Jasmine rushed ahead of Ursa. She could tell something was off; this person wanted to be seen. They weren't even trying to hide. That didn't feel like either Victoria or the women chasing them. It was only when she made it to the front gate that she realized why. There, in the middle of the courtyard, was Victoria. However, she was not normal. Her cloak was soaked in blood, her clothes tattered and sliced through. Several arrows were lodged into her body. She was on her knees, barely moving at all.
Jasmine sprang into action.
Her first move was to secure the perimeter. She'd let Ursa take care of Victoria for now. She felt Victoria's gaze on her the entire time, though. Jasmine made sure that Victoria wasn't pursued before turning to face the spy.
"Smart," Victoria's voice was coarse and seemed to further her pain. "Be a pretty easy trap."
"Shh," Ursa hushed her. She slowly picked up the wounded woman, making sure to keep her steady. "Straining will make it worse."
"What happened?" Jasmine asked her. She helped Ursa carry her back to the interior.
"Fought. Able to eliminate a lot." Victoria groaned as they walked up the stairs. "Broke your bow. But I stole one of theirs. It's back the-"
"Victoria." Jasmine held her hand. "What happened to you?"
The spy blinked. She wasn't expecting Jasmine to ask about her well-being. She was expecting an interrogation about how many were left or how many were injured. "Their leader. She's strong. Used her women as bait. Took her arm, though."
Jasmine took a deep breath. "How far back are they?'
"They'll be here by nightfall." Victoria took a deep, labored breath. "Able to outrun them."
"How many are left?"
"Sixteen, including their leader." Victoria gave her a forced smile. "I almost made it to twelve."
"Get her to Ana. I'm going to retrieve that bow." Jasmine took a deep breath. Sixteen was a lot better than fifty.
"Won't work," Victoria mumbled. "The price I pay."
"What?" Ursa furrowed her brow.
"Healing magic. It doesn't work on me." Victoria took another labored breath. "Potions. They help. But lose the magic enhancements."
"Nothing is easy with you, is it?" Ursa shook her head. "Still, Ana will be able to treat your wounds."
"Don't let Toni see me like this." Victoria gripped Ursa's shirt. "That is my one request."
Ursa shook her head. "Fine."
Jasmine exited the interior once more. She looked around for the bow Victoria mentioned. She'd need to get used to it before they arrived. Plus, she had a feeling Victoria was being followed. She'd need to stay vigilant.
Jasmine retrieved it. It felt similar to her own, but a bit heavier. She pulled it back, feeling far more resistance. The pull weight was roughly fifteen pounds stronger than her old one. It would work, but she'd be less accurate. She retrieved the quiver Victoria dropped as well before disappearing. If Victoria was followed, then it was Jasmine's job to ambush her pursuer.
Inside, Lily and Ana were tending to Victoria. True to her word, Ursa made sure Toni didn't see Victoria. She grabbed Hannah, Claire, and Toni to join Jasmine. Elsie followed to keep communications clear with the women inside the fort. She could relay information much faster than yelling.
That left Samira, Lily, and Ana to tend to Victoria. They had a mix of bandages, potions, and utensils sprayed out on the floor. Lily took control, since she was the only one with any knowledge of how to treat injuries without magic.
"Samira, do not remove the arrows. Wrap the bandages to hold them tight. Removing them now will only lead to more blood loss." Lily barked her orders as Samira listened. She wrapped the bandages around Victoria's wounds and applied pressure to the open ones. "Ana, remember how to do stitching?"
"Y-yes," Ana nodded.
"Good." She was force-feeding a painkiller to Victoria. "Start on her wounds with the thread over there. Victoria. This will help ease your pain and slow the blood loss."
"I'm surprised you know suturing," Victoria mumbled to Ana. "Your healing is so potent… I'd think it was pointless."
"Not when I run out of mana." Ana steadied her breathing. She needed steady hands to properly stitch the wounds closed. "Better to b-be prepared in case of emergency."
"True." Victoria lay her head back. She was surprised at how diligent they were. "Will end up saving me, too."
