FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 3 Part 7c
The aftermath of the Battle of Lekas had been full of horror and heroics. Ten score and a few more had died in the battle or shortly thereafter. Nearly eighty folks who had fought to defend Lekas and over one hundred and twenty of the attackers had died or been seriously injured as a result of that reckless assault. Forty-three had been captured, most of them had wounds that prevented them from fleeing, some would later be counted among the dead.
Not all the fighting had taken place on that first morning, aside from the skirmishes that had taken place before the battle, nearly sixty people had set out in pursuit of the fleeing army. While Adwin had not gone, some of his companions had done so. Gweth and Luk had led nearly twenty, going after the force that had attacked the eastern part of Lekas. Sefla and Mokha had gone with them. Those skirmishers had been easily overtaken, they had spent much of their energies just getting into position to attack from the east. Only a few on horseback had escaped.
He would later learn that Tipper, with a handful of the remaining folk from Predost and about forty others, including Teller, went after the main force. They had chased down the enemy, whenever and wherever they could catch them, leaving a trail of bodies from the outskirts of Lekas all the way to the low-house and the bandit ravine. The last battle had taken place near and within the ravine, where the soldiers thought themselves safe. The Lord of the Eastern Reach had been slain that night along with a large number of his men. The remainder of the army had fled into the morning twilight.
Adwin had missed those heroics. He had gone to the green after the army had moved back from Lekas. He wanted to know what had happened on the commons, as two of their cavalry had managed to get past the defences and he had last seen Thern heading that way. He was concerned about Calathy.
The communal kitchen on the green had been attacked, two cooks having died before Thern arrived. He had killed one of the assailants and had been mortally wounded fighting the second man. Calathy had thrown a bowl of hot soup into that man’s face as he had been intent on continuing his rampage. She and the other cooks had swarmed him. Adwin had arrived in time to have Thern die in his arms.
Shortly after, a messenger from Del had shown up, the priestess needed all the help she could get on the western embankment. Calathy had kept two of the women with her, while Adwin led the others to the earthworks. He spent the rest of the day sorting the dead from the wounded and moving them. They went to the keep or nearby, unless they were the soldiers, who were placed in the new hall with the other captives. Dead foes were piled a bit west of the ditch and the slain from Lekas were laid out along the top of the embankment.
Adwin was heartbroken when he found Mila’s body in the ditch, the fact that she had been buried under a large number of enemies was cold consolation. There had been a number of youth found dead, many of the slingers had fallen to enemy crossbows. He wept as he worked, until he could weep no more, it was nearly sunset when he finally stopped. Numb with exhaustion and grief, he watched as Andisal’s body was carried into the village.
Andisal was placed in a cart not far from her keep. Someone cleaned her up as best as could be done, throughout the evening many people came to look at her with solemn regard and to leave a simple offering. It was a night of sorrow and suffering.
Adwin went to his wagon, he had intended to go see Calathy but there were a lot of people near the kitchen. He sat up on the bench of the wagon for what seemed like forever, at some point he fell asleep. The horrors of the day slipped into his dreams.
He awoke with a start and half a shout, it was nearly dawn, he was still sitting on the bench. His body ached and his head pounded. Some of his companions had returned. He stripped himself out of his armour and the clothing underneath, finding it to be crusty with blood and gore. Adwin went over to the pond and scrubbed himself raw. With the rising of the sun, a few voices raised in song to greet the day, it sounded melancholy.
He found Calathy and a few others still busy making food. Calathy came over to him with a bowl of soup. She looked very tired, yet she smiled at him and insisted he eat. She sat with him to make sure he did, then suggested, “Why don’t you put some fresh clothes on, maybe the green tunic? Then you could walk around and see how people are doing, talk to them, assure them that we won. Let them know they are not alone in their sadness.”
For a few moments he just looked at her numbly, wondering how she was still on her feet. He nodded, “Yeah, I can do that.”
He changed into his finer clothing and spent the day talking to people. Shared their grief, listening to their concerns and the stories they had from the previous day. Not everyone was as down trodden as he had expected but no one seemed the same as they had been before the battle. He was surprised when he found Alfi and Lef doing much the same thing as he was. He expressed his condolences to the both of them and oddly they started talking about the things that needed to be done.
