Chapter 212: Soulclone
"You are sure this will work?" Irwin asked as he looked at Dianor.
"Not sure, but it has a high likelihood of getting most people there in time and alive," Dianor said.
They were standing on the massive wall beside the gate, looking down at the people streaming out of Coulwater Tower. They were all carrying as much as they could while guards flanked them on each side. Greldo, Twintin, and the others stood with them while Lamia and Gawarn stood a short distance away. Seeing her look his way, Irwin forced a smile. Lamia just nodded before looking back at the throng of people.
She looks old, Irwin thought as he watched her for a short moment before focusing back on the people below.
They had only shared a few words after Greldo had gotten them, but even from those, he could sense she was very different from what he recalled. The happy, always smiling girl was gone, replaced by a calm young woman with a slight sadness in her eyes. Still, the way she kept leaning into Gawarn and the way they shared looks told him everything he needed to know.
I'm happy for you, Irwin thought as he watched Lamia stare at the long line of malnourished people fleeing the tower. With a sigh he focused on his surroundings.
Besides them, the rest of the walls and gatehouse were abandoned. All of the guards were below to keep the long stream of people moving and help carry children and supplies.
"Thousands will die," Indoubtor said from the side.
Irwin flinched, knowing Indoubtor was right. There were too many weak and old people who wouldn't survive a forced march across the plains, even with the few wagons helping those who needed it most. Worse, the slowest ones might not even make the trek. Although it was faster than he had even thought possible, it had still cost nearly an hour to get the first stream of people moving.
"Shut up," Greldo snapped, and Irwin looked up to see his friend glare at Indoubtor. "You would have sacrificed all but a handful for your own gains!'
"It was the best way to guarantee our survival," Indoubtor said. "What else was I to do? Runoff on some idiot mission to find a world? And now what? You are just bringing them to some other unstable world! Fools!"
Irwin didn't react, nor did any of the others. The lanky-man, who he now knew was called Semeus, stood beside Indoubtor, arms crossed and a disgusted look on his face.