Chapter 36: The Good Enemies

Tristan

November 31, 1786, Realm Timeline, Pressburg/Bratislava, The Slovakian Protectorate

Lily's family appeared in the morning, walking back and forth in front of the main entrance. Tristan opened the door and invited them inside. The plan was either to scare them away or to dispose of them. However, his plans were ruined in minutes. The Futaks were nothing like Tristan expected.

They were nice.

They were distant relatives, not from the family's main branch.

They were not proper nobles but merchants in Brno, and they opposed slavery.

They had brought their children with them, two boys aged four and five, and Lily enjoyed playing with them a lot, though the boys were overwhelmed by her energy.

Mariuka was fraught, her mouth trembling, curved downward, about to cry. It was clear the child would be better off with her relatives.

"This is hard..." the man said, scratching his head. "It's clear you love her... And you, also, you're a good man, ready to accept Lily as your daughter," he looked at Tristan.

"What?"

"They believe you two are an item," Isold said.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Tristan blurted, waving his hands. "We're only friends. "

"Friends?" Mariuka asked, frowning. You hit on me, remember? That thought was painted all over her face.

Meanwhile, the visitors were whispering to each other.

"There's another way," the woman said. "We adopt both of you. I hope you won't blame us for what our distant cousins did."

"You're willing to take me in too?" Mariuka yelped. "Lily will be my little sister?"

"Of course, honey. You're such a nice girl, and you have been through a lot. And you saved Lily, after all."

She also made your relative shoot himself, but it's for the better...

"You're forgetting something," Aldric said. "The Kingling expects a plague outbreak. He will send people to check it out. She'll be safer at the guild."

"An outbreak?" the Futal woman asked.

"The child was inoculated with a plague," the stonemage said.

"The plague," Tristan said.

"Oh... We didn't expect it to be so serious..." the man said.

"Sorry?"

"The man who approached us told us about it... Said she had a health condition, and he would give her a shot to cure her."

"It makes no sense," Aldric said.

"On the contrary," Dorian said. "The Kingling wanted the plague to hit Austria, not the Protectorates. A plague while we're pissed about—"

"Pissed!" the two young boys yelled in unison.

"Sorry... I'm a very bad man, kids, don't follow my example. What I meant is: Hitting us while we're angry at him would not help mend things. The Kingling wanted to make sure the plague doesn't break out."

"Do you know what happened to that man?" the woman asked, fretting in place.

He died... probably... "He's indisposed," Tristan said. "Don't worry, we took care of it. Lily's safe and healthy now."

"You mother fucker!" Screaming, Eliza dashed into the room, her stretched arms preceding her. A second later, she was trying to strangle Tristan.

"Mother fucker!" the boys screamed, evidently having no idea what it meant. That granted them an ear pull from their mother.

"Is she jealous of you and Mariuka?" the Futak woman asked, trying to keep her composure.

"I'm not jealous, trust me," Eliza yelled, clenching her fingers around Tristan's throat and grunting under the effort. "I'm pissed off."

"Pissed off! Ouch! Ouch!" the boys yelled. Now, their mother had slapped the top of their heads, with both hands at the same time, showing amazing dexterity.

"It means she's angry," Dorian explained.

"We know, we live in the Protectorates," the Futak husband said. "Honey, I think it's time to go. This environment is a bit too instructive for our children. We'll visit you as soon as things are... calmer."

"Or you can visit us too. We bid you goodbye," the woman said.

The two snatched their kids so fast that Lily didn't even manage to get upset and cry. Pops arrived immediately to play with her, and the worst was avoided.

"Die! Why are you not dying?" Eliza screamed.

"You need more strength," Tristan said.

"You left me alone. I almost died!" Eliza yelled.

"What happened?" Tristan asked, noticing her clothes were in tatters, the holes so big he could see her underwear. Plenty of it. Immediately, he looked away.

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"Renegades kidnapped me to blackmail Sam into opening the base for them."

