— Keira —

As it was clear the impromptu duel was concluded there was the phantom sense of a colossal blade slipping back into its sheath but the thrumming weight in the air remained. The duel was fought under the auspices of Karrielle but it was unusual for the weight of her attention to be so clear. Often for such a simple invocation of a deity it was unclear if there were true signs of their attention or simple coincidences.

Whether the intensity of the attention was a result of her connection with Mortis, or was entirely unrelated, Keir couldn’t even begin to guess. Regardless they had sought the arbitration of the goddess and they’d received it. It was only proper to pay respect to the other aspect of the goddess of battle and booze.

A few of the surrounding dwarves whose armor subtly marked them as medics dismounted and retrieved a pair of steel cups and a iron filigreed chiton like wineskin as well as their healer’s kits.

Soon both Keir and Marsaili were given a cup filled from the wineskin and as the healers prepped to begin field treatment they rose their cups and toasted to the others honor and that of Karrielle. With the proper toasts completed the weight of deific attention lifted and the air around them calmed.

As the pair spoke amicably of battles they’d fought long before, the medics began assessing and treating their wounds. Potions and healing magic of sufficient quality could handle every part of healing an injury but even a little mundane first aid could go a long way. Healing a properly set bone, for example, required substantially less mana or a weaker potion than a displaced fracture. Likewise reattaching a limb was exponentially easier than regrowing one. It wasn’t really a factor in their case but such treatments could often be what kept a person alive long enough for magical healing to be started.

With the efficiency of good training and talent the medics quickly set bones and sealed deep lacerations with alchemical adhesives before determining the most efficient use of potions and spells to use.

While that was going on the rest of the dwarves and the small group of undead put away their weapons and were chatting as they dismantled the makeshift barricades and traps. They also did their best to give Aina, Eshtan, and the dwarven mage some degree of privacy for their rather emotional reunion.

Soon the road was cleared and the pair of warriors were fully recovered. Alasdair and Antheia quickly made their way over followed shortly by the Dwarven mage who was clearly reluctant to leave her family so soon after reuniting with them.

What few introductions that were necessary were made and they soon got down to business as Marsaili said “While ya ‘ave proven yer honor ta me we still have our orders.”

Minira nodded, her face and tone calm even as thin crackling lighting arced along her hair, and added “Aye, we’re ta investigate the village and bring the one who claimed it before the throne. If yer claims’re correct then yer hardly a criminal stealing the legacy a the dead, but tha’s not fer us ta decide.”

For the time being Alasdair and Antheia seemed content for Keir to do most or all of the talking so she said “I hadn’t intended to seek an audience with the king but we are planning to look into reopening trade and seek out the talent and supplies needed to repair and grow Sill-Leaf Village. I assume you haven’t already been to the village so it shouldn’t be an issue to simply part ways here. You can visit the village to see it is as we have stated and we are already on our way to Stonesheild so we can pass word of our arrival to the castle at the city gates.”

While she did believe that was the simplest solution Keir wasn’t surprised when Marsaili frowned slightly and Minira shook her head and said “Tha’ may seem simple but we canna do tha’. If we had already seen tha truth a yer words we could let ya go on yer way. Likewise if we had nae encountered ya we could just head straight ta investigate the village.”

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While the situation the dwarves were in made Keir glade she no longer had to deal with the inherent bureaucracy of serving in the army she was also annoyed to be caught up in the messy orders of another nation. She mostly suppressed a frustrated sigh by nature of not having enough air in her lungs for one before inhaling and saying “I can sympathize with the position you are in but we don’t have the luxury of traveling back to the village with you and restarting our journey.”

She hated to do it but the village was in dire need of stout walls and a functional lumber mill so she stood a bit straighter calling on her time as an officer and her training as a member of the royal family, even one with no claim to the throne. She put that same steel in her voice and continued “This far inland the implications of my name may not be obvious but I am a retired officer of the Steel Coast Tidecarvers and a member of the royal family of the Steel Coast Archipelago. I’m happy to comply with your requests as long as we are able to continue our journey.”

While it was unlikely to come to that, it was clear from the tension that crept onto the faces of the pair of dwarves, they knew wars had been fought for lesser insults than falsely imprisoning a member of another nation's royal family. Even discounting the possibility of war with one of the most powerful militaries in the world it would still be a political firestorm.

As the silence stretched uncomfortably Keir flicked her gaze to Antheia. Fortunately she apparently got the hint as she played the part of the peacemaker defusing the implied threat without actually walking it back. Soon after it was decided that Marsaili and a small group of soldiers would travel with Keir’s group to the city and the rest of the force would be led by Minira to investigate the city. It was also decided that her family would also return as they had only joined the convoy to visit her in the city and so Eshtan could help repair the road to increase their travel speed.

— Marsaili —

As Minira walked away from the rather awkward negotiations when they were concluded she rolled her shoulders as if casting off her discomfort like it was a cloak. As she did she frowned when she felt the grinding of her damaged pauldron. The enchantments were steadily repairing the damage from the duel but she still had a somewhat limited range of motion if she didn’t want to risk damaging it further.

She didn’t have the luxury of letting it show but she was exhausted in a way that neither her high tier nor her few passive skills could alleviate. Like so many of her troops and Minira she’d rode out fueled by the impotent rage that she would never be able to actually avenge the death of her oldest son, only deal with the ones who had taken that chance away when they claimed the village he’d loved so much. Seeing that he was resurrected with his mind and will apparently intact, as had Mesalin, her anger deflated like a popped balloon. She tried to focus on the positive but as happy as she was at the idea her son and favorite daughter in law may have returned from the veil in some form that fledgling hope and happiness didn’t fill that hole left by her anger.

She gave her head a slight shake. When she’d seen how Marsaili had reshaped her life around her anger and desire for vengeance as they’d started becoming friends she’d hoped to help pull her out of that mindset after returning. Only now was Marsaili realizing she’d been in that same headspace herself.

She couldn’t deal with it yet but she made a note to focus more on her mental health when they got back. Instead she called over her officers and passed down orders. While plenty of her troops had friends or family in the village, that was part of why her troops had been chosen, but there were also quite a few with no real connection to the village. The troops she would take back to the city would be selected from those with no ties to Still-Leaf.

Fortunately her soldiers were well trained and disciplined so within twenty minutes of giving the order her troops were split and ready to depart. Marsaili spent much of that time speaking with Alasdair.

Despite everything that had happened there was still a decent amount of night left and her troops could keep going so they were soon on the road. They were moving slower to match the pace of the undead, who had no mounts, but the path was more direct and the remaining sections were in reasonably good condition. The fact the undead didn’t seem to need or want to break for anything other than daylight also helped them make decent time.

After a few hours of traveling, occasionally glancing over at Keir, Marsaili decided to go and talk to her. A part of her was annoyed that the elf had contributed to the awkwardness of the negotiations when she brought up her royal heritage. It was hard to be too upset however. Marsaili had plenty of experience with nobles who enjoyed throwing around the weight of their bloodlines. When Keir had brought up her royal blood she’d seemed less like a smug noble than a soldier who’d seen an opening. Despite everything Marsaili still trusted the impression she’d gotten during the duel so she only hesitated a moment before making her way over and dismount beside the elf.