved.
Quickly.
Long wooden hooks were made from branches. Stone tools pushed the bodies without skin touching them. Thick animal hides were wrapped around hands and arms, but Swanly still watched every movement.
"No, not like that."
A young male froze.
"Move your foot. You are standing in blood."
He jumped away.
"You," Swanly called to another. "Do not pull from that side. Its mouth is still moving."
The male stared down.
The infected head snapped weakly at his ankle.
He stumbled back with a curse.
Swanly fired one arrow into its core.
The body went still.
Everyone worked faster after that.
Thalara helped by sensing where infected liquid had soaked too deeply into the ground. She raised dead roots from beneath the soil and used them like long fingers to drag several bodies toward the stone patch.
Kael remained near Swanly with the cubs.
Soren watched from the shade, still pale but standing.
Raku organized the strongest males and made sure no one became careless.
When one hunter tried to lift a body with his bare claws, Swanly shouted so loudly that he flinched.
"What did I just say?"
"My claws are thick."
"Rot does not care how proud your claws are."
The hunter lowered his head.
"No biting infected," Swanly continued. "No putting infected flesh near your mouth. No touching blood when you have cuts. Any hide exposed to rot must be washed with boiling water or burned. Any tool that cannot be cleaned properly gets thrown into the fire."
The Riverbone beastmen listened now.
Not because they fully understood.
Because they had watched her kill three hundred and fifty infected without getting close enough to be touched.
Because she had returned alive from the Rot Nest.
Because Soren allowed her to speak.
When every body had been moved, Swanly ordered the males to bring dry wood, old cooking charcoal, thick tree resin, and the animal fat saved from their hunts.
The smallest cub immediately opened his mouth.
Swanly pointed at him.
"No. It is not for eating."
He closed it.
Using long poles, the beastmen packed the charcoal and resin-soaked bark beneath the bodies, then covered everything with another layer of dry branches.
Swanly wrapped resin-coated hide around one arrow and held it over the cooking fire until it caught.
"Stand back."
She released the arrow.
It struck the middle of the pit.
Fire rushed through the dry wood and climbed the bodies with a violent roar. The tribe stepped back as black smoke rose above the dead stone, unable to travel through any living roots.
Thalara stood beside the flames with her purple eye half closed, listening beneath the earth.
Swanly gathered everyone before they could leave.
"Listen carefully. This is not optional."
She explained infection again.
Bites.
Scratches.
Rot blood.
Open wounds.
Spores.
Contaminated hides.
She made them repeat the rules.
At first, the tribe members sounded uncertain.
Then louder.
"No biting infected."
"Do not touch blood with wounded hands."
"Burn what cannot be cleaned."
"Report every bite."
Swanly nodded.
"Yes. Exactly. You are becoming smarter. I like that."
Raku folded his arms.
"We were not stupid before."
Swanly looked at him.
"You were crushing infected so close to your face yesterday that I nearly shot you myself."
Raku looked away.
Several males laughed.
The system appeared.
{Task complete: Establish rot-burn disposal pit. Reward: four hundred points.}
A second message followed.
{Task complete: Teach Riverbone infection safety. Reward: three hundred points.}
Swanly waited.
{Debt collection complete.}
She closed her eyes.
Of course.
{Current debt remaining: two hundred and thirty-six points.}
Only two hundred and thirty-six.
That was much better.
Still annoying.
But better.
Swanly looked at the burning pit.
Thalara stood near her, pale and strange in the afternoon light. Her long white hair moved in the heated air. The purple flowers on her horns had curled slightly away from the smoke.
Swanly remembered black water.
Her cub screaming.
Thalara leaping from the trees and pinning down the creature that bit him.
"Thalara."
The Aelari turned.
Swanly hesitated.
Then she spoke honestly.
"Thank you."
Thalara blinked.
"For hearing the roots?"
"For that too. But mostly for yesterday. You helped save my cub."
Thalara’s expression changed.
Her mouth did not stretch into the strange wide smile this time.
