Zenora
8. The Stonewall Tower

The tower was huge! From afar it was so looking very tall already which made me wonder how tall it would look if I would be standing at the bottom of it.

It was made of white bricks with a big, blue-painted wooden pointy roof; the windows of the tower had stained glass, picturing strange creatures; all around the tower stood a stone wall with the same wooden roof as the top of the tower, and the front gates of the wall were of a sturdy kind of wood, all painted blue as well. All in all, the building looked medieval, yet still sturdy even though it must have been here for a long time.

Maybe even centuries.

So it made me wonder why there was no mention of it being here in any book, or why there weren’t any tourists of some kind. But I’m guessing that with all the information I have gathered so far, this tower is of the least importance to ask questions about. So, I’ll just go with the flow…

We went up a path, leading up to the door and it swung open when we got off the horses and the Rhydian. A man walked out of the tower, greeted us and was amazed by the fact that a Rhydian was there, but said nothing about it. The man looked old and looked as if he had seen his fair share of strange things in his life already and wasn’t about to question me or the others about it being here.

The old man wore a blue long gown and a small flat hat on top of his round face. He had a long grey beard and he probably was about the same length as I was.

“Ulrick!” Brock walked up to the man and greeted him with a firm handshake. Brock was significantly bigger than the old man so he had to reach up to Brock to accept his hand.

We went inside the tower as Ulrick guided us in, and sat around a big table. Luckily, it was set for dinner and I was very hungry, just like my dogs were. I let them eat some chicken and bones as a treat from walking all day, and when they were done they fell asleep by the fireplace.

“Anyone wants some more red wine?” Ulrick had asked and with a snap of his fingers, the glasses of Anna, Cirilya and me were full of wine again. I watched it in awe and then Ulrick realized that I had never seen magic before and he smiled at me.

“Dessert?” Ulrick looked at me and I nodded back. Again, with the flick of his fingers, he conjured a perfect chocolate soufflé. It tasted so good that I moaned with some of the bites, but quickly I stopped doing that as I had noticed that Brock was looking at me. But when I looked him in the eyes and he realized I gazed back at him, he suddenly turned his head, looking away from me. What was going on in his mind?

I shook my head and watched how Anna and Cirilya got a dessert conjured in front of them as well. All the men were looking at Ulrick expectantly, to want a dessert just like we had gotten, but he didn’t do just that. Ulrick smiled. “I think this will suit you guys a bit better.” He said and flicked his fingers to conjure up six big beers and the men shouted excitingly but stopped themselves from grabbing them. They all looked up at Brock first, hoping that he would permit them to drink the beers.

“Okay for just this once! And just one, not more!” The men happily agreed and all picked up their drinks.

Dennis had explained that they were here to protect me and if they got drunk it wouldn’t be so easy to proceed with that task. But I guess Brock let the men have this bit of fun, just for now.

“You are making him soft, you know that right?” I heard a faint whisper talking in my head.

“What do you mean?” I looked at Cirilya thinking of those words.

“I think he likes you.” She said and my cheeks blushed instantly. Is that why he looks at me so odd?

As the night came closer, we all went to bed. I shared a room with Anna and Cirilya and the men just laid where their bodies would allow them to fall asleep. Two of them were on couches in the hallway on the first floor, two in another room and Brock stayed in the biggest room of the tower. One of them kept awake as a guard and the men took turns in guarding throughout the night.

But in the middle of the night, I woke up because I couldn’t sleep much. My mind was reeling with everything that happened these days and I had to relieve some tension by taking a small walk. I got out of bed, softly pacing, making sure to not wake up Anna and Cirilya and went downstairs to sit on a chair by the warm fire, which was still alit. Miles and Dolly came sitting next to me and laid their heads on my lap.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” A deep voice whispered and made me jump up a little. Brock was awake as well and took a chair to sit next to me. He petted my dogs and Dolly laid her head on his lap now.

Did I just command her to do that in my mind, or did she do that on her own? I didn’t know for sure but it felt nice that it happened anyway. I guess Brock wondered the same as I saw him lifting his brows and was about to ask me about it when we heard a loud roar.

Right after, there was another roar and then the door came busting inwards. Two Orcs entered fully equipped with axes and leather armour. Instantly I knew that these were no ordinary Orcs. They were bigger and appeared stronger than the scout that had attacked us. Rushing in, Brock held them off and down came all the men. Rattling with swords and knives, fighting the Orcs the best they could. With a swift motion, Brock caught a sword that Brandon threw at him and slid the throat of one of the Orcs.

