Release that Witch

The scuffling noises woke Tigerclaw up, and he yawned and scooched next to Snaketooth. ”What’s this? A letter?”

Snaketooth immediately pushed Tigerclaw’s face away, afraid that he would drool on the letter. ”What’s wrong? Why don’t you get back to sleep?”

”I’m hungry. I want something to eat,” Tigerclaw said as he rubbed his belly.

”Then go boil some water and cook. I want oatmeal, by the way.”

”Okay,” Tigerclaw replied and then remembered something. ”You haven’t answered my question.”

”It’s my identity card and an offer notice,” Snaketooth said impatiently.

”Oh?” Tigerclaw’s eyes brightened and leaned in again. He threw one arm round Snaketooth’s neck and shook him excitedly. ”You finally got your ID card! Haha... This is worth celebrating! We need to have something better than oatmeal. Let’s go to the market and buy some dried fish and mushrooms.”

”I’m still trying to save money.”

”I can lend you some,” Tigerclaw said unconcernedly. ”You’ve been waiting for your ID card for so long. How could we just let this moment pass without a nice meal for celebration? Did you forget what you said the day I got my ID card?”

Snaketooth knew he couldn’t reject Tigerclaw kind intentions.

Tigerclaw was a tall and sturdy man. He worked hard and was often much more efficient than other workers, especially when he had enough food. His foreman was aware of this and started to value him more and later even chose him to be the model worker of the third construction team. He earned a higher wage and also got a bonus, so he actually had enough money to pay for the down payment of a house.

Any migrants would get their ID cards if they gained permanent abode. The day Tigerclaw got the key to his new house and his ID card, Snaketooth egged him on holding a feast for celebration and even moved his belongings into the new cement house.

”Okay, okay. I got it.” Snaketooth said helplessly. ”Let’s go later.”

”Well, that’s settled then!” Tigerclaw was satisfied and returned to his bedside and rummaged for something to wear for shopping. ”By the way, what’s in that notification?”

”It’s an offer from the railway construction team.” Snaketooth drew a deep breath and said, ”It won’t be soon before I go to work in the Barbarian Land outside Graycastle’s borders.”

”What?” Tigerclaw hands stopped abruptly. ”When did you apply for that? Why didn’t you tell me?”

”What if you insist on going with me? This house will then be left unattended.”

”I wouldn’t go with you. No... I mean, why would I go to such a dangerous place?” Tigerclaw’s voice raised. ”You know what happened recently. There are demons outside the city!”

The demons’ recent attack on the city wall had stirred up major unrest amongst the citizens. At first, the alarm went off again and again, then, there were weird monsters dropping into the city, and then the ceremony held at that night was just mind-boggling to everyone.

King Roland announced publically that they were the enemies humanity will have to face sooner or later. He also stressed that the so-called Barbarian Land was not deserted at the beginning but instead a place that was once had a nicer name: ”Fertile Plains.” That was where humans used to live. It was not until demonic beasts and demons started to harass them did people began to retreat to where the Four Kingdoms are now.

Some of the people who fled from the Fertile Plains established the church. They lied about the enemies, describing them as being omnipotent, and falsely accused the witches of being related to the demons, out of fear for their magic powers. But the victory Neverwinter had achieved this time proved that even though the demons were cunning and frightening, they were not invincible.

To expand the territory and protect Neverwinter from the enemies’ attack, the King decided to march on the Barbarian Land as soon as possible to reclaim the land that had once belonged to humans! The King’s declaration during the celebration inspired countless cheers, and as the First Army served meat porridge and roasts to the audiences, the atmosphere at the square reached its peak.

In the next five days, you could hear people discussing about the demons everywhere you went. Snaketooth’s colleagues in the construction team were no different They were the most interested in the topics like ”demon and demonic beast, which one is stronger?” ”Should Neverwinter expand to the northwest?”. Meanwhile, the City Hall issued a series of recruitment announcements, one of which was the job of building the railway in the Misty Forest.

Snaketooth barely cared about the answers to these question, yet he felt what His Majesty had said somehow enlightened his mind. Suddenly his mind became clear. He had never thought about where he had come from and where he would go. Now he finally understood that all of them had migrated from the ”Barbarian Land.” The world was much larger than the Four Kingdoms, and its boundaries stretched far beyond the Fertile Plains, which by itself was several times larger than Graycastle.

Also, he was tempted by the good pay.

Tigerclaw turned around and grabbed Snaketooth by his arm, and said, ”You were always the insightful one, so I think you should understand this clearer than me. The demons are not as easy to deal with as everyone thinks they are. How could the demons drive humanity to the brink of extinction if they were weak? His Majesty said there used to be hundreds of city and millions of people living on the Fertile Plains.”

”Of course I know that. That’s why I have made up my mind.” Snaketooth remained unmoved. ”The pay is 35 silver royals per month, and they will even pay me the first six months’ salary before I start work. Furthermore, I’ll be eligible to buy a suite of two rooms. Chances like these are hard to come by.”

”A suite of two rooms...” Tigerclaw twisted his mouth. ”You are really obsessed with that aren’t you.”

”Of course.” Snaketooth made a fist. ”It’s got a hot water supply system, and the kitchen and bathroom are separated. That’s what a house should be like.”

Although he did not get paid as much as Tigerclaw, he had saved up about one gold royal by now. Ever since he had seen their foreman’s home, he had decided to buy a suite of two rooms of his own in the residential area in the inner city. But because down payment would cost him three gold royals, which was much higher than normal houses, he hadn’t been able to do so.

Most importantly, although Snaketooth did not tell others, two bedrooms would be more comfortable for the both of them, unlike the single room where they had to share a small bed.

Seeing that Tigerclaw was still trying to discourage him from taking on the job, Snaketooth shook his head to stop him and said, ”I know this is a little risky, but when we were Rats, we took risks almost every day. The only difference was that most of the risks we took at that time ended up being in vain, while now we could at least ensure that our effort will pay off. You all think I have a quick wit, but that’s scarcely useful in Neverwinter. If we wanted to have a safe and settled life, why did we move to a foreign city to begin with?”

”You know that I can never win an argument with you.” Tigerclaw raised his hands in surrender. ”I have no objection as long as you have thought things through.”

”Don’t worry. I’m not so reckless as to care only about profit.” Snaketooth said as he spread his palm. ”The First Army will be responsible for the security, and it’s said that some witches will set out with the construction team. Even if we were to run into demons, they wouldn’t make us fight the enemies with our poles and shovels. Relatively, it’s a safe job.”

”I hope that’s true,” Tigerclaw muttered. ”I’m going wash up. My stomach is growling. Now that you got a job with a better pay, I will make the most out of this meal.”

Snaketooth rolled his eyes at that.

As Tigerclaw was washing, Snaketooth unfolded the third piece of paper and he was a little shocked by the content.

It was a transfer contract.

In short, it said that no matter what happened, the City Hall would not go back on anyone’s salaries and rewards. The workers could choose any person to whom he or she would sign over their property in case of major accidents. That person would receive the notification from the City Hall as soon as the transfer contract is valid.

Snaketooth closed his eyes, some figures flashing through his mind: Joe, Sunflower, Tigerclaw... At last, the frame froze at a skinny, fair-skinned girl.

Snaketooth picked up the charcoal and wrote the name carefully in the blank space provided in the contract.

”Paper.”