章節 69: Not Rats, but scum. Part 2.

Not Rats, but scum. Part 2.

After learning of the Trappers' dirty plan, I had to get back to Ciri as fast as I could and prepare to fight or flee, depending on how much time we have left.

Once in the room, I saw the healer finishing treating Sweers' wounds. The healer had done a good job, judging by the fact that the bandages on Sweers' body weren't completely soaked with blood. Apparently, he was able to close the wounds without much trouble or the need to resort to the good old-fashioned method of cauterization to stop the bleeding. Still, Sweers looked pale, and he bled a lot.

- Sir Sweers. I leave you one dose of painkillers and another with a compound to help revitalize your body. You've lost a lot of blood and your wounds are deep enough that it should help you get back on your feet soon enough. I also suggest you eat more meat and drink good wine. If you do as I advise, you should be able to continue your journey within a week. - the healer said in a calm tone, putting his tools away.

- Good. Here, there should be enough money in this purse to pay for your services. Now leave me alone. I need to rest," - handing over the wallet with coins jingling in it, Sweers signaled the healer to leave.

- Thank you, sire. Drink some of the tincture with the painkiller. It will help you sleep much easier," - he bowed and left.

As he approached Ciri, he pointed to two small bottles on the table.

- Do you remember which one has the painkiller in it? - I asked her, and receiving a nod, began to plan how to secretly slip it to Sweers. - Okay, here's the plan. He'll probably order meat and wine tonight. You should distract him for a while so I can slip some painkillers into his mug. He'll be drowsy, and he'll probably follow the healer's advice and take another dose. That should be enough to put him into a deep sleep so we can gather enough money and supplies for our escape. If you understand, nod, discreetly. Now we'll wait until evening, and I'll walk around the village and try to steal something we can use on the way. - I started to tell her my improvised plan, but before I could continue, there was another commotion downstairs.

- Shit. Okay, Ciri. Don't panic and act normal. We may have to change our plan. - I had to go downstairs again and find out what was going on.

Another group of armed men, who looked like a band of brigands, came into the inn. They brought with them one young man who was tied up.

- Oh, look, it's Vercta's Nissirs.

- Who did they bring? Their prisoner looks very young. - the other innkeepers whispered.

- Hey, innkeeper! Bring your best drink! We've caught a fat rat and we want to celebrate! - shouted their leader, apparently Vercta.

- Coming! Have a seat! - The innkeeper, once again frightened by the arrival of armed visitors, moved at lightning speed, shouting at his workers and carrying the drinks to the Nissir commander.

The Nissirs sat down at one of the tables, chasing off peasants who were drinking beer, while tying their prisoner to the nearest pillar. It was obvious that they were experienced, for they not only tied him to the pole, but also fastened his neck with a leather strap just in case.

Well, it's not enough I've got Trappers, but these Nissirs are here too. Although with my materialization feature they won't be much of a problem, but after the showdown with them, Ciri and I will have such a trail of blood behind us that everyone will be after us.

When I saw Skomlik and Remiz approaching the table where Vercta was sitting, I decided to get closer to them. Who knows what they could tell, maybe even something interesting and useful.

- Hello, Vercta. So who did our valiant protectors catch this time? - Skomlik was the first to sit down at their table and placed a bottle of vodka down, hinting that he wouldn't mind sharing it with the nissir.

- Ah, Skomlik and Remiz. It's strange that you're both here. Aren't you two in two different squads? - Verkta asked, grabbing the bottle and pouring the vodka into shots.

- Well, the situation is such that our squads were hired by noblemen... - Skomlik, having a glass of vodka with Vercta, began to tell how they came to be here.

- I see. The nobles decided to cross blades again and let each other's guts out. Just like they always do. Oh, well. Not our problem. Let's have a drink, - after listening to the story Vercta only smirked and knocked back a glass of vodka, and all the others at the table followed him.

- Ah, that's a good one. Now it's your turn. Who is it that you've caught, since you're feasting? - Remiz asked, stroking his chest and casting a questioning glance in the direction of the bound prisoner.

- Ha, we didn't catch a mere rat, we caught the Rat! It's Kayleigh himself from Rats gang. Caught the bastard making love to one of his bitches. It was easy to catch him with his pants down and unarmed. Now we're taking him to his execution. - Vercta pointed at the bound prisoner with a broad smile on his face.

- Ha-ha-ha-ha. Serves him right, that bastard. So much trouble from him and his gang of cunts. But why is he in one piece? You could have knocked out his teeth or chopped off a couple fingers. - asked Skomlik, looking at Kayleigh, who had only bruises and a couple bruises on his face.

- We want to give him to one of the noble who suffered from his gang. I think we'll get a bigger reward for letting nobles play with him than if we bring in a half-dead piece of meat with no arms or legs. And the guys were a little tired after fucking his whore a few times. So a couple of kicks and punches did the job. - Verkta looked at the prisoner and smiled wickedly, getting a look of fury and remorse in return.

- It gets better and better. First the Nisssrs came, and now the Rats. If memory serves me correctly, Kayleigh's associates are coming here tonight to slaughter the Trappers and the Nissars. The only thing that saved Ciri was Kayleigh's help and protection after the massacre. - I thought aloud, watching the slowly setting sun. - Time is running out for me and Ciri. Okay, less talk, more action.