"Shush," Lily pressed another potion up to her lips. "Be glad I had extra potions already made."
Victoria nearly choked on the potion. She coughed and caused pain to shoot across her body. It'd been a long time since that had happened. "Fuck. What did you just give me? It tastes horrible."
"Sedative." Lily kept her voice calm as she joined Ana in stitching up Victoria's wounds. "It will make you pass out. Let it happen."
"No," Victoria pushed back. "I need to get up. I can't be passed out. They need me."
Lily pushed her down. So did Ana and Samira. "You'll be a bigger detriment like this."
"No. I need to pro-" Victoria's eyes blurred, and her mouth went numb. She couldn't control her tongue any longer. Her head felt heavy and she fell back into the makeshift bed they created.
"That worked fast." Samira held back a laugh.
"I'd hope so." Lily exhaled and wiped her forehead. "That was meant for the horses."
"What?" Samira blinked.
"In case they got hurt." Lily continued explaining as she continued to close Victoria's wounds.
"But you used it on a person?" Samira shook her head and started to grow concerned about Victoria's condition.
"Given how slow her heartbeat is and how she moves? I'd be more surprised if she was human." Lily forced a laugh. She was doing her best to keep focused herself. She was hoping that she didn't just make things worse with that. But since Victoria wasn't affected by magic, she had to use drastic measures. "Just need to slow the bleeding. My potions will handle the rest. Thank the Gods something works on her…"
Ana kept her focus on stitching up Victoria, with occasional check-ups with Elsie. The others were securing the area, while Toni and Elsie stayed back. They watched over the front, while the rest spread out to make sure Victoria wasn't followed. Thankfully, they hadn't found anything yet.
Ana wiped the sweat off her forehead. She'd managed to close several of the wounds on Victoria's body. She took a deep breath and focused on the arrows. There were four in total. Three stuck in her extremities, barely missing vital arteries. But there was one lodged in her side.
That was the most deadly wound.
It was right around her vital organs. Leaving it in could lead to more damage, but so could pulling it out. If her magic worked, they could slowly ease it out while Ana continually healed Victoria. But that'd be too easy. So they'd have to be careful.
"Okay." Lily took a deep breath. "These stop the majority of the bleeding, and my healing potions should do the rest. It'll be slower than usual. I just hope she has some form of inherent healing in her skills."
"Should we work on these arrows?" Samira grimaced, and her nearly empty stomach flipped. She could handle blood, but this was too much for her. She took a deep breath and focused on not letting it take over. "Should take care of them now…"
"Good idea," Lily nodded. "We'll have to go very slowly."
Jasmine couldn't find any signs that Victoria was followed. She could find Victoria's, but no one else's. Even in her wounded state, the spy barely made a trail easy to follow. She was smart enough not to come straight here, too. She had plenty of false trails set up.
Finally, Jasmine let herself relax.
She dropped down from the tree she was on and walked back towards the fort. She met up with the others by the front gate.
"Anything?" Claire asked as she watched Jasmine appear from the forest.
Jasmine shook her head. "We should stay vigilant, though. Victoria said they'd likely be here by nightfall, but it could be earlier."
"Good idea," Claire exhaled slowly. "We'll keep guard on the wall while they focus on making sure Victoria is okay."
"We should stay inside." Hannah was rubbing her chin. "We could patrol the inside and watch over the courtyard. The rest of this place is filled with traps, right? Could pick off a few of them before we fight them."
"I actually agree." Jasmine nodded. She took a moment to think and observed the wall. "Though I will patrol the walls. Can't make it too obvious the fort is trapped."
"Okay, so we wait for them to come?" Ursa slung her axe over her shoulder. "Guess I'll go let the others know."
"Do you think we can handle sixteen?" Claire whispered to Jasmine and Hannah. "Look what they did to Victoria…"
"We'll have to," Jasmine shook her head. That good feeling she had was quickly fading away. "No one is coming to our aid."
Hannah slapped Claire on the back. "Despair does not look good on you, Claire. We will get through this together."
Claire stumbled forward a bit, but recovered. "I hope so."