I could see the Orc drop dead right in front of me! Blood came oozing out of the neck of the green-skinned creature and nearly sprayed me along the way. For a moment I gasped at the Orc’s features, as his teeth were so large that two of them on the lower jaw stuck out of his mouth like tusks. His eyes were bloodshed and still open; his hands were around his neck, right where he was sliced by Brock and I froze out of horror.

Two more Orcs came running in and suddenly all six men were fighting the three Orcs. These Orcs were big, strong warriors and Brock’s men fought them off as best as they could.

A fifth and sixth Orc came rushing in now and Cirilya started to speak in a strange language. Suddenly, one of the Orcs fell to the ground, blood ran out of his eyes and ears. He was dead.

The other one was smaller and much faster and he noticed me standing in the corner. My adrenaline took over and no longer was I frozen in place. I yelled at Michael to throw his bow and quiver my way. Quickly, I took an arrow out and just in the nick of time I shot it through the Orc’s right eye and he fell to the ground. Also, dead.

Brock killed another Orc, and Brandon and Tom together killed one as well. The last one charged its way into Brock’s direction, but as he was standing with his back to the Orc, he couldn’t see him. I took another arrow, aimed it and shot. The arrow grazed Brocks’s ear and flew straight into the heart of the Orc behind him.

I was breathing heavily and my heart pounded around in my chest. I just stood there, looking at all the dead Orcs, Including the two that I had killed with the arrows still in their limp bodies.

Brock walked over to me and took the bow I held strongly in my arm. At first, I didn’t let go because I was in shock. So, Brock cupped my chin with his right hand and due to his touch, I snapped out of my trance and looked into his bright green eyes. I let loose of the bow and fell to my knees as the adrenaline seeped away and I felt like I was about to pass out. This was the first time I killed someone and it was terrifying! I know they were Orcs but still, it felt so abrupt and brutal.

Brock came down on his knees, picked me up and hold my arms steady so that I wouldn’t fall down again.

“Did they keep him alive?” I asked him frantically as I suddenly thought of someone else, and he looked at me frowning. “Who do you mean?” Brock asked me. “We are only slightly hurt, but nothing serious.” He raised his shoulders, not knowing who I was referring to.

“No, I meant the Rhydian! He was the one that roared, right?” I asked Brock and immediately he told me to wait here and he went outside to check on him. When he came back inside, he wasn’t looking happy.

“They broke his leg to keep him from travelling further, I think we might need to release him from his suffering.” Brock said, in this non-comforting way.

No! That was not going to happen, not on my watch. I was about to become a veterinarian so I wouldn’t let him die just like that. I rushed outside and saw the big Rhydian laying on his right side. His left front paw was in a strange angle, clearly broken just as Brock said.

I put my hand on his foot and a few tears came rolling down my cheeks and suddenly I saw something flash in my mind. What was that? “Try again.” I heard Cirilya whisper in my mind, as she encouragingly nodded to me.

I put my hands on his big foot and closed my eyes, focusing. I saw the rough grey skin of the Rhydian’s foot and underneath that, the tough sinews, big veins, muscles, some other layers of tissue and finally the bone. I saw how the big shin bone was broken and was shifted out of place. I immediately knew what to do, and I was hoping that I could succeed with my ideas!

“Brandon, Tom, get here and help me!” I yelled to them. They looked up to Brock and he just simply commanded them to go to me. “You heard her, go!” He had yelled.

“Pull his foot down my way when I say so, and Cirilya can you...” I wanted to say something but she was already there, focusing on his foot. She knew what I wanted her to do even though I wasn’t even sure if she could, but Cirilya read my mind and she didn’t say a thing. So, I just figured she could manage whatever I had in mind.

I focused on the way the foot was placed and when I had the plan in mind, I yelled. “Pull!” And as I said, Brandon and Tom pulled as hard as they could. The Rhydian roared in pain but laid still, letting the men do what was needed. I saw in my mind that the bone shifted back into place, and then I thought of Cirilya and immediately she put her hands on the foot and a forcefield appeared. Keeping the foot and upper leg in a stiff position. I walked over to the Rhydian’s head and looked him in the eyes.

“You have to do the healing now Rhydon! I gave you your name and thus you are my creature to forever take care of. From now on, use my strength and heal!”

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