Chapter 37 Out

Chapter 37: Outside

"Who's crying for help?" Sirius tried to open his eyes against the gale.

But as soon as he cracked them open, the wind stung his eyes, and he couldn't open them any further.

The cries for help continued, rising and falling in his ears. He wondered who was so unfortunate to have wandered into this area they had chosen for their wind-summoning experiment.

"When will the wind stop?" Sirius had to ask Xavier.

"Soon, I can feel the wind element calming down." Xavier wasn't in great shape either; if Sirius hadn't been holding him, he might have been the one swept into the sky.

After a while, the wind finally died down, and the cries gradually weakened.

Sirius could finally open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Xavier, blown into a mess resembling a broom.

"Pfft, hahaha!" Though it was unkind, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Stop laughing." Xavier looked at him with a resentful expression. "Let's go check on the person who got caught in the wind first."

"I hope he's okay." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and looked around.

Soon, they found a thin, small man on a tree branch. The man had been knocked unconscious by the violent wind.

"It's a person." Sirius was a bit surprised. "There are humans here besides me. Wait, there are actually humans here."

He had almost forgotten that Melissa had told him he wasn't human but a Lich.

"We need to get him down." Xavier said, "Should we take him back with us?"

"Let's take him back, but he can't sleep in our bed. We only have one bed; it won't fit three people." Sirius thought for a moment.

"Mhm." Xavier's expression didn't change much, but he seemed to be in a better mood.

Sirius picked up two thick branches and, along with some leaves and weeds, tied them together into a makeshift stretcher.

Although the man was thin and small and would probably be easy to carry, Sirius made the stretcher because he was worried the man might suddenly become violent.

Xavier had told him before that the Misty Forest was considered a dumping ground by outsiders. From time to time, people who weren't heinous criminals but still deserved punishment were thrown in, and a very few unlucky souls would accidentally wander in.

He didn't know which category the man caught in the wind belonged to.

In any case, it was better to be cautious.

Although there wasn't any important property in the treehouse worth robbing, these ordinary items required a lot of labor to obtain in this forest.

This dense forest wasn't far from the hollow treehouse, and Sirius and Xavier soon carried the man outside.

"The weather is nice today; it probably won't rain. Let's leave him outside. He seems to have just been knocked unconscious, with no serious external injuries." Sirius observed.

"Just to be safe, I'll check him first." Xavier said.

"I'll get some water and make some simple oatmeal. Do you want some? We can add a bit of sugar." Sirius said.

"No, I'm not hungry yet." Xavier shook his head. "This man is fine, just knocked out with some scrapes. I'll watch him here. When you finish the oatmeal, bring the tree heart too."

"Alright, then I won't add sugar to the oatmeal." Sirius said, "I'll be back soon. Call me if he wakes up."

Not long after he finished speaking, he rushed into the kitchen to start cooking.

The oatmeal was ready quickly. He only made one bowl and brought it out with a cup of water—this was the patient's meal.

"Oatmeal, water, tree heart. Everything's here, just waiting for him to wake up." Sirius said, "When will he wake up? That wind was too strong; it's completely useless for drying the house. I feel like using it inside would just make a mess."

"I'll treat his external injuries first, and then we can go plaster the walls. The lime plaster has cooled down; it'll start hardening into solid chunks soon." Xavier said.

"Oh no! I forgot all about that!" Sirius exclaimed, "We need to hurry!"

They placed the unconscious man next to Bob, then went to the lime pit, mixed up a bucket of lime plaster, and started plastering from the kitchen wall.

Plastering walls is a skilled job. Even though the Lace Brothers had briefly explained how to apply the plaster evenly before they left, actually doing it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

"Why does the wall I'm plastering feel so uneven? It didn't seem that way at all before I started." Sirius said, holding a wooden trowel.

"Maybe because lighter colors make flaws more noticeable." Xavier said, "If we apply the plaster a bit thicker, it'll be easier to make the wall surface smooth."

"I hope we can finish plastering the entire kitchen wall today. The smell is a bit strong, a weird astringent odor. Let's open the window." Sirius said.

They continued working. When they had finished half the kitchen, a series of continuous monkey-like cries came from outside.

"Ahhhhh ohohohohohoh!!!!!"

"Do monkeys live near us?" Sirius scratched his head.

"No, but it sounds like the man we carried back." Xavier put down his wooden trowel.

