Snake, Scarab, & Sons: Purveyors of Fine T

Her voice was happy, though weak and breathy. The blood coming from a fresh wound above her brow was terrifying, though a part of him knew it wasn't as bad as it looked. Still, Henry's hold on her tightened.

"Of course, I came for you." Henry swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to keep his eyes from reddening at the sight of her wounded body. Aside from her fresh wound, there was some blood leaking from the side of her thigh, dampening the already red-stained cloth wrapped around it. "I'll take care of everything else."

Elka's eyes crinkled up and her smile grew even wider. She nodded her head once. "Okay." The tension of her body in his arms relaxed as she lowered her guard and allowed herself to melt into him.

Henry picked her up and carried her body to the pile of boulders that created a cave where they were hiding. Raiju had reported that there were six other people in there, and a lot of blood. At least they were all still alive.

"How many more enemies are nearby?"

"Eight more people, but they are fleeing after my lightning!" Raiju boasted.

"Master, do we pursue as much as we can?" Naali asked.

"Freeze them down, but keep them alive so we can capture and question them," Henry told the two spirit beasts as he reached into his bag.

A moment later, a flare was shot into the air, going well up above the trees. The forest was tall with the canopy blocking the view in most directions. As estimated, Efan's party wouldn't see the flare from the distance they were in, but Midnight would.

"Did you find them?" Eli's shout came from behind him; from the direction he'd rushed out from. Without warning, Henry had suddenly turned his horse to the side and began galloping away.

"I found them!" Henry shouted. He turned around. "There are eight enemy soldiers that were fleeing when I released an ice slip."

Eli reached the tree break with the other nine members of their party behind him. "Are you sure?" he asked with a frown.

"I'm sure. Seven of you go and arrest them. We'll bring them back to camp for questioning." Henry pointed in one direction, in accordance to Raiju. "Four in that direction. Two in the opposite. Move quickly! They're not completely frozen!'

"You seven, go," Eli said, getting off his horse. "Five and two." He split the group with a wave of his hand and the two began riding in opposite directions. He rushed towards Elka and began gasping before he reached her. "You're bleeding!"

"I only got the one on my head right now," Elka said. "The others are worse." She seemed to conveniently omit her leg injury so as not to worry her brother.

Henry knelt down beside her and took out a clean towel and a large water skin. He doused the corner of the towel with water and hissed as he began to dab at the blood. As he did, he looked at the other two remaining soldiers.

"The other seven are in the cave and wounded. You two go and carry them out. Be careful not to make any sudden or straining movements to avoid aggravating the wounds," Henry told them.

The two soldiers stood in pace and hesitated. Eli looked over his shoulder and scowled. "Don't just wait for me to confirm! Go! Even if he's giving the order, those are our people inside!"

"Yes, sir!" The two remaining soldiers headed to the small entrance. The usual earthy dampness was replaced by the heavy scent of iron and sweat.

"Hold this towel against your head," Henry said, taking Elka's hand and placing it over the piece of blood-stained cloth. He looked at Eli as he reached into his bag. "Use your sword and get me at least two long, straight branches. It should be longer than I am tall with a diameter as thick as Elka's arm. Shave off the smaller branches."

Eli stood up and unsheathed his sword, but still asked. "What's it for?"

"Improvised stretcher."

"Stretcher?"

"Eli, just go!" Elka snapped with a frown. "Do what Henry says. Richmond hurt his leg. He can't walk or ride, so a stretcher will be needed to carry him back."

Eli furrowed his brows, but turned around to look for a suitable branch.

From the entrance of the cave, several people managed to squeeze out on their own, but instructions coming from within indicated that they were trying to carry out the injured Richmond.

Henry began arranging the injured soldiers in shaded areas near the cave, and asked what their injuries were to assess the severity of each wound.

"Young Master!" One of the soldiers shouted and he looked over his shoulder. Two men were carefully carrying out an injured one.

