The next morning, Mariel found herself in an uncomfortable position, half slumped over the bunk where Saya was soundly asleep. She had remembered to cover herself with a blanket after wringing out her clothes and hanging them to dry. Soon, she had put her clothes back on and headed outside to look at the weather.

The ground was still muddy from the downpour, but the sky had returned to a dull grey, and the sun shone through the clouds in places. A few birds were out singing.

“Oh, good morning! The storm has passed.”

“Morning Yil… Um, commander.”

Yil laughed and shook her head. “It’s fine, you’re not a soldier under my command.”

“Think I can get to see the refugees?”

“Sure, I was waiting for you, I’ll show you the way, but don’t you want some breakfast first?”

“Later, I really want to know if the person I’m looking for is here.”

The two left the assembly grounds and headed into the provincial capital. The mud streets were soon replaced by stone brick pavement, but the mud had browned the entire path. From the houses, families were up early, carrying heavy buckets of water from their basements. A few trees, and some damages to the housing was apparent, but the city appeared to have escaped relatively unharmed.

“No deaths, some minor injuries and significant property damage.” Yil mumbled to herself while writing on a clipboard she carried.

They passed by a house lacking its roof. The house next-doors had its chimney tumbled to the ground, its stone shards scattered over the street nearby. A pair of what appeared to be masons were appraising the damages and considering the repair procedure.

“Awful storm yesterday.” Mariel mumbled.

“We’re used to it. The mountain ranges act like sort of a funnel, and strong winds are not uncommon here… Even the trees are firmly rooted and made of thick, tight wood that’s difficult to cut down.” Yil noted while stepping over a pile of wood and stone debris on the ground.

“We happened across a few tumbled trees yesterday.”

“The walls usually keep us safe, and if you notice the space between the houses, it is to make sure a whole block is not torn down by one house crumbling.”

They continued up the small hill towards the stonewalled building at the top. Outside the building was a half-razed tower housing a big ornate bell, the exterior was damaged, but the bell and its mechanisms appeared to be undamaged. Yil walked up to the big wooden doors and knocked, and soon they were let inside.

What met them was a sea of people, spread out on every free space of the floor. Old, young, families, men, women, all in a great tumult, scrambling for space. The clergy, wearing a habit Mariel felt strangely familiar with was busy handing out bowls of hot soup and sweeping the water down the small ditches made in the floor.

“As you can see… Most of these people are in bad condition, especially those of our own kin. The humans appear more well-fed and hardy though. We’re treating them per the established agreement.” Yil began crossing the mess of limbs and heads either sleeping or laying lazily around with great skill. Mariel followed suit and after much difficulty, and at least two stepped-on fingers, they arrived at what appeared to be an altar of some kind.

“Agreement?”

“After the last war, we made a treaty with the humans on how we were supposed to treat any who might show up later… We’re obligated to provide food, shelter and to treat them like beings.”

“But not as slaves?” Mariel asked while deciding for herself to not say anything about how the treaty was being upheld by the other party. Yil showed a difficult expression, but any reply was interrupted by one of the priestesses.

“Oh, Commander Yil! We’ve been expecting you…” A woman dressed in a resplendent garb, now greatly diminished by water, dirt and mingling bade them over.

“Satina… If you began stacking them on top of each other, you could fit the rest of the city!”

“Very funny. Did you come here to gloat or to help us deal with this crazy influx?” The attempt at humour was met by a spiteful reply.

“Actually… I would like to introduce you to someone…” Before Yil could finish her sentence, Satina raised her hand.

“Not another refugee… Please.”

“Hoh? That’s not what a servant of Ysanneh is supposed to say? Anyway, this is Mariel, she’s here to look for a friend of hers.”

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“Okay, welcome Mariel, have a look around, don’t touch anything, and whatever you do… Do not obstruct our work here. There are three floors, all filled to the brim… If you can just find one friend and take whoever it is out of here, I’ll be grateful.” Satina finished her sentence in a hurry and headed back into the crowd while shouting orders and returning spiteful remarks with a barrage of her own.

“Well, you heard her, go have a look around.” Yil headed over to one of the other clergymen, and the two began to discuss the growing supply issues and the way forward. Mariel sighed and looked around at the sea of people. There were humans, demons and a whole bunch of children all mixed into one big crowd. Even with her family’s descriptions and that of Siravin, she had after a brief glance already seen roughly twenty of each that would fit the description.

The first floor she felt confident she had already checked out. The way she stood out, anyone familiar to her would likely have called out to her by this time, so she decided to look around for the stairs to ascend to the second floor. She immediately spotted two guards standing next to a curtain off to the side of the main room. As she approached, they stopped her with a gesture.

“Oh, let her through guys, she’s alright!” Yil shouted, and the guards stepped aside, allowing her to pass.

