sacrifice
Late autumn, Noxian calendar year 971.
A dilapidated carriage creaked and groaned along the desolate road leading to Besilico, kicking up dust. Inside, on a pile of withered grass, a woman's breath was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. A high fever consumed her; the wound on her left leg, ripped open by wolves, was festering and emitted the stench of death. Even more gruesome was her left arm—severed at the elbow, hastily wrapped only in a dirty rag.
She used all her remaining strength to hold her daughter tightly in her arms. The girl was seven years old, but as thin as a four or five-year-old, with a bright, innocent smile always on her face. She was the only light in this abyss of despair for the woman.
They came from Lungmen. Months ago, Noxus's iron hooves trampled their homeland, and the woman, carrying her daughter, struggled to survive amidst the tide of people fleeing to Besilico. Faces of her companions changed time and again, but now, only this lonely mother and daughter and this carriage, acquired at a heavy price, remained.
The woman's forehead was burning hot, and the wolf bite wound on her left leg had festered and become infected. The high fever continued to erode her consciousness. She knew she might not make it to Besilico.
"Mom...Mom..." the girl mumbled, rubbing her cool little face against the woman's burning forehead, completely unaware of the approaching death.
The woman's consciousness swirled between heat and chaos. And within this chaos, a figure gradually became clear—he sat on the pile of tattered luggage opposite her in the carriage, as if he had always been there.
He was an overly elaborately dressed man, far exceeding the average person's size. A well-tailored scarlet undershirt covered a slightly worn dark gold overcoat, the buttons taut over his enormous belly. His skin was slick and moist, like an amphibian's, and a cunning yet languid smile played on his lips. His small eyes gleamed with a penetrating light in the dim light.
"Two coats," Tam Kench. He came to trade with her again.
What will she lose this time?
The first transaction took place on the day Lungmen fell, as refugees surged frantically towards the closing city gates. Women carrying daughters were swept along by the throng, the drawbridge about to be lowered, leaving them stranded in this hellish situation. With children on their backs, it was impossible for the women to squeeze through before the drawbridge was completely closed.
“It seems you’ve run into a little trouble, madam.” A smooth, deep voice suddenly rang in her ear, drowning out all the noise. She turned her head in alarm; this was the first time she had seen Tam Kench, who was leaning elegantly against an overturned truck, completely out of place with his surroundings.
“My dear lady, it seems you need a little help.” He rubbed his thick fingers together, his gaze falling on the hairpin in her hair. “All you need is that simple silver hairpin in your hair—it’s quite unique. Give it to me, and I can make that city gate…hold in place for a moment.”
The woman agreed without even thinking.
It was such a bargain. Just a hairpin? Compared to the chance of survival, the price was so light she couldn't believe it. She practically snatched the only valuable piece of jewelry her mother had left her, the one she cherished most, and handed it over.
Tam had just taken the silver hairpin, her fingertips tracing its patterns, when a piercing metallic scraping sound came from the city gate's shackles, and the gate abruptly stopped, unable to close. Taking advantage of the precious moment when the guards were in chaos, checking and cursing the gears, she unleashed astonishing strength, carrying the child on her back, and squeezed out of Dragon Gate City with the last of the crowd.
She felt incredibly lucky at the time.
The second transaction took place half a month after I left Lungmen City.
On their escape, food was scarce. Their rations were almost gone, and their daughter's cries grew weak with hunger; her little face was ashen.
Tamm's figure reappeared like a ghost beside the bushes where she was resting.
“Oh, the sound of a child crying is one of the most heartbreaking melodies in the world.” He pretended to wipe his eyes. “I know there’s a forgotten bag of jerky and black bread hidden by a rock, enough to last you until you get to the next place. The price… is negligible, all your memories of your husband. Tell me, what kind of person was he? What’s your sweetest memory?”
She was stunned. Her husband, that gentle man, was the only warm fortress in her heart, the spiritual pillar for her to raise her disabled daughter alone.
