Release that Witch

After the group of soldiers dispersed, the old man returned to the train. Lightning flew into the cab from the rear window and landed silently on the floor of the compartment.

The old man stood in front of the dashboard, transfixed like a silent statue, gazing at what lay in his hand.

Watching his lonely back, Lightning wanted to console him, but words somehow abandoned her.

The old man did not see Lightning until she touched the half-open blind.

”Ah, you were the little girl the other day...” said the old man who blinked in surprise.

”My name is Lightning,” Lightning said as she took a step back. ”Sorry, I...”

”I see. You came to comfort me, right?” The old man said, grinning. ”That’s OK. I’m not that old yet. I don’t need a little girl to comfort me. To be honest, it’s a little embarrassing. That’s a convenient ability you have. You can go wherever you want.”

Lightning was a little relieved after she noticed that the old man was not as disconsolate as she had thought. She said, ”I, I’ll knock before I come in next time.”

”I’m not blaming you, child,’ said the old man as he took down a foldable desk off the wall and wiped it with his sleeve. ”Come, sit here. I’ll make you a cup of tea. This is the only thing I have here to entertain guests.”

”Thank... you,” said Lightning, as she slouched toward the table and sat down. On the dashboard lay a Neverwinter identification card.

”I’m Broocher, or you can call me my nickname, Mr. Howler. The lads on the train all call me by that name.” The old man placed a cup of hot tea on the table and asked, ”Did you attend the memorial?”

Lightning nodded and then shook her head. ”I just stopped by and watched for a few minutes...”

”That means you didn’t lose any of your friends, which is good.”

Lightning clutched the cup and asked, ”Your son...”

”Oh, that was Robert, my third son. He died when they tried to seize the artillery,” Broocher said placidly. ”The commander says he was very brave.”

”He was,” Lightning muttered. She had heard everything about the battle from Sylvie. It took a great deal of courage to charge at the spearing demons with no firearms or the support of the God’s Punishment Witches.

”My third son used to be the timidest among my four sons. When he was a miner, he never stood up for himself no matter how harsh his foreman treated him. He would only complain about him to me in tears,” Broocher said with a sigh. ”You must be wondering why I don’t look very sad, aren’t you?”

At a loss for words, the little girl stammered, ”No, I...”

”That’s OK,” the old man consoled her. ”I know this will come one day... but my three sons told me one thing once.”

”What... did they say?”

”They said they wanted to defend Neverwinter and everything in their native town that they earned through their hard work.” The old man sipped the tea and continued, ”To be completely honest, I didn’t understand at first and asked them why it had to be them instead of others.”

Lightning was asking the same question within herself.

Broocher seemed to know what she was thinking. He answered, ”They said that others had made their sacrifices.”

”Many people were killed during the battle against the demonic beasts when they were just members of the Militia. People died all the time when they fought against Duke Ryan and the church. If everybody relied on others, we would have been still working at the mine, living like animals,” the old man said. ”There’s no battle without blood spilled. Everybody has his own turn. If nobody wanted to come forward, we would have been at the mercy of our enemy — that was what they told me.”

”I’m not sure if my three sons are right, but I’m sure that this is their own choice.” He took a deep breath and went on, ”They were adults, and they knew what they were doing. That’s enough for me. Compared to my eldest son who died of a chill, my third son would be remembered by the army forever. What do I have to be sad for?”

Lightning remembered what the conductor had said the other night. ”They used to be as frail and weak as mice. However, after they joined the army, they changed a great deal. That’s where my confidence in the First Army comes from. An army with people like that would not be so easily defeated.”

”So that’s the reason...” Lightning thought.

”By the way, I should thank you.”

”Thank... me?” Lightning echoed in confusion.

”Yes,” said the old man smilingly. ”Without your prompt notification, we would have suffered a greater loss. You protected the First Army and the other son of mine in another way. I was wondering when I could meet you again and thought I probably would never see you in the future, but you appeared right behind me. It’s nice to express my gratitude in person.”

After the tea, Lightning waved goodbye to Broocher.

As she flew out of the train, through the window she saw the old man return to the dashboard, grab that identification card and bury his face in his hands.

...

Maggie was hovering in midair when Lightning returned to the residential area. She pulled Lightning into a rib-cracking hug as soon as she saw her and said accusingly, ”Where have you been, coo? Why did you come back so late, coo? Did you forget what day it is today, coo?”

”Um, what day is it?”

”It’s the day Lorgar is discharged from the hospital!” Maggie exclaimed as she descended on Lightning’s head. ”Let’s go to the hospital, coo!”

”Ah... alright, alright. I see. Be quiet,” Lightning said as she steadied the wobbly pigeon before zooming toward the center of the encampment. The Tower Station No. 1 underwent significant changes after the night attack. All the facilities, including the barracks and the hospital, had been relocated to the underground, except the platform, the yard and the watchtower. In this way, they were able to extend the defensive line to the outer ring of the encampment while at the same time monitoring the interior. Even if the demons launched a similar attack again, they would be able to minimize its impact.

Lightning and Maggie soon caught sight of the wolf girl.

”Hey,” Lorgar said as she shook her ears. ”Long time no see.”

”It has been just a week,” Lightning said, relieved to see the wolf girl in high spirits again. Lightning had been very concerned about Lorgar, because based on Maggie’s description, Lorgar had been barely alive when she had been sent to the hospital.

”I feel time go so slow, probably because I’ve been sleeping all day,” Lorgar said while stretching her body. ”Nana insists that I should stay at the hospital for a week. If I stayed here for another week, I probably wouldn’t need her treatment.”

According to the Taquila witches, witches generally had a higher tolerance to the side effect of sleeping ferns than ordinary people. As such, to save Nana’s magic power, they usually put themselves to sleep when receiving Nana’s treatment.

”You really have monstrous self-repair ability, just like Lady Ashes, coo!” Maggie remarked while flapping her wings.

”Um... After I talked to Miss Andrea, I feel this is nothing to brag about,” Lorgar mumbled in a hushed voice.

”Coo?”

”No, nothing,” The wolf girl muttered as she walked up to Lightning and suddenly picked her up under her arms.

”Oi, Oi... what are you doing? Put me down,” Abashed, Lightning yelled. ”Somebody’s watching us!”

”Sylvie told me everything, everything you did.”

”I...”

”See? You can do it as long as you try hard,” Lorgar said as she pressed Lightning into her bosom. ”This is the captain we love.”

Lightning stopped struggling, feeling warmth wash over her body. After a moment of silence, she murmured, ”But I’m still a coward.”

”You admitting this to me indicates you’ve already made progress.” Lorgar put down Lightning and said, ”You aren’t going to leave us again, are you?”

Lightning’s eyes darted from the wolf girl to Maggie, then nodded gently and said, ”No.”

The moment she made her promise, she felt a heavy burden press onto her shoulders.

However, she did not feel intimidated.

Instead, she somehow felt a sense of security.

”Coo?” Maggie asked in bewilderment, her head lopsided. ”What are you talking about, coo?”

”We’re discussing the upcoming celebration,” Lorgar said as she straightened up. ”Since we’re all safe and sound, shouldn’t we have a drink?”

”Celebrate, coo!! Celebrate, coo!” Maggie rejoined in excitement.

”Hey, hang on...” Lightning said hesitantly. ”I have to patrol the campsite tonight.”

”That’s OK. You just provide drinks and we’ll drink them for you,” Lorgar said, her tail high up in the air. ”This is what a captain should offer to her team, isn’t it?”