"Lay him down here!" Henry motioned to an empty spot near Elka.

He knelt on the ground and reached into his bag. He took out a shallow, narrow wooden box from his bag and then proceeded to put all the medical supplies that Ash had given him on it. Aside from slips, wound tape, and medicinal powders, there were scissors, tweezers, and small knives.

From what he could remember of the map and from their trek there, the nearest water source was far. He'd need water, clean water, to rinse out the wounds.

Along with food, he also packed plenty of water for long treks. Sometimes, journeys went off course, and the usual water sources were inaccessible, so it was a precaution to pack water. He removed six water skins that were so wide at one point, he needed to hold down his bag in order to pull them out.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Elka said, looking over at her fellow soldier. His lips were pale and thin, his face sunken and almost grayish.

Henry frowned. He reached back into his bag and took out, to the surprise of others, a large glass jar and a spoon. "This is a beef stew with beans and spinach. It's good for blood loss. One of you." He motioned for one of the soldiers to take the jar. "Feed him."

The soldier nodded and took the jar. Henry carried the wooden box to one of the other soldiers and used some scissors to cut through their clothes in order to give him a better view of the wound. He let out a low hiss.

"Is it bad?" the man he was looking over asked.

Henry shook his head. "A little festered, but it's fine. I'll take out the arrow head, clean the wound, and apply some medicinal powder before closing it up. Bear with me."

He picked up the tweezers, and a moment later, the man was gritting his teeth and trying to hold back pained groans. Once the foreign objects were removed, Henry took one of the water skins and began to rinse it out. After patting it dry, he adjusted the sifter Ash had given him and applied a dusting of medicinal powder over the wound.

"What is that!" The man hissed, his eyes clenching closed. "It burns!"

"Purification powder to prevent infection and then facilitate healing. It should also help in preventing a fever later," Henry said. "We're almost done."

He used the wound tape to close over the arrow wound and then wrapped it before moving on to the next person.

The most widespread injury were arrow wounds. If they hadn't been hit by one, they were grazed by it, like Elka. However, they were fortunate that nothing vital had been hit. Mostly shoulders, arms, and legs. Henry told them it could've been much worse.

After each patient, Henry had to wash his hands.

The patients and remaining soldiers watched him and noticed the assortment of items in the wooden box.

"Is there something special about that tape?" one woman asked as she looked from the roll on the wooden box to the bandage around her arm.

"Medicinal tape acts like the suture pen, but for wider wounds. It's faster to apply, but slower in facilitating the healing process," Henry told them as he wrapped someone's calf with a long strip of cloth bandage. "However, it's still significantly faster than healing by itself."

"I've never heard of that...." One man said with a knitted brow. "Where did you get it?"

Elka let out a chuckle and smiled from where she leaned against the stone. "Ash made those, didn't he?"

Henry nodded as he secured the bandage wrap. "He gave me nearly all he had, including some new products he, Cyrus, and Hana have been working on. These haven't been used before."

Elka nodded her head in understanding. "We're the first ones, huh? I'll have them write up a feedback report for Ash.

A smile cracked on Henry's lips as he moved on to the next wound. "I thank you on his behalf."

Elka raised a hand and waved it dismissively. "What's there to thank? We have the honor and luck of getting to try cutting edge medical products."

"Atractas," Eli's voice sounded from behind him. "How are these?"

Henry was still kneeling beside an injured soldier, but turned to look. Eli held long relatively straight branches in each hand. They were both taller than him, and met the diameter requirement Henry stated earlier. All the little branches that had grown on them had been shaved off neatly, so nothing would poke at the injured.

"Those work perfectly," Henry said. He pointed to the pile of rope beside Elka. "Can you weave a net with the branches to create a stretcher?"

The process of treating the injured went from arrow wounds to sword wounds of varying depth and length. Elka's was the worst in terms of a single sword wound. The worst one over all was Richmond.