It trembled slightly.
"No one has thanked me for touching the living in a very long time."
Swanly’s chest tightened.
"You saved him."
"I did not want the small one to become quiet."
Swanly looked toward her children.
They were sitting around Kael, all three speaking at once while Tilla’s little mink cub tried to follow the story.
The second cub had apparently reached the part where he became a legendary warrior again.
Swanly smiled.
"He is rarely quiet now."
Thalara looked at them with something soft in her single eye.
"You make beautiful young."
Swanly’s ears heated.
Before she could answer, Soren spoke from behind them.
"I saved him too."
Swanly turned.
Soren’s face remained cold.
His tone remained flat.
But something unpleasant had entered his silver eyes.
Swanly stared at him.
"Are you asking for thanks?"
"No."
"You sound like you are."
"I stated a fact."
"You want me to thank you."
"I do not care."
Swanly crossed her arms.
"You care a little."
Soren looked away.
Thalara watched him with open interest.
Kael’s tail lashed once behind him.
Swanly sighed.
"Thank you for saving my cub, Soren."
His silver eyes returned to her.
For one breath, something in his face softened.
Then he said, "You should have said it earlier."
Swanly’s mouth fell open.
"You really are shameless."
Then a sound came from the trees.
Not infected movement.
Not claws.
Footsteps.
Many footsteps.
Thalara’s head lifted sharply.
Her purple eye narrowed toward the forest beyond the cleared entrance.
Swanly reached for her bow.
Kael stood immediately and gathered the cubs behind him.
Raku turned toward the wall.
Soren’s body straightened despite the weakness still draining the color from his skin.
"What is it?" Swanly asked.
Thalara listened.
"There are many."
"Infected?"
"No."
Her black claws touched the stone.
"Living."
Riverbone’s scouts appeared at the edge of the path.
One ran toward them, breathing hard.
"People are coming."
"How many?" Soren asked.
The scout glanced behind him.
"More than one hundred."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Kael handed the cubs to Tilla.
"Take them inside."
The smallest protested.
"Papa."
"Inside."
Kael’s voice left no room for argument.
Tilla gathered the cubs and hurried toward the shelters with Nahla beside her. The second cub kept looking back at Swanly. The eldest tried to stand between his brothers and the unknown danger even while being carried away.
Swanly’s hand tightened around her bow.
The survivors appeared slowly through the trees.
They were exhausted.
Wounded.
Covered in mud, dried blood and torn hides.
Males carried injured tribe members across their backs. Females held crying cubs against their chests. Several older beastmen limped with wooden staffs. Some had weapons. Most looked as though they had been walking without rest.
Over one hundred people.
Riverbone gathered behind Soren.
The former elders came forward too, their faces tight with suspicion. Guards raised their spears. Mothers pulled children into shelters. Tribe members peered through openings between the roots.
Soren moved to the front.
The weakness vanished from his posture.
He still looked pale.
He still looked ill.
But the moment strangers approached Riverbone, the ruler returned.
His white tail curled across the ground. His silver eyes became cold and unreadable.
Raku stood on one side.
Kael stood on the other, one hand near Swanly’s waist and his claws already beginning to emerge.
Swanly looked at the approaching survivors.
She did not recognize any of them.
Why would she?
They wore unfamiliar tribe marks. Some had lion colors painted on their hides. Others carried symbols scratched into bone necklaces.
It was not her place to question them first.
This was Soren’s tribe.
So Swanly turned slightly toward him.
Before Soren could speak, a young woman pushed through the exhausted group.
She was beautiful despite the dirt covering her skin. Her hair was tangled. Her clothes were torn. Her face looked pale from hunger and travel, but entitlement still sat in the lift of her chin.
She looked ready to demand shelter before anyone had offered it.
Then her eyes found Swanly.
The woman stopped.
All the color drained from her face.
Her mouth parted.
Confusion, disbelief and something much uglier flashed through her eyes.
"Swanly?"
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