"Why would they do that?"

"'Cause I'm still his official wife. They didn't know about Penny."

"Ah..."

"And they rented the hotel to use as a base," Eliza said, releasing the grip on Tristan's neck and letting herself fall on a couch, next to Dorian. "They put two snipers in the attic and took out the rescue team. I killed... One, two, three, four? Five," she nodded after counting on her fingers. "All but the snipers."

"Wow," Tristan said. "Look, err... Eliza," he said tentatively, because she wasn't his boss anymore. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your call, but we had problems of our own. Lily had the flu."

"You didn't rescue me because Lily had the flu?" Eliza yelled, before turning her eyes toward Mariuka. "Oh... I see.. Well... Mazeltov, what can I say?"

"It's not like that!" Tristan yelled.

"Bubonic plague made airborne by melding it with the flu," Vaelzryth said. "The Kingling's doing."

"Tristan saved our lives," Mariuka said, her eyes welling.

Please, pretty please, don't look at me like I'm a knight in shiny armor! Tristan begged in his mind.

"I guess that's a good reason," Eliza sighed. "Anyway, I got a brea+kthrough. Second tier, whatever it means. Leveling is a bitch. Killed five baddies, almost died several times, and have barely advanced like... Hm... maybe ten percent of the bar to level thirty-five... Hey! Who has a phone? I forgot to tell Sam I'm free. I fell asleep after... err... never mind."

"Use mine," Dorian said, forwarding the item.

"Hey, Sam," Eliza said, putting the phone on speaker on the table.

"Liz, are you OK? We were worried sick!" Sam's voice arrived a few seconds later. "We sent another team, and they found four bodies. Your phone was in your room, next to a dead woman."

"Ah... so that's where it was... I forgot."

"The hotel owners said you ran away."

"I was exhausted and took a nap in the attic... There's a fifth body there. What happened to the base?"

"Nothing. We caught three scouts roaming around the secondary access, but the rest got away."

"Too bad."

"Can I say something?" Tristan asked, taking the phone in his hand and keeping it in front of his mouth. "Hey, Sam. Tristan here."

"I know. Please don't yell."

"Heard you made a plague of your own."

"Did Cedric tell you?" Sam asked.

"He tortured me!" Cedric yelled.

"I did not."

"Keep your horse on this side of the river, and he'll be good," Sam said.

"Is there any way to make an antidote?"

"No, but stronger animals are supposed to survive. Take Isolde and your horses into the zone; she should be able to detect if they get sick. If they show signs, take them out of the zone, and they'll be okay."

"How big is the plague's area?"

"Imagine a triangle with one tip at Gyor, another in Eger, and the third in Grosswardein."

"The Hungarians call the latter Nagyvarad, and the Vlachs Oradea," Dorian said.

"So, it's big," Tristan said.

"Yes. Why?"

"There's a Rebel army near Gyor, another near Buda, and many other troops skirmishing around the Imperial borders, right? Maybe a hundred thousand in all?"

"Conservatively."

"And when they lose their mounts, and the draft horses, what will they do? Retreat?"

"That would be their only option."

"And wouldn't that be a good opportunity to attack them?"

"Imperial troops won't be able to rely on their horses either."

"I wasn't meaning Imperials, I meant us. Think about it. Officers vulnerable to snipers. Loot. Prisoners for ransom or to exchange them for people the Tatars keep in slavery."

"I dunno, Tristan. I understand your reasoning, but on the other hand... There's this guy, Napoleon, who has basically conquered the rest of Europe. If we become too big a threat, he will come for us, and it will be ugly."

"Oh, kay," Tristan reverted to his former accent. "But what if a small team went for high-profile targets?"

"And by small team, you mean your team?"

"You're reading my mind."

"Sure, that would work. Is Eliza okay with it?"

"She's no longer my boss. I broke the bond."

"I want to break free," Dorian hummed, and Eliza slapped his nape.