The golden-haired man had managed to eat half the jar, and had closed his eyes to rest. His left leg was in an awkward position, with a near protrusion of bone coming from the lower third of his shin. Elka and the others had tried to stabilize his leg with some branches and strips of cloth earlier, but his bones hadn't been set. If he didn't get proper medical attention soon, never mind not being able to walk again, he could lose part of his leg.

Henry's medical knowledge was limited. Clean wounds, patch them up, splints and the like; injuries addressing external injuries that were prevalent on a battlefield he could do, but internal injuries and broken bones were beyond him.

"A stretcher?" Eli's eyes crinkled up. He looked at the branches hesitantly. "No...why would I?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Useless...." he muttered under his breath. Just then, a pair of soldiers who'd gone to capture some of the remaining enemies arrived, dragging behind two frazzled men behind them. They were bound by the wrists and had their arms tied to their bodies; a rope connected them to one of the saddles. Henry ignored the captured enemies and looked at the two Dareisol soldiers. "Do either of you know how to weave rope into netting and attach it to wood to make a stretcher?"

The two appeared taken aback and looked at each other for a brief moment, before one of them tentatively raised a hand.

"Here." Eli walked forward and handed that soldier the two thick branches and a coiled rope.

"Will this be enough?" that soldier asked.

Henry paused and looked at the rope, then returned to his bag. He reached inside and pulled out two more identical pieces that were about the same length. He didn't want the gaps between the nettling to be too large that it would feel uncomfortable.

The soldier's eyes were large as they watched Henry remove the rope. By their estimate, looking at the outside of the bag, one coiled rope was enough to fill the entire leather bag.

"Where is that all coming from...?" one muttered.

"Henry's brother created the space storage bag," Elka said with an amused smirk. "I'm sure you've heard of it."

"Those are expensive!" The soldier who had been feeding Richmond perked up. "I have one back at camp, but..." He looked at the jar and Henry knew what he was thinking. The glass jar was sealed, but it was still warm. Warm to the point that some steam came out when it was opened. "Can it heat food, too?"

"No, this bag is a special version my brother made. The space is larger and it preserves items like food. That stew is as fresh as it was when it was made and put into the jar," Henry told them. "This bag is more complicated to make, and includes a blood signature, so the security is excellent. They aren't on the market due to the complexity." He paused and lowered his head. "That reminds me. You should eat and drink to build up your energy before we go. We're quite a ways from the camp."

He began to take out jars of clear liquid, jars of soup, and then plates of food in wooden boxes that seemed unreal to be coming out of his bag as if they were served directly from a restaurant kitchen.

"Is this spit-roasted food from back home?" Elka's eyes lit up as Henry carefully placed a wooden box on her lap and lifted the top to reveal neatly sliced roasted lamb over a rice pilaf. Once the top of the box was lifted, a small cloud of steam puffed out.

"Your favorite," Henry said as he raised a hand to touch the top of her head. "Eat what you can. If you can't finish, I can put it away for later." He then pushed a jar of clear liquid to her. "Drink this."

"What is it?" one of the injured men asked as he lifted the jar that had been given to him.

"The best explanation is that it's a medicinal liquid to help you fight dehydration and loss of minerals." To be honest, Henry didn't know what exactly that meant. Ash sped through the majority of the explanations for the medical supplies he handed over, without going into too much detail on one thing. "Ash said Hana worked on it. Eat and rest. I launched a flare to signal Efan. My family's raven is with them and will lead them here. It'll be a while until they come."

"We split up last night," Eli said as he sat beside his sister. He reached for once of the crispy lamb pieces, only to have his sister smack his hand away and shoot him a glare.

While the others were slowly eating and drinking, Henry knelt beside Richmond's broken leg and began to cut away at his pants to reveal the extent of the damage. If he hadn't seen worse in the past, Henry would've turned his head away and grimaced. However, despite his attempts, he didn't hide his expression at the severity of the injury entirely.

