Anchorex walked quickly, but carefully, trying to follow the footsteps of those he was following and keep the snow off his feet. It's not particularly easy to use. They didn't follow a road or path that he couldn't see, and there weren't enough of them to make a decent path. With every step he took, he kicked up a small cloud of snow.
A slender moon hung low on the western horizon, lying quietly in the clear and cold air. The trees looked vague and indistinct against the white, but at least the traces they left were impossible to miss. Androcks wondered whether the snow actually produced a small amount of light, or if it just seemed that way.
The chill of the night no longer caught him, probably because his belly was filled with slow-burning anger and burnt bread. He trudged through the snow, generating heat that sucked the sweat out of his forehead and clothes, making them feel particularly heavy. He briefly considered jogging, but he didn't dare find himself out of breath during an ambush. Not to mention, there was no way his creaking, aching joints could handle such abuse, not even after he was dragged onto a horse.
Only my toes were cold, but they were so cold that they hurt. Although he had a good pair of leather shoes that only came halfway up his calves, the oil had worn away and his feet were wet and sticky. At least he could still feel them. As long as he can feel his toes and move them, they won't freeze and break. This freed him from worrying about his son.
God help them if they try to escape. Wolf Sca
Said one of them hit Pepper, so he may have tried that but didn't run away and hide. When Pepper tries to hide, no one can find him, not even Aguna with her priestess tricks. No, the kids need to be caught now because Androchus is coming and if they escape, they'll probably freeze to death and no one will find the bodies.
A
d
Okles tried to focus on his cold toes, tried to inject warmth into them instead of wandering over all the horrible things that could go wrong, but without much success. He's not too worried about Aguna and Gabi, exactly; he trusts Aguna to take care of things. He still worried about her; she was a woman after all. But if any woman could bear to be caught by a slave master, it was Agna. The Gorgon would no doubt have them cook for her and clean the camp while she sat back and give orders, and they would give her a horse to take her back. Otherwise she would have left a pile of corpses and never explained to him how she did it. As far as he knew, she was capable of such things; whenever he did make her angry, she ominously announced that not all of her tricks were harmless, and that if he continued to do so, he would Know everything.
He wondered if the children were still awake. If they were, maybe the flowers would sing. The slaves might see his value and leave him largely unharmed, and when Androx is close enough he can hear it. Or would they have suffocated the boy? He might have been suffocated tightly.
Now that he thought about it, the snow seemed to cover everything on its own. His footsteps and the click of his weapons sounded very loud in the silence of the night, but there was just absolutely no other sound. Snow swallowed everything. Nothing was visible but snow, a faint trail, the black shapes of vegetation, and no sound at all.
What if they gagged Flower with a chain and broke a few of his teeth? Or cut his tail and ears short to make him look like a pitbull for fun? Or branded him , or get a weird tattoo? In a civilized society, this kid can't hide it. Civilized men and boys are often naked. Maybe they could wear it as a scar from fighting the barbarians. Andrew frowned and tried not to think about it. It's best to concentrate on following the trail. The last thing he wanted to do was lose his nerve.
From the footprints in the snow, he knew he was following four people and two horses. The boys were probably lying on one of the horses like luggage, for he couldn't see any small footprints. But that was to be expected; if the slavers wanted to move quickly, they couldn't let the stubby legs of children go ahead, especially tired ones who hadn't eaten.
If the gods were watching, they should at least prevent the bread from burning.
The trail seemed to be heading straight west, deviating only when it skirted trees or thick brush. These slave traders may have a specific destination in mind, or they may go around in circles to meet others. A camp or something, or a stupid hilltop wooden fort that they were proud of.
Just as the woods opened into a small clearing, he almost stepped on a dark spot in the snow, right in the middle of the tracks. He barely noticed it, though he was deep in thought, but something about the shape caught his attention. He wondered if it was blood, and when he knelt down to examine it more closely, he realized that it was indeed blood: a patch of blood, almost the size of a pumpkin, just lying on the snow.
He felt a sudden rush of panic and had to swallow hard to stay calm. His hands were shaking, but not from the cold. He blamed himself over and over again, telling himself that this was not the behavior of a seasoned veteran, but it didn't help much.