"Or, continue listening to this heartbreaking melody until it completely disappears?" Tam's voice was gentle yet cold.
Her daughter's cries pierced her heart like knives. She gave in. Tears streaming down her face, she whispered about her husband's smile, the warmth of his rough hands, their embrace on the beach... As she spoke, those vivid images, the warm touches, even his clear face and voice, began to blur and fade, like words on the sand being wiped away by the tide, leaving only an empty concept of "husband" and a blank space.
She received a bag of life-saving food in return.
The third transaction took place in the second month of their escape.
The caravan moved slowly, and she was running out of energy. A woman traveling with her had an old horse and a dilapidated but still functional carriage.
“Look, this is the road to Besilico, but it looks like you can’t go any further.” Tam reappeared, pointing to the horse: “My dear lady, you need it.”
"What price will I have to pay?"
"The price is simple: See that anxious mother who has lost her son? She asks if you have seen her son. You have to tell her that you are very sure you saw her son go down the fork in the road to the east and heard him call for his mother."
The woman froze. There were signs of wolves in the woods to the east. "No! That will kill them, mother and child!"
“Oh? Then stay where you are and let the wilderness swallow you up. You and your daughter… um?” Tam casually picked at his nails.
Looking at her daughter, who was fast asleep from exhaustion, in her arms, and then thinking about her own blistered and ulcerated feet, reality overwhelmed her conscience.
Trembling, she approached her mother, who was on the verge of collapse, and tried to make her voice sound certain: "I saw him, sister, he went down that road to the east, I heard him calling you!"
Hope instantly lit up the mother's face. She thanked them profusely and ran eastward without hesitation. The woman carried her daughter on her back and headed towards the old horse and carriage that had lost its owner.
No one in the group ever saw the mother and child again.
The fourth time was three nights ago, in a desolate hilly area, where their small group of refugees was surrounded by more than a dozen wolf lizards. The people leaned against an overturned truck, waving torches and makeshift weapons in vain, their desperate cries mingling with the howls of the wolf lizards.
Tam's voice reached her clearly amidst the chaos: "What a lively welcome. See that dark shape on that hillside? That's an abandoned post station. The stone walls haven't completely collapsed, and there's a broken door that's still relatively intact. It's the only shelter around here."
Her heart skipped a beat, but the distance was too great, separated by a pack of hungry wolf lizards.
“I can ‘widen’ a narrow passage for you, leading straight to the inn’s entrance. In a flash.” Tam’s voice was full of enticement. “The price is: you need to leave a little ‘gift,’ something enough to attract the attention of these hungry beasts for a while. Like… your less-than-perfect left arm, which is tightly holding the child?”
Losing an arm?! She was so terrified she could hardly breathe.
“Or, would you like to stay here and gamble on whether these people’s sticks will break first, or whether the wolf lizards will run out of patience first? They look… extremely hungry.” Tam’s gaze swept over the trembling people in the circle, finally settling on her daughter in her arms.
Just then, a wolf lizard broke through the defenses, grabbed a man's leg, and dragged him into the darkness. His screams were instantly ripped apart by the lizard pack. The crowd's fear reached its peak.
The screams and the images of ripped-out organs completely broke her spirit. She made her choice. She almost screamed, "Yes!"
The next moment, the tuatara pack seemed to be drawn by some movement on their right—perhaps a hallucination created by Tam, or something else—and a very brief opening appeared. Tam whispered, "Now! Run!"
Clutching her daughter, she unleashed an unprecedented surge of strength and sprinted along the cleared, narrow path. She could hear the growls of the wolf lizards behind her and the sound of their pursuing footsteps. Just as she was about to reach the dilapidated entrance to the inn, she felt a tearing pain in her left arm—a wolf lizard that had caught up with her had bitten her arm hard.