Richmond, pale, but awake, gave him a wry smile. "You wouldn't happen to have any magic medical supplies that can fix a broken leg, do you?"

Henry took a deep breath and reluctantly shook his head. "I'm afraid not. At least, none has been developed that I know of." He shook his head and gave Richmond an apologetic look. "I'm afraid this is beyond my ability. The medics at camp will need to set your bones. All I can do for now is isolate your leg to keep it from moving and doing more damage."

Richmond smiled, though there was disappointment in his eyes. "Thank you."

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Henry handed him another jar. "Drink up. You lost a lot of blood, and it looks like the last few days, you haven't been eating well."

"Just a few nuts and dried fruits and meat that we had in our pouches," Elka replied. She crunched down on her meal and smiled. "This is delicious. It's so fresh, as if they just took it off the roasting rack."

Henry smiled weakly and returned to her side. He checked the wound on the side of her head and sighed. "Why are you so happy? You're bleeding."

Elka couldn't seem to stop grinning. Henry lifted up the suture pen to try to heal the gash on the side of her head. "You came."

"They almost didn't tell me what happened to you and were going to send me away as soon as I arrived."

Elka chuckled. "Well, you're a civilian. A foreign one, at that, who suddenly showed up at a military camp. It's suspicious."

"I know," he replied. "I don't hold it against them. Luckily, your brothers heard it was me and brought me to search for you."

Elka nodded, but paused. She tried to keep her head still so he could suture her wound, but couldn't help but give him a curious look.

"How did you know to come?"

Henry held back a smile, a bit flattered that she was so excited to see him, that she didn't question how he found her in the first place.

"My brother," he replied. "You used almost all of his slips at once, including the wound slips. He could feel his energy being used all of a sudden, and at once, so he was alarmed. He said something was wrong, as all of the wound slips were used one right after another." He pulled his hand back and met Elka's face. "You can see why he'd be alarmed, right?"

"Mmm...yes. I didn't want to use Ash's slips until it was absolutely necessary," she said. "I owe him. We all owe him. Those slips saved our lives and let us survive up until now."

Henry finished moving the suture pen over the wound. "They helped, but don't downplay your own luck and survival skills. If you didn't use them at the right time, you wouldn't be here right now." He blew across the sealed wound. There was a fresh, bright pink line, but it had closed up. In time, the line would heal and return to her normal skin color.

"Speaking of Ash, is your family nearby?"

"No, they're in the Dragon Continent," he replied, distracted as he began to put the unused items away. For the scissors and tweezers, he needed to clean them first.

Elka frowned. "The Dragon Continent? What are they doing there?"

Henry let out a heavy sigh. "Let's just say a competitor caused an issue for us. We were waiting to deal with some cargo before I left."

Elka was quiet for a few moments. "What do you mean...before you left?" She squinted her eyes at Henry. "Were you there, too?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Her frown deepened as his answer left her more confused. "You were in the Dragon Continent? Until when?"

He raised a brow. "Until a few days ago, when Ash felt the use of the slips." Her brows shot up in disbelief and he grinned. "You don't believe me?"

Elka shifted a bit, but he reached out to steady her, reminding her not to aggravate her wounds. "It's not that I don't believe you, but how did you get here so fast?"

The distance from the Dragon Continent to the nearest Iverias port was several days by ship. To get to a closer port in East Iveria, it would require weeks of travel. Then the land portion would take another two or three weeks, at a quickened pace by horse.

Henry chuckled. "Do you really want to know?" She nodded. "I rode a dragon."

"What a bold-faced lie!" Henry almost forgot that Elka's brother was sitting next to her until he replied. His lips curled up in a sneer as he looked at Henry. "A dragon? Who would believe that?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes, I knew you wouldn't believe me."

Elka shot her brother a glare before looking at Henry. "I believe you." He sat down beside her and she leaned against his shoulder with her own. "You can find me when no one else could."