"Well... then it's up to you and the guys. Technically, you are an independent captain in the Protectorate's army."

"Like a privateer?"

"Something like that."

"Great, great... And I can keep most of the loot, stuff, right?"

"Yes, but I don't know how much exactly. I'll check with Penny."

"Wonderful news. Then, it's a deal. I'll leave you to take care of the important things you most certainly are scheduled to do. Goodbye. Here," Tristan threw the phone back to Dorian.

"What was all this about?" Eliza asked.

"I was thinking... we killed how many Tatars, between us, Janosh?"

"How should I know? I was too busy shooting them to count properly."

"Hundreds," Eliza said. "I saw the statistics."

"And all we got was a hundred ducats reward? We're selling ourselves short. Privateering means we can earn real money. Who's in with me?"

"What do you mean, who's in?" Dorian asked. "We're all in. We saw what you can do, boss."

"We're stronger than any Bounty Hunter team," Isolde said.

"I'm in, but don't forget I'm not exactly a fighter," Max said.

"Trust me, you're perfect for the team," Tristan said.

"Count me in as well," Aldric said.

"Oki Doki," Pops said.

"I'm in. Vaelzryth and Lykhord say they would like to tag along for a while," Cedric said.

"Me too," Emilios said, which made Tristan realize he had forgotten about the cook, who had been mostly quiet for the last day.

"Milady Eliza, could I be your thrall now?" Janosh asked. "Being masterless feels... weird."

"Hahaha..." Isolde roared. "He has the hots for you, Liz."

"It's not the hots, it's my sincere admiration for a splendid woman."

"Finally, someone with good taste," Eliza snorted. "That said, I'm not interested either in a fling or another minion. Being single suits me perfectly."

"Say no more," Janosh waved his hands. "I will admire you from a safe distance, like a friend."

"Ew... Are you Hungarian, or French?" Tristan asked.

"French cannot hold a candle to the gallantry of Hungarian men," Janosh said proudly, straightening his back.

"Let's say I would like to come with you. How are we splitting the spoils?" Eliza asked.

"After whatever taxes, equal parts for everyone, double for me," Tristan said.

"I'm in," Eliza said.

"You're sure you want to join us?" Tristan asked. "I don't mean to offend, but if you do, you'll have to follow my orders. War and bounty hunting work differently."

"Kids. They grow up so fast," Sam's voice said.

"Sorry, I forgot to shut it off," Doarian yelped, fumbling with the phone.

"I'll give it a try. If the money is good, I'll hang around for a while," Eliza said.

"Very well. Now... Somebody needs to stay at the castle. They'll still get a share."

"I could stay," Max said.

"I can stay as well, and build some more bathrooms, stuff," Aldric proposed.

"Aldric or Emilios. Max is very important for this mission."

"Because I can detect money?" Max asked.

"Exactly. If we take hostages, we'd better take rich ones."

"I'll stay," Emilios sighed.

"Can we go to the castle?" Mariuka asked all of a sudden. "A castle is safer than a guild. And Lily's relatives are nearby. They could spend time together and get to know each other."

"I don't know if it's appropriate for a young girl to live alone with a man," Tristan said.

"Don't worry," the stonemage said. "Emilios is not a concern for girls."

"Are you implying that if Mariuka was not a girl, she should be concerned?" Emilios yelled. "Take it back, or let's take it outside, and I'll teach you good manners!"

"Sorry, bruh, sorry!" Aldric raised his hands. "You're absolutely right. I was just... putting it in simpler terms for the boss."

"What do you mean?" Tristan furrowed his brow.

"That Emilios is a gentleman and won't hit on Miss Mariuka."

"Very well," Tristan said. "Mariuka, you can stay at the castle. For now. It's just temporary."

"I understand," Mariuka sulked.

"OK, people, pack up. We take the afternoon train, spend a few days in the castle, and move out in a week. The plague would be ongoing by then, I hope. I'll be in the stables," Tristan rubbed his hands, eager to check Good Boy.