"He's finally awake. We need to tell him he's safe. And we should apologize; if it weren't for that wind-summoning magic, he'd be fine." Sirius said.

The monkey-like cries outside stopped after a while; the man must have come to his senses.

"Hello, do you remember what happened before you passed out?" Sirius walked to the doorway and asked the man.

"I, I remember there was a really strong wind... Wait, why is there a dead person at your door! Who are you! What do you want with me!" The man, still terrified, scooted backward on his rear end, putting a good distance between himself and them.

"Um... We're the ones who created that big wind that blew you out of the tree." Sirius said, feeling uncharacteristically awkward. "I'm Sirius, and he's Xavier. You're safe now; we don't want to do anything to you. We're really sorry we didn't notice you and caused you harm. What kind of compensation would you like?"

"I don't believe you! You have a huge dead person right at your door!" The man shouted loudly.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you want some water first, and then we can talk slowly?" Sirius said.

"I am a bit thirsty, and a little hungry..." The man's gaze dropped, spotting the water and oatmeal.

"Then eat first. Take your time; we need to continue plastering the walls." Sirius said.

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Any problems with your body?" Xavier asked.

"It hurts a bit. You didn't poison the food, did you?" The man asked.

"No, we don't have much food; poisoning it would be a waste." Sirius said very sincerely.

He and Xavier had swords; they didn't need to waste precious food to deal with someone.

"Hmm..." The man fell silent.

Sirius and Xavier went back into the kitchen to continue plastering. After a while, the man, after much hesitation, finally drank the water and ate the oatmeal.

They could finally sit down and have a proper talk.

"My name is Roy. What on earth are you doing, creating such a big wind in the forest? And where is this? I've never encountered normal humans here before." The man said a lot in one breath.

"Did you accidentally stumble into this place?" Sirius gave him a sympathetic look.

"I bought a map that said there was treasure at this location. But when I walked through the mist, I found the map was completely wrong." Roy angrily produced a map from his jacket and crumpled it up.

"This is the Misty Forest. The mist you passed through is the forest's barrier—once you're in, you can't get out," Sirius said.

"Have you ever tried? How do you know you can't get out?" Roy retorted.

"I haven't, but many people have told me the barrier here is impossible to cross," Sirius said.

"It's said that no one has ever made it out, and no one can accurately describe the inside of this forest," Xavier said.

"So you've never actually tried to see if you can leave," Roy said. "Didn't you say you owed me compensation? I want to get out of here."

"That's a tall order," Sirius said. "I can't promise we can pull it off. Why not ask for something simpler?"

"No, I want this. You said you'd compensate me," Roy said. "If you don't agree, I'll just stay here and eat and drink you out of house and home."

"We'll have to talk it over," Sirius said.

Stepping away from Roy, he and Xavier went into the kitchen and closed the door.

"I don't mind either way," Xavier said. "We could go either way."

"I'm thinking, if the mist is a barrier protecting the animals of this forest, then we shouldn't agree to this. If the method to pass through the barrier becomes known, it could draw in outsiders," Sirius said.

"Don't you want to see the outside world?" Xavier asked somewhat abruptly.

"Why would you ask that? Not really," Sirius said. "For some reason, the outside world doesn't interest me at all. Living here is more interesting."

"Alright, then let's go ask Melissa and Victor for their advice on this matter," Xavier said.

"That's what I was thinking too. And we should go soon. Having an extra mouth to feed is a big burden," Sirius glanced outside, though he couldn't see Roy.

They had a little more food than usual for the moment, but not enough to support an extra person.

After discussing, Sirius decided not to agree to Roy's request for now. Instead, they would first ask Melissa and Victor and then continue negotiations with Roy.

Roy had been waiting outside, bored. By the time Sirius and Xavier came out, there was a pile of dirt at his feet—clearly something he'd done while waiting for them.

"So you're saying you won't agree for now? Then I'll live here for the rest of my life," Roy said, looking at them sideways.

"I won't let you live here forever. At most until you're no longer in pain," Sirius said. "Though morally it's not allowed, my sword disagrees. I have to listen to it."

"Are you threatening me?" Roy said.

"No, you threatened me first," Sirius said. "I can't promise something I can't do."

"Fine, you're cunning," Roy said. "So when will you agree? How many days do I have to stay here?"

"Hmm... we'll give you an answer within two days. You can sleep outside; we can provide you with a blanket," Sirius said.

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Author's note: Good night, good night [Calico Cat]