"Ugh..." Eli rolled his eyes and turned his head away in disgust.

Several other soldiers looked away, but Henry ignored them and wove his fingers between Elka's as he held her hand.

"Just rest for now," he told her softly. "When your other brothers arrive, we'll return to camp."

"Young Master Atractas." The soldier who had been assigned to weave the rope to create a stretcher looked up from where he sat, surrounded by unraveled rope with knots along their length. The shape of a woven net could not be seen at all. "I require some assistance with this."

Henry pursed his lips. He let out a low breath and squeezed Elka's hand before pushing himself up. "Next time I see Ash, I'll tell him to pack us a stretcher."

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It was well into the afternoon when Efan's team of soldiers finally reached them. Midnight's familiar caws came first, heralding the ten men on horseback following behind him. Several injured soldiers had more color on their faces after eating a proper meal and medicinal liquid.

Every so often, Henry had checked their bandages to make sure there was no bleeding. For the most part, Ash's medicinal supplies did an excellent job. There were no concerning leaks or tears. Everyone was constantly reminded not to move their injured limbs to prevent tearing.

Richmond had some color on his face, but Henry made him eat that same beef stew every few hours to help with blood loss. The soldiers were also fed.

Henry was not very surprised to learn that they had left camp without many supplies for cooking or food. At most, a few of them had some packs of nuts and dried meat tucked in their pockets, but nothing was substantial.

At that point, they all knew that Henry's bag contained food and gave him not so subtle looks hoping that he'd feed them.

Henry would've done so anyway. They had a long journey back and couldn't do without enough energy. He provided an assortment of breakfast wraps for their first meal. Each wrap was as thick as the branches on the newly made improvised stretcher, and as long as his hand. The wheat pancake wrapped neatly around eggs, beans, some meat, and cheese, which was more than enough to boost their energy after a night of trekking across a forest.

They waited a few hours, and when Efan and the others arrived, members of the party had some light wounds. It seemed they also ran into some ambushes, but as they were on guard, they were able to fight back and escape with little damage.

Henry addressed all the wounds, then fed the entire group again, this time with pasta from Cio's mother's dowry restaurant in Carthage Harbor.

"I recognize this pasta," Efan said after slurping a mouthful hungrily. His team hadn't eaten since camp. "From Franchesca's, right? On the south point?"

"I knew it tasted familiar...." Eli nodded with sauce on the corners of his mouth. He looked at Henry with narrowed eyes. "They don't allow for food to be taken out of the restaurant. How'd you get it?"

Efan smirked. "Did you shove it into your bag when it came to your table?"

"Isn't it owned by Madam Stavos?" Elka asked. "Her son is Effie's friend."

Henry nodded. Once more, his little sister's network of friends came through. "She asked if she could pack some food to bring with her when we left Carthage Harbor. She went to several restaurants on the island and the mainland." He rolled his eyes at the memory. "Don't get me started on the food she ordered at Shae Merchant City."

If their space preservation bags didn't have the ability to isolate the smell of whatever was put inside, Henry was sure that Effie's bag would smell like pancake syrup. She thought she was clever trying to hide it, but he and Ash knew. Besides, she couldn't eat it all at once.

After allowing the newly arrived group to rest for an hour after eating, they carefully loaded Richmond onto the improvised stretcher and assigned pairs of soldiers to rotate carrying him every hour.

Since they had to maintain a pace where soldiers were walking, it took them longer than before to return to the camp. It took the party until half way point to realize that they hadn't been attacked.

"Did you take care of all the soldiers hiding in the brush?" Elka asked. She rode on Henry's horse as he walked in front of her leading the horse.

"Yes, we should be clear until camp," Henry said. Raiju and Naali kept their guard up. According to the spirit beasts, there were several enemy soldiers, but they were far and before they could do anything, Naali had frozen them to the ground.