Lekas had won the war against Sharlok, life continued. Most of their dead were buried in the ditch along what had been the north embankment. The enemy dead were stripped and burned, thanks largely to Mokha’s fire magic, no one had really wanted to waste much wood on them. The dwarves began building cairns for their three dead and for Andisal. They spoke of building a monument or a keep, or maybe it was both, to mark the occasion and the passing of a woman they considered to have been worthy of such a memorial.
Some people left Lekas that day, those with families and homesteads that had been unattended for too long. Others departed because they could not stay, they needed to separate themselves from the source of their grief. Adwin could not fault them, yet he wondered if someone could actually flee from sorrow.
He found Sefla, still dressed in the quilted armour she had put on the previous day. She was one of many who stood guard around the new hall, spear in hand and fire in her eyes. The conflict and its aftermath seemed not to have scarred her. She and the others guarding the hall were there to make sure there was no trouble from the captives and to prevent them from being murdered.
When he heard that Tipper and Teller had led a sortie against the enemy that had fled, he was not overly surprised. Hopefully she would return soon. Surely they would not pursue them too far.
As the day came to its end, Adwin found Calathy still working at the communal kitchen. He had some soup before asking, “Have you slept?”
“I had a nap a while ago.”
One of the other women said, “She lay down for only a few moments. Take her away, good sir, and see that she takes some rest.”
Adwin did so, they went to the pond first and Calathy cleaned herself as a handful of people sang the setting of the sun. Adwin admired the beautiful sunset, the sky was red, golden and light blue, fading to deep purple as the night encroached. He walked back to their camp with Calathy, the two of them lay down together. He stayed awake until he was sure Calathy had fallen asleep. With a contented sigh, Adwin snuggled against her and fell into a deep sleep.
They woke well after sunset the next morning. Sefla and Chance Delight were in the camp playing a game of stones. Adwin almost asked if Tipper was back but decided not to. Instead he asked the other two if they had eaten. When they said they had not, the four of them went over to the outdoor kitchen on the green and ate some more soup. Calathy decided to stay to help while Adwin and the other two went to go see how Del was doing.
On their way to the keep Mokha, Lef and Alfi joined them. Lef had some bad news, “Sometime yesterday, someone took your chest and a few other valuables I had lying around.”
Adwin stopped, he laughed, “Seriously?”
Mokha nodded, frowning. Lef gave a tired sigh, “I’ve no idea who and I’m very sorry. I thought things would be safe there. No one has ever stolen from me before.”
Adwin laughed again and shrugged, “Don’t worry about Lef, there are more important things than a bit of treasure.”
Lef shook his head, “I told you it’d be safe there, it was my responsibility.”
“And I said, don’t worry about it. I hope whoever took it puts it to good use.”
Both Lef and Mokha seemed surprised by his dismissive attitude. Alfi gave a smile and a nod then took Lef by the arm, “We should go see how Del is doing.”
Adwin said, “That’s where we were heading as well.”
In the lower section of the keep there were still a dozen or so seriously injured people.
Del was not present, but they did meet the Priestess Galdi Doth and were surprised to learn that she had arrived with Sharlok’s army. She told them that Del was upstairs, supposed to be sleeping, but likely not doing so.
Adwin went up and found her sitting at the table looking through Andisal’s book. She had been crying. Adwin excused himself and was about to leave when Del said, “You can stay.”
“I’m here with Lef, Alfi and some of the others. We wanted to see how you were doing. We can come back later.”
“No. They can come up. I could use some company, likely some food too, if someone is willing to cook for me.”
While Sefla and Alfi made food, the others sat around Del and told her what was going on within the village. Lef and she talked about what they should do regarding the lack of Andisal’s leadership. He was surprised when Lef suggested he, Adwin, might make a good leader for the village and the allied homesteads. Adwin was quick to decline, “I’ve already made plans to help Tipper and her family.”
Del responded somewhat despondently, “Ah, Tipper would have been my next suggestion.”
Adwin shook his head, “Not that I’m speaking for her, but it is unlikely she would accept.”
The discussion of who could lead them continued through the meal. Tentatively they agreed that Teller was a good option, but they decided to call a meeting on the commons for the next afternoon. Del asked Adwin and his companions to spread the word while she, Lef and Alfi dealt with other things.
Tipper and the others returned late in the afternoon. Adwin gave her a big hug when their paths crossed, he was happy to see her. Bruised, scraped and cut in numerous places, Tipper returned the hug, obviously exhausted and in need of a bath. “I’d like to head out as soon as possible. Can we be ready for dawn tomorrow?”
Adwin looked at her, flabbergasted, “What?!”
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