Ayla headed right to the medical pavilion to help. Zasen joined her after giving the militia orders. I carried water until I could find some Dragons standing around with nothing to do, then I'd made them handle it. Once our people were assisting, I went to find the person I really needed: Eriska.
I asked around until someone directed me to a tiny house. I knocked at the door, waiting until someone inside yelled, then let myself in.
"Close that," Eriska snapped.
I did, then paused to look around. Reaper homes were nothing like ours. They were somewhat mobile, being made on a deck of sorts so they could be dragged around if necessary. They weren't meant to be transported, though. Instead, they boarded these things up when they moved to the next field, leaving seeds and supplies safe inside them.
But they were dark. Windows were for ventilation, and as the weather cooled, the shutters were secured. In here, a small lantern lit the desk where Eriska was working - and little else. It was still enough to see her staring at me with a lifted brow.
"Rymar?" she asked incredulously.
"There was no way Jerlis would make the walk here," I said, moving closer. "But your riders made it to Lorsa. We brought medicine, two doctors, plenty of medics, and bodies. I have twenty militia members ready to lift anything you need - or whatever will help."
She leaned back and sighed, sounding more relieved than I'd expected. "Thank you. You and Lorsa. Just..." And she waved a hand toward a chair by the wall. "Pull that over."
So I did. "I also brought something else that might help. Might not, but it's a resource we didn't have before."
"And that is?"
"Her name is Ayla, her sign is the Phoenix, and she was born inside the Mole compound."
Eriska's entire body stilled. "Is that the girl Lansin told me about?"
"Mhm," I agreed. "You should also know she's my partner."
"Yes, he mentioned she'd end up with one of you. So you're the lucky pick, hm?"
"All of us," I said. "Me, Zasen, and Kanik." And I flicked my tail over my lap since this stupid chair wasn't made for it to hang over the arm comfortably, nor beside me. "We know a bit about their culture, but right now, that's going to be a problem."
"Okay? Why?" she asked.
This was the part I didn't want to tell her. "Because I know what happened to your missing people."
Her eyes narrowed, judging me. "How did you know people went missing?"
"Ayla guessed first," I explained, "and Yrena confirmed some were taken. Women."
"We're missing men too," she pointed out.
"They're dead." I murmured. "I'm sorry, but they are. The Moles will not keep men as prisoners, but they will take their bodies. According to Ayla, you are called wild menand wild women. You're heathens, minions of the Devil, and whatever crap they can throw together to fit their religious indoctrination."
"But why take the bodies of our men?!" she demanded.
And this was the hard part. "Because they're starving. For months now, they haven't been able to take Dragon bodies, so it seems they've become desperate enough to decide you're not human either."
"What the fuck?" she gasped.
"Look," I said, "the entire place is a complicated mess of religion and male dominance. Women are basically property, they have almost no medicine, and lives are not considered precious. Women are bred until they die giving birth. The two women we have now were both so malnourished when they arrived that it was terrifying. The men? They are sent out here to weed out the weak, I think. The entire system is designed to benefit a handful of older men called 'the elders,' and information is kept from anyone who doesn't absolutely need to know."
"Okay?"
"And," I told her, "their bloodlines have been crossed enough times things are getting a little close. Marriages are made - not allowed, butmade- based on who someone is related to. What they need?" I paused, hating that I had to tell her this, but I did. "Eriska, they need women to make babies."
"No..." she breathed.
"Yeah, so I don't know how you want to handle this, but Ayla will help." And I laughed once. "Shit, good luck trying to keep her from helping. She got us an informant on the inside, and her goal is to destroy them. I think it's working, but I'm also sorry it is, because I'm pretty sure that's why they attacked you."
"Generation after generation," she snarled, "we have kept to the agreement. As long as we provide them the grains, beans,and other essential nutrition they need, we would be safe. We have. When they took more, we offered more. Now they do this?" And she slapped her hand down on the papers before her. "This, Rymar, is my list of the known dead." Then she stabbed her finger on the paper beside it. "This is the missing."