When the sun set, Henry attached some light slips to a few horses to help lead the way. Soldiers were surprisingly alert and talkative compared to how they'd been found hours earlier. Rest and good food made a world of difference; his aunt had told him. It was one of the reasons why Snake, Scarab, and Sons teahouses were so popular.

When they reached the camp, the sun had yet to rise, but the glow of the light slips attracted the attention of the guards on duty.

Within moments, the camp was lit with torches and active as soldiers rushed to meet them. Henry handed off his horse to someone before helping Elka off the horse and then carrying her to the medical tent.

For those who were injured, even in the slightest, they reported to the medical tent first to ensure that their injuries were taken care of.

Henry explained how he'd bandaged the wounded, but urged the doctors to first put their attention to Richmond, as there was nothing he could do about his broken leg. Richmond was carried behind a screen, and moments later, screaming was heard as his bones were reset.

In a field medical tent, anesthesia tended to be reserved for the direst of circumstances. They also took a while to be effective, as most were drunk. Local anesthesia was in cream form and smeared on, but it went bad quickly, so it couldn't be kept for long periods of time.

Henry made note of this to bring up with Ash. If Moonflower could devote a branch of itself to medical technology, including keeping various liquids and salves fresh, it would be beneficial to everyone.

Elka's injuries appeared to have been treated well. Her bandaged leg hadn't leaked or showed any sign of infection. Henry himself checked to make sure.

Two trainee doctors and a senior doctor followed Henry around as he spoke about each patient, they showed them the various medical equipment he'd used: the newly improved suture pens, the medicinal tape, even the powder in the modified flour sifter and the hydration liquid in the jars.

"Can you leave a few with us?" the senior doctor asked, looking hopeful.

"That equipment and medicine is still in their prototype phases," Elka called out from her bed. "If you're going to use them, you'll need to report on its application, usage, and results."

"These are only prototypes?" one of the younger doctors gasped with wide eyes. He looked at one of the wounded patients with their arm cleanly bandaged. "That means there is still from for improvement...incredible."

"Young Master," the senior doctor turned back to Henry. "When did you get these items?"

Henry already had a metal embossed card in his hand. He handed it to the senior doctor. "My brother and his companions started a magical product research and design workshop. All these items were prepared by them. He knew I was coming and felt the situation was serious, so he had me bring the prototypes."

The senior doctor gingerly took the metal card in his hands. "Moonflower."

"It's based in Carthage Harbor. They just won the top award at the Federation of Merchant Cities Invitational Exhibition."

"They did?" Elka perked up. "What was their exhibition?"

"A train. It was an entire system in conjunction with some allied countries, as well," Henry told her. "You'll know soon enough."

Elka clicked her tongue and shook her head with envy. "If my brothers were half as useful as yours...."

"What kind of feedback report do you need?" the senior doctor told Henry with a serious look on his face. "We're more than happy to test and report on the products provided in exchange for access to the products when they go to market."

"Don't worry. When they go to market, everyone will have access to purchase them. My brother isn't the Magic Tower." Henry nodded and outlined the general report and some details. He'd done several in the past for Ash, so he was familiar. Also, by having the doctors at the field medical tent do it, not only would the reports be more detailed, but it meant Henry wouldn't have to do them himself. He was more than glad to hand over the responsibility.

"We owe a big debt to Ash Atractas," Elka told the doctors seriously. "When the reports are ready, give the first set to me."

"Ash Atractas?" one of the soldiers from a bed across from where Elka was propped up asked. "That name sounds familiar."

"He's won several Invitational Exhibitions," Henry said. "The water filter was one of them."

"Henry." Elka called out to him and raised her arms. "Take me to my brother's tent. I need to give my post-mission debriefing."

He frowned. "You should rest more."

She gave him a helpless smile. "Henry, I haven't been on my legs since yesterday morning. I've either ridden a horse or you've carried me. I'm fine. Besides, after my report, I can go to my tent."

