The Wolf, the Butterfly, and the Kraken

Chapter 47

Captain Harris

Green would take the only two firecasters we had, and three earthcasters to the battlefield. They would work, alongside a team of 10 Lycant warriors, who had volunteered to aid in the cleanup process to bury, and burn corpses. They would fire the area in sections.

We had all been working hard to learn as much Lycant as possible, but now it seemed more important than ever. Vam was teaching us words like 'lift', 'bury', 'burn'. He was also trying to teach the volunteers a bit of Veneran.

Listening to their growly voices trying to sound out Veneran words for the first time was interesting. Simple gestures that each made, and what they meant, were gone over. I wondered if we slaughtered their language as much as they did ours. Then I sent Lieutenant Green, five men, and twice as many Lycants across the river to clean up hundreds, possibly thousands of bodies.

Of my original troop of 25 one had died. We were 24 total, but 3 were already headed to Riverside. Apin was helping to transport the Lycants, and would be helping the sick. Green and his men would be quarantined for a month after cleansing the battlefields. That left me with 14 men at Clifftop, who were all jumpy.

We were all aware of moonpox. I had to take some action, or the men might do something stupid, or crazy. I took a deep breath, and let out a shrill whistle they could all hear. "Gather up!"

They came in silently, seeming scared and restless. "Today is a sad day. We lost a good man to a terrible sickness. The Lycants have a small group that is also ill. We were stationed here for a reason. And we will see our purpose through if it takes the last breath from all of us." Eyes widened.

"You heard me. The actions that we take here, for these Lycant warriors, could open up the pathways that will end the war. These warriors in Finton have family, and friends, and they all have long memories. They live, and die, by a code of honor. We must do the same."

Sam shook his head, "How will us dying of moonpox be honorable, or stop a war?"

I smiled. "Because you are not going to die of moonpox. Not if I can help it. I learned a secret a bit back. The Lycants live longer than we do." I had promised I would not say how much longer. "I suspect that this is in part due to knowledge their kind have accrued through time and experience. Our people have learned about element casting. They have learned other things."

I had their attention now. "Every speck of camp will be kept spotless. You will not have a sip of water that has not been boiled first. You will not touch each other, unless absolutely necessary, or your face, except to cleanse it before each meal. Further, you will wear masks across your nose and mouth. You will dig your own latrine every day. Your masks will be sanitized in boiled water, at least once a day. Your meal kit too. Your bedding. All of it."

I saw smoke from the first pit of corpses being burned across the river. The cleansing had begun. The people at the plantation would see it too. They had been very kind to us, and supplied fluffer chips for fires. Sometimes they had even sold us the occasional bit of food.

"Sam, you will make masks for all of us. Aaron, Hector, you will start washing the cleansing crews kit. John, close up the latrines and start bringing up water. The rest of you know what to do. Do it."

I pulled Sam aside to show him what the masks looked like, and how they went on.

"What am I going to use to make them?"

"Blake's kit. It will be the first to go in the pot. Let it boil for 15 minutes." The more confident I sounded, the more at ease Sam became. "I will be back shortly. I'm going to check on the occupants of the plantation."