She screamed, clinging desperately to her daughter, and with her last strength stumbled into the inn, bracing herself against the rickety wooden door. The wolf lizards roared and slammed outside. Her left arm was torn, almost severed, blood gushing forth. She collapsed to the ground, clutching her terrified daughter, listening as the wolf lizards tearing at her and the desperate screams of the people outside gradually subsided…
Almost all of the companions perished, but the old horse miraculously survived.
......
Now, the high fever and severe injuries brought her to the brink of death. Her vision began to blur, and breathing became difficult. She clung tightly to the girl, fear engulfing her like icy water. If she died, her daughter would have no chance of survival.
"It seems... our journey is nearing its end, my dear lady." The voice carried a false sense of pity. "You are about to die. Alas, what a tragic life."
Tam Kench sat opposite her, his massive frame almost filling the space, a satisfied smile spreading across his face—probably from appreciating the complex pain etched on her features.
The woman no longer had the strength to be horrified.
"What...what do you want...again..." she whispered weakly.
“Oh, don’t be so nervous.” Tam rubbed his thick fingers together. “I’m just here to offer a solution. You’re going to die soon, and once you’re gone, this lovely little baby… tsk tsk, just thinking about it is pitiful. She’ll be eaten by wild dogs, or slowly starve to death or freeze to death.”
“But we can make one last deal.” Tam leaned down, his voice full of temptation. “Your daughter’s life for yours.”
"No…"
“Don’t refuse so quickly.” Tam leaned down, her voice filled with seductive magic. “Think about it, how much have you sacrificed for her along the way? Memories, conscience, an arm… She was just a burden, a crippled existence. Shouldn’t she give something in return? Her insignificant life in exchange for your healthy and complete life, to drive the carriage to Besilico, and to start a new life… That’s the only thing she can give you in return. It’s fair, isn’t it? I’ll give you an extra gold coin, madam.”
The devil's whispers, like the sweetest poison, seeped into her soul, numbed by pain and despair. Yes, so much suffering, so much irreparable loss… all for this child… Was it worth it?
Her gaze involuntarily drifted to her daughter's bewildered face, and her heart pounded wildly.
The girl seemed to sense the gaze, grinned, and said, "Mom...Mom..."
"I..."
Tam saw the wavering on her face, his smile deepened, and his sharp teeth became visible.
The woman opened her mouth, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:
"...I agree..."
Tam's smile widened, revealing his sharp, white teeth.
"I agree to the deal..."
Tam's smile stretched almost to his ears, anticipating the ultimate taste of depravity.
“...But,” the woman said, emphasizing each word, “I will give my life for my daughter! Let her live! Let her live! Let her reach Besilico alive!”
The hardship was real, the exhaustion was real, and the grievances were real.
But the love is real too.
This child is the sole reason she lives. Her smile can dispel all gloom, and her dependence is the sweetest burden in the world.
To trade her life for my own? No. Absolutely not.
Tam Kench's smile froze on his face. His eyes narrowed, a flicker of surprise and... annoyance at being interrupted flashing across them. He was used to reaping the benefits of greed and selfishness, and this sudden sacrifice irritated him.
A brief silence fell over the carriage.
"...As you wish."
He opened his gaping maw, large enough to devour everything, and darkness enveloped the woman. She did not struggle, but with her last gaze, she imprinted her daughter's smile onto the canvas.
Then, all fell silent.
Tam closed his huge mouth, smacked his lips, and looked at him with regret and boredom, as if he had eaten a meal that was extremely unpalatable.
"Boring."
He glanced indifferently at the girl beside him, who was completely unaware of what had just happened and was still foolishly playing with her fingers, before his massive body disappeared silently from the carriage as if sinking to the bottom of the water.
A gentle, salty breeze silently swept over the old horse. It snorted, exhaling a puff of steam, and continued to pull the dilapidated carriage, creaking and groaning, slowly toward the hazy outline of Besilico.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