I left the common room of the inn and went to steal everything that could be useful on the way. A couple of sacks of oats, dried meat and a sack of grits, water barrels and other small things, like a flint and a firebrand. It wouldn't have hurt to bring a weapon more serious than a kitchen knife or a dagger, but the bastards in the inn were experienced and kept their weapons close by. The only thing left to do was to take the weapons from the sleeping Sweers. All the stolen goods were packed in saddlebags and hidden in the stables next to the inn. I wanted to load one of the horses at once, so that I could immediately jump on the horse without wasting time and get away as far as possible, before we were not noticed. But I had no knowledge of how to properly saddlebags and other things, and I could only make things worse, I could only hope for Ciri, in the extreme case, we would have to run empty handed.

Time was slipping away like sand through my fingers, and one of the biggest problems was my lack of knowledge of the area and lack of a map was hanging like a Damocles sword. It was late evening and I had to finish robbing the locals, though I mostly stole from the innkeeper who had his own warehouse behind the inn. Back in the room with Sweers, I stroked the sleeping VJ and nodded to Ciri, hinting that everything was ready and all that was left was to wait for Sweers to start dinner and slip him a painkiller.

After a while, one of the innkeeper's servants knocked on the room and brought Sweers and Ciri dinner. It's time, I give Ciri the sign to start distracting Sweers' attention.

- What? You want meat too? Hmm, I guess I won't go broke if I order more meat. Especially the reward for helping me find the future queen of Cintra will cover all my expenses. - he stood up, he went to the door and tried to call the innkeeper.

While I had the chance, I quickly uncorked the vial of painkiller and prepared to pour it into the wine when Sweers started ordering food to the innkeeper and he wasn't paying much attention to what was going on behind his back. But the noise downstairs prevented Sweers from calling the innkeeper over and he had to go down himself. It was safe to pour about a third of a vial into his wine, which should be enough, or if it's too much, he might get suspicious and do something stupid that would ruin my escape plans. And that's the last thing I need in light of the fact that the Rats are coming here soon.

Sweers returned quickly enough. He was followed by a tavernkeeper with a black eye, carrying a tray with a plate of meat stew and another with steak on it. The tavernkeeper quickly set the food down and after getting a couple coins from Sweers, left the room.

- Eat, child. I don't know if you are Cirilla, the one the whole empire is looking for, or just a girl who looks like her, but I think a couple of coins for a good dinner is not too much for me. So eat in peace and don't be afraid. - Sweers said and emptied his cup of wine, and then began to eat.

- Thank you. - Ciri said.

- Ciri! Shut up! You'll blow our cover! - Sweers heard her and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

- Hmm. You're welcome, child. Eat. I don't know what's on your mind, but you may not worry. Honor and nobility are not empty words to me. I'm a knight after all, not a common brigand with a coat of arms on his shield, - Svirsi said in a calm tone with a real fatherly care looked at Ciri, who had tears in her eyes.

- Thank you again. You are one of the few who do not wish me harm. But you said you were a knight, then where are your men? Those Trappers don't have your badge, and they don't look like.... - Ciri didn't pay attention to my signs to stop talking to Sweers.

- They look like common scum who are ready to kill for a penny or if they want to have fun. Lack of men made it a necessity to hire these pigs. Because of the Blue Knight's family, I have to keep the best troops in my land for their defense, so I have to hire what I can find. Although I'm not glad that I hired them myself. Slippery and sneaky bastards who are ready to kill me and only the threat of retribution from my family keeps them at bay. But don't worry, I won't let them hurt you. Whether you're really Cirilla or not, I won't give you to them. At the very least, you will live and serve my family. You're not a stupid girl to have pretended to be dumb. So I'll tell you again, don't be afraid, everything will be fine, - answered Sweers, who during the conversation began to act relaxed, as if he was on drugs.

Toward the end of his speech, Ciri exhaled and went back to eating. I just shook my head. That's how plans go awry because of little slip-ups. Sweers was good, I had to admit, he'd managed to get some proof that he had the person he was looking for in front of him. His speech gave away that he wasn't just a pretty little girl from the streets. And probably the northern accent, too, only now comparing their speech, the difference between them became clear to me.

- Well done, Ciri. Now if we want to escape, we have to kill him. He won't get let us run away so easily. - I said, and Ciri looked up at me, tears forming in the corners of her eyes again.

- Child, are you crying? - Sweers was surprised to see such a reaction.

- No, it's just that this is the first normal meal I've had in a long time. - wiping away her tears, Ciri couldn't hide her reddened eyes.

- It happens. You know, once on a camping trip I had to eat something worse. Once we had a raccoon in the pot... - Sweers began to tell stories, trying to cheer up Ciri.

This went on for quite some time until he started to fall asleep. Deciding it was time to go to bed, he left the room and called the innkeeper to put away the dishes. After the dishes were put away, Sweers followed the healer's advice and drank the medicine.

- I'm sorry to have to tie you up, but it's necessary. Now let's go to bed. We have a long journey ahead of us, - having tied Ciri to the heavy leg of the bed, he made himself comfortable on it and in about half an hour fell into a deep sleep. Just in case he waited another quarter of an hour, but Sweers fell asleep so soundly that not even the roar of the regimental bugle could wake him up.

Tough, what can I say? After a horse dose of painkillers and blood loss, he's asleep only now. All right, enough time wasted on chitchat.

- Ciri, it's time to run, I'll untie you and help you down through the window. There you'll have to get your horse ready for a fast gallop... - but before I could finish speaking and untie Ciri, there was a noise outside.

Quickly rushing to the window, I saw a small mounted party rushing toward the inn. I didn't have to guess, the Rats were after one of them. It was bad timing, if we could have gotten away in another ten minutes, we could have run away, and the trail would have gotten lost in the carnage the Rats were going to wreak. It's all up the ass again.