Upstairs she encountered more of the same despair and emergency. The floor was not as wet but equally crammed full with humans. Several guards ringed in the group behind large metal shields.

“Hey, you! Let us out of here!” A man in a merchant’s garb shouted.

“Please, spare us!” shouted another, this time a man clutching his three children in his embrace.

“Guards! That man over there is a human noble… A slave owner, please! Let me kill him… He murdered my wife!”

“No! You idiot! She died because you were such an ass towards her!” The man promptly countered with fury in his voice.

The guards, looking exasperated under their helmets beat the pole end of their spears into the stone floor.

“Quiet! You will all be treated fairly! Do not stand up unless you must! Remain seated and calm!” An overworked soldier tried to calm the increasingly growing tension.

“Please do as you are told and you’ll all be fine!” A familiar voice pleaded.

“Casindire? Is that you!?” Mariel shouted. She could see that Casindire had picked up on her voice, and she shouted one more time to allow her to pick up on her direction. She approached slowly, occasionally tripping over a leg or a loose item on the floor, but soon stood in front of the ring of guards.

“Let that one through please.” Mariel asked and the guards stepped aside briefly to allow her through.

Mariel quickly grabbed her arm and led her towards the stairs, nearly causing her to fall over from the surprise.

“Where are we going? You should leave me here… The others…” Her sentence was interrupted part ways…

“Hey! Look! The filthy demons are taking away the priestess!” A voice shouted from inside the crowd.

“It’s true! This is the end! They’ve taken away our holy protection! We’re all done for now!” Another one shouted, his voice full of panic.

“I don’t want to die here!”

“Everyone! We must get out of here now! Flee, before you are all made into carrion for the birds!”

The crowd began to move almost simultaneously, it stood up, and began heading for the stairs. With a uniform clatter, the guards locked their shields together and drew their weapons. What little open space there was allowed for the now desperate mob to gain momentum. All the while shouting abuse mixed in with pleas for mercy and salvation.

“Hold firm!” The apparent leader of the guards shouted, and in unison, the guards braced.

The mob slammed into the shield wall hoping to break through by sheer weight of numbers. But the wall held, and as the people in the back began pushing, those in front began screaming with pain.

From beyond the shield wall, Mariel could hear the screams of people being trampled or crushed by those behind against the metal shields. Seeping between the firmly rooted boots of the guards, a trickle of blood soon turned into steady streams of red.

“Take cover!” A shout came from one of the many other guards arriving from downstairs. The soldiers in the front bowed down, and the exposed crowd was subjected to a torrent of water. The angry screams soon turned into prayers and begs for mercy.

The tumult came to an end, the remaining petrified humans were pushed back into a relatively empty corner, revealing the scale of the disaster: Strewn across the floor in an ever-growing heap the closer it got to the soldiers, were the bodies of men, women, the elderly and even some children. Some still groaned and begged for salvation, others were lying motionless in a puddle of their own blood. Others still bore the signs of having been crushed to death, their limbs horribly bent, their faces broken.

The guards began to clear up the mess, draining the water using spells and depositing the contaminated liquid into buckets.

“What shall we do with the bodies?” The man whom had shouted earlier asked Yil whom also had turned up at the scene.

“… Dispose of them later… If you move them now, you’ll just repeat the whole thing downstairs.”

Mariel had slumped to the floor and broken down into tears. In some strange way, her head felt like it would split open. What she had in her stomach had long since deposited itself on the floor in front of her, and no matter what she tried, she could not stop herself from shivering.

Casindire, whom sat next to Mariel remained completely frozen, but every dying groan appeared to pierce her deeply.

Yil headed over and very roughly stood Mariel upright.

Smack! The rough backhanded smack landed on Mariel’s right cheek.

“Pull it together soldier!” She then ordered two pairs of guards to bring Mariel and Casindire both back to the barracks.

“Captain… Inform head priestess Satina that her overcrowding issues are resolved… But that she’s got a whole new problem on her hands…”

Mariel and Casindire were brought back to the barracks and bid to sit in a pair of chairs standing before a big desk in an office adorned with hunting trophies and military gear. Before long, Yil entered and sat down behind her desk.

“First… I won’t ask if you are okay, you aren’t physically hurt at least.” Yil began, but seeing as she got no response from either, decided to continue.

“Secondly, this whole incident I’ll write off as an uncontrolled riot… Neither of you will be officially blamed for it. However, I’ll need you, priestess to oversee the proper burial rites for your kind.”

“Yes… I will do that, I promise.” Casindire, whom appeared outwardly calm agreed immediately.

“And you Mariel… Return to the barracks and get something to eat and drink. You won’t get over this without any energy… Can I ask you priestess to look after her later?”

“I will.”

Yil sighed and leaned her head in her palms.

“This wasn’t what I signed up for when I assumed command…”