In addition to the large blood stain, there were other smaller blood stains scattered around, almost as if they had been thrown. He walked carefully around, but found no footprints small enough to belong to his children. Where did the blood come from? Maybe dinner, maybe a bird? No feathers. Perhaps one of the horses seemed to be confined to this area, and the footprints suggested that the party stopped here for a while.
Then he saw a piece of meat and knelt down to take a closer look. It was a man's severed finger. A
d
Okles picked it up, and sure enough it was bitten off. He was almost reassured by it, but not entirely. He was proud of his boy's bravery, no matter who his son did it, but the punishment would be severe.
He carefully circled the area, looking for anything he might have missed, and soon found signs that were different from the rest - an adult bear had left the area, then returned. He walked alone, so he may have just peed in the tree; he may not have gone to dispose of the body. possible.
Androx gritted his teeth and followed the path away from the main road. After walking a few dozen yards, he thought he heard slight sniffles and whimpers.
He ran wildly, following the footprints in search of the sound. The path skirted the brush, passed through a clump of short, scraggy trees, and entered a wide clearing ending in a wide, tall pine tree. Soon he found the source: hanging under a very large tree, something black and white without flowers.
"Pepper!" he shouted, rushing towards the tree, panic filling him. Then he stopped: it wasn't Pepper, it was the demon child, hanging by a rope around his ankles. His panic immediately Falling somewhere between disappointment and disgust.
The kid wasn't even swinging; he was hanging limpingly, his legs at an odd angle to his hips. It looked dislocated. The thing was still wearing the red coat he had made, but it hung outward from the armpits, hiding his face. They hung him to die.
"Hello? Is that someone?" the demon asked in a shaky, frightened voice. It tried to stretch out its arms to feel its surroundings, but its arms didn't have the strength to lift its coat high enough to reveal its face." Who is the valley?”
A
d
okles' conflicted heart hopes he didn't call out Peppe
name to let him know he's nearby. Could he turn around and walk away? This, he realized, would be the perfect opportunity. He could kill it, stop it from suffering, and then claim that slave traders did it. No one would know better and his family would be safer without it. It's tempting.
He dropped his harpoon and spear, drew his sword, and walked toward the demon child. It heard his footsteps and asked again, almost screaming with terrible urgency: "Who is that?"
When A
d
When okles didn't answer, it started waving its arms wildly, as if it couldn't see and was trying to figure out what was approaching. It tried to pull its coat high enough to see clearly, but with every move the rope pulled at its ankles and let out a painful whimper.
When A
d
When okles ran under the tree, the demon child was already in extreme fear. He sometimes tried to protect himself, and sometimes stretched out his hands to feel something approaching. His sobs turned into desperate cries, almost screaming. .
For a moment Androx looked at the imp, panicked and in agony. Then he sighed; he couldn't stand this now. Starting a family destroyed him. A
d
Okles reached under the dangling coat, grabbed the devil's little hand, and said: "Shh, it's okay. It's me. A
d
Okles. I'm taking you back to Deanna. "The boy shook Anjax's hand with both hands. His hands were frozen.
"A
dokwes?" Seff asked, his breathing coming in short, ragged gasps from being hung there.
"Yes, A
d
Okles. The big guy who made you that tunic. Are you hurt? he asked.
"My legs are numb," the boy said. A
d
Okles could almost feel the pain radiating from the child's tight and stiff body.
"Yes..." Andrews started, trying to think of what to say. "Did it explode?"
"Yes. It hurts bad," he replied, followed by gritted teeth and sobs.
There is no use delaying time to get the child down. He didn't want to cut the rope, but his fingers were cold and he was anxious. Now he thought about it, this slave trader must be in a very, very bad mood to waste so much time on revenge. That must be his favorite finger.
A
d
Okles said: "I've had this happen to me before. I know how much it hurts. Now try to stay still because I'm going to chop you off. Your legs will hurt more for a moment, but I have to do it."
"No! No, stop!" the child suddenly shouted in horror. His fingers dug into Androx's forearm with surprising force.
A
d
okles pause. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. "What, you want me to hang you here until you die? How can I get you off without cutting the rope?" he asked, trying not to sound angry.
"Oh, you wish?"
"Yes, I'm going to cut the rope. Are you ready?"