Henry looked at the senior doctor. "Is that all right?"

"Lieutenant Commander Arelias' wounds are bandaged well. As long as she doesn't move much, they will heal soon. She can go."

Only then did Henry walk to the side of Elka's bed and picked her up across his arms. He carried her out of the tent. It was morning now and the camp was awake with soldiers gathered in groups to prepare breakfast.

Several soldiers looked over as they passed, giving knowing looks as Elka seemed to proudly keep her arms looped around Henry's neck as he carried her. Henry ignored the attention gathered.

A guard at the entrance to Elka's brother's tent helped move aside the flap to let them enter.

"Elka!" An older man let out a breath of relief as he saw her. "Thank goodness...your father would maim me if something happened to you."

"Uncle, I'm fine," Elka assured him. The older man was the same one who'd stopped Henry when he first arrived and tried to send him away.

"Is that what the doctor said?" Efan asked with a frown. He looked at his sister's leg with scrutiny, as if to find out if she were telling the truth.

Eli brought a chair forward and Henry carefully placed her on it. "Get her something to elevate her leg," Henry said.

Eli glared at him. "Don't tell me what to-"

His head snapped forward as his older brother smacked the back of it. "Just get a cushion or something." Eli made a disgusted face and went to pull up a stool. Henry helped Elka adjust her leg on it as she began explaining what had happened from the beginning.

Henry hadn't heard about it in much detail during their wait in the forest, so he sat to the side and listened as Elka gave her report. Elka had recently been promoted and was leading a team. This was her second time doing so and the first time had a few skirmishes, but nothing this serious.

As she spoke, he imagined what she was up against and his face grew darker and darker. He silently thanked Ash for having the foresight to give Elka some slips. He recalled Ash's words that it was a precaution because he didn't want Henry to be sad if Elka got injured. The corner of Henry's lip curled up a bit.

"What do you think?" He heard someone's voice talking, but he didn't think they were addressing him.

"Atractas!" This time, he snapped his head up and saw that the men in the tent and Elka were all looking at him expectantly.

"Forgive me, I was thinking of something," Henry said as he sat up straight. "What was the question?"

"What are your plans after this?" He couldn't help but let his brows shoot up. If it were Elka asking the question, he wouldn't think twice, but it came from Efan. Efan who yelled at him and glared at him whenever he could.

He turned to look at Elka, who appeared eager to hear his answer.

"After this, I have to meet my aunt and Ash."

"You're going back to the Dragon Continent?" Eli asked with a frown.

Henry gave them a quizzical look. "No." In a few days, his aunt and Ash should've finished their business there and possibly arrested Jahan Yazdan, so there was no reason for him to return. Also, such long trips were exhausting for Inazuma, so he was going to have her take him elsewhere to wait to meet them.

"Do you have to leave immediately?" Elka asked with hesitation.

"No, it'll take them some time to reach me," Henry replied. He looked back at Efan and the others. "If the camp heads allow it, I had planned to stay a few more days to ensure Elka is healing well and that the medical supplies are working as planned. After that, I'll leave. It'll take my aunt and Ash about two months to meet me."

"Two months?" Elka pouted. "But you're only staying for a few days?"

Henry chuckled and gave her a gentle smile. If several of her family members were staring at them, he would've stroked her hair back. "Ash and Auntie aren't coming here to this camp. We're meeting near the border, in West Wind Valley."

West Wind Valley wasn't too far from the border gateway where they had planned to meet Talam in order to enter Ashtar. There was also a large Snake, Scarab, and Sons there, as well as plenty of people loyal to Nera who could help him.

Elka furrowed her brows and tilted her head a bit. "Why are you going to West Wind Abbey?"

"I'm familiar with it, and above the Snake, Scarab, and Sons there, my family has an apartment, so I'll have a place to comfortably stay while I wait. It'll give me some time to prepare for some business dealings we've been planning." He didn't tell them it was business dealings with Ashtar.