"Isn't it my leg?"
"What? No."
"I fought you and we were going to chop my legs off," Seif explained, his voice thick with emotion. He loosened his grip on Angelus' forearm a little.
Androx didn't know whether he should laugh or embrace the demon with sympathy. He did nothing, and then said: "Gods, child, why did I do that? Try not to move while I cut the rope, or it will be worse. Don't move."
"Will it starve to death?" the boy asked, even though he already had the answer. A
d
Okles put his arms around the boy's waist and began sawing the rope, just above the knot. He was careful not to shake it too much because that would hurt. Soon the rope was cut and the boy was free.
He heard the bones slide back into place on their own as Anklex grabbed hold of him. He had always wanted this. The demon screamed in agony, and Androcles held him to his chest, sheathed his sword, and readjusted the bearskin over the child.
Sev gritted his teeth and cried, hugging An A tightly.
d
Okles. His body was shaking slightly, and Ankrex held him with one arm and poked his hip with the other. Satisfied that everything was in place, he gently massaged the joint to help relieve the pain.
After a while, Seph calmed down, regained his composure, and looked up at Ankerex in horror. Upon closer inspection, the boy's eyes were exactly like those of his sons, except they were silver instead of gold. "I told you, you don't like me," the demon said with a forced, nervous half-smile, trying to dry his face with the bearskin.
"Why do you think that?" Androx asked, even though the answer was obvious.
"Because I fought and you wanted me dead," the child replied.
"If this is true, why should I save you?" Androx replied. Then he wiped the tears from the boy's cheeks and forehead and warmed him. He walked to his jumper, slung it on his back, then picked up his spear and hurried toward the path.
The demon boy was the youngest child Androclus had ever held, even counting Gabby he had found in that pit. He was so light, it was like he didn't exist. A
d
The bearskin of an okles may weigh more than a boy. He hugged Seph to his chest and continued walking down the path, while the demon just snuggled up to him, holding on to him. It didn't take long for the little thing to warm up and start providing some heat.
A
d
After Okles had walked about half a mile, the demon volunteered: "They wanted to kill me because I bit the guy's finger off. He hit the flow flow when he was coughing, and then he wanted to hit him again, so I bit him .That's why he hung me up."
Did the slaves beat Flower? An ancient, deep rage boiled under his skin, and he had to muster the energy to control his murderous intent. The child was Androx's. No one could survive his abuse. When he knew he had himself under control, he said to Seif, "You're brave. Well done." It felt like praising a scorpion for biting an enemy instead of a friend.
"Did Dana ask you to pick me up?" the devil asked.
"Deanna didn't ask me to do anything. I was going to save my kids and I spotted you on the way."
"Oh," the demon said quietly. The boy thought for a while and asked calmly: "So you didn't save me because you liked me?"
"What? What are you talking about?" Androx asked angrily. When no one answered, he said: "Son, why do you care if I like you or not? What does it matter?"
The imp remained silent, and after another twenty steps Ankerex began to feel annoyingly guilty. What happened to the mighty Androkle? Will he listen to the opinions of little children now? Is he the offspring of a demon? What will his friends think when they see it! Nikon will laugh and give him the name Rude nickname. Euphemios makes terrible jokes about cat bugs. Thais...Thais would give him that annoying, knowing, fatherly smile.
But Sev bit off a slaver's finger, which should earn him some credit. A
d
Okles said: "You are very brave, so I guess I like you too."
When the words came out of his mouth, they didn't feel like lies. It has an honest flavor. The slaver beat Flower, and Sev bit off the slaver's finger. What's not to like?
Maybe demons have tribes just as people have tribes? Androcles's Laphilians have as much in common with the local savage slave traders as the young boy has with the war demons he knows so well . After all, this demon was not the one who tore Euphemius with his teeth and laughed while Androcles screamed and cried, unable to break the order to save the friend he loved more than his own skin. The devil left it on his finger.
"I'm happy," Self said. "No one likes my new job." The boy seemed satisfied after saying this, and then became quiet.
Androchus' back began to hurt because of his weight imbalance, so he put the little boy on his shoulders like Deanna had done and covered him with the bearskin. Sev put his hands on Ankerex's head and soon fell asleep.