Considering that their current enemy were soldiers funded by Ashtar, it wasn't appropriate. Besides, Ashtar's power was heavily skewed to one side, and in a way, the side he and his family wanted to work with was opposite that of leaders ordering the harassment at the mines and our patrols.

"Henry." Elka reached for his hand and took it. "Can't you stay a bit longer?"

He shook his head. "I can't stay too long. This is still a military camp. It would be inappropriate for me to stay longer than a few days. This could look bad if it was reported back to Dareisol's upper command."

"We can temporarily take you as a civilian enlistee," Efan replied.

Henry squinted. "I'm not a Dareisol citizen."

"It doesn't matter. You are an outstanding swordsman with reason to be enlisted temporarily," Efan told him.

"Indeed," the older man said with a nod. "A good swordsman is always welcomed."

"You also provided some medical supplies. You can teach our medics how to use them," Efan added.

Henry raised a brow. "Are you saying you could use my help?"

Efan scoffed and darted his eyes to the side. "I never said that."

Henry gave him an acknowledging nod of his head. "Then I will leave soon-

"How can we stop those hired soldiers from harassing Dareisol mines?" Eli cut him off and took a step forward. His arms were crossed over his chest and his lips were in a tight line. His eyes bore into Henry, as if demanding an answer.

Henry paused for a moment and tilted his head to the side. "That sounds like you're asking me for help."

Efan slammed a hand on the table. "We're low on people after this, and our next wave of replacement soldiers isn't scheduled to come for another month. After what happened to Elka, we can't just be on the defensive anymore! They've gotten so daring, that it's only a matter of time before they attack us!"

Henry nodded. "That's understandable."

"So," Efan continued. "What can we do to stop them."

Henry squinted. "Once more, that does sound like you're asking me for help."

"You-"

"We are asking you for help, Henry." Elka spoke up, ignoring the others in the room. Her expression hardened as her eyes grew cold. "My troop is the most injured, but we're not the first to be attacked and suffer some losses. This time, we lost one of our men. The blood of Dareisol is now in their hands." She lifted her head and met Henry's eyes with firm ones. "We can't just sit here and wait to be attacked."

He was quiet for a moment and mulled over her request. There was one way he was certain would stop, or at the very least, indefinitely delay, the aggression from the opponent's side.

He took a deep breath and measured his words. "Collapse their mines, destroy their supplies, and arrest their people. For the soldiers, there is no need to keep them alive if they keep attacking you."

He lifted his head and saw several people taken aback by his words. The old man, Elka's uncle, frowned. "You want us to raid and collapse their mines?"

"It was one thing if they just continued harassing you, without hurting anyone, but it's come this far. I would start by sending the kingdom or principality you're leasing from a notice that their harassment has become attacks that led to death. If they do not expel your opponents within a certain amount of time, Dareisol will consider it a breach in the agreement and retaliate in full. Give them a deadline, and on the day of that deadline, surround the enemy. If the leasing country does not act, then they've broken the agreement, so there is no need to abide by it further. Isolate the enemy and destroy the mine. Let it be a warning to other groups harassing other sites."

"What about all the civilians we capture?" Someone asked. "We still abide by rules of engagement."

"We've seen their miners, Henry," Elka said. "They appear malnourished, their clothes are worn, and they don't even have proper safety equipment. Most importantly, they don't look like they came willingly."

Henry frowned at this. "Could they have been forced into labor?" As he said it, he knew no one knew the answer, so he shook his head. "In that case, arrest the civilians and hold them as prisoners until Ashtar comes for them."

"What if they don't?" The old man asked with a frown. "Isn't Ashtar lacking money right now? They haven't engaged in trade for years, and I heard they're just starting to reach out to merchants to find any willing to do trade in it."

Henry was certain that Ashtar wouldn't come for their miners, especially if they had been sent there by force. "In that case," Henry said. "Send them to me. I'll take care of them."