The quiet after a battle is actually not quiet at all. It only seems to be by comparison once the clash of steel subsides and more importantly once your heart calms down and your heartbeat stops ringing in your ears like thunder. In a way it is scary how quiet the screams of the wounded or dying can be in comparison. I had given the orders that were of the greatest importance right now though and allowed myself a moment to catch my breath before anything else could be dropped in my lap or on my head. I took a moment to check myself for any minor injuries I might have simply missed in the heat of battle.
Well, I wasn't missing an arm or a leg and I still had all my fingers and toes as well as far as I could tell. I had a minor scrape across my upper cheek all the way to my ear but it wasn't terribly deep and it had thankfully missed the ear itself and the eye on that side as well. There was the dull ache of countless bruises but in general my armor and spells had worked as intended. I had come off lucky. The same could not be said for everyone.
I watched in silence for a moment as the wounded made their way to the heart of our camp where the healers were waiting. Some made the trip under their own power while others had to be carried. No one was left behind though. Once I was satisfied with what I saw I turned towards Gash'zur to check her over as well. She was still breathing hard and bleeding from several wounds but none of them seemed to serious either. Even minor wounds needed to be checked out though.
I put a hand on her arm to lead her back towards the healers as well. “Come on, lets get our wounds cleaned up and bandaged. Then we can get back to work on cleaning up this mess.” I looked around demonstratively. “Well probably be pretty busy until nightfall or longer.”
She nodded and hobbled along, using her heavy, two handed war hammer like a walking stick. She stopped again before we could get anywhere though. Before I had a chance to ask she waved over two warriors of my banner who just returned from heaving their own minor wounds seen to. She pointed to the wreckage of her shield. “Get a banner and a horn. You are on watch duty until further notice.”
I chimed in at that point. “Blow the horn if there is a new threat everyone needs to made aware off immediately. Otherwise send a runner to find me, or if they can't any of the other officers. We are heading to see the healers ourselves right now. Afterwards we'll be making a round around the battlefield to make sure everything is taken care off.”
The duo nodded. “As you will.” Without further ado they hurried off to get the gear they would need. In a way they had gotten off easy. Watch duty probably would be better than cleanup detail.
With that taken care off we continued on our way. I blanched a little as I saw firsthand just how busy the healers were. They were not sending anyone away though. They didn't have to perform triage. That gave me a little hope. Getting more healers and plenty of supplies for them was paying off now. Still, the sight was sobering. I had no doubt that most, if not all, who were seen too would survive, but they would take some time to recover.
I pushed Gash'zur ahead towards the line of one of the healers taking care of minor injuries while lining up to be seen too by the very same healer's apprentice myself. The giantess raised an eyebrow but I waved her off before she could say anything. “You got scraped up worse than me. All I need is to get this little scrape here cleaned. I'll get one of the other officers to accompany me, while they take care of you. We'll meet up afterwards at the impromptu watch post we just set up, yes?”
For a moment it looked as if she wanted to protest but in the end she gave in with a resigned nod. “Fine. I'll see you later. Just please, promise me that you won't go off on your own again.”
I grinned, although it hurt a little due to my cut cheek. “I promise.” Before I could say anything else though it was my turn to sit down in front of the apprentice healer.
The young man, a gorgon, started looking me over while some of his hair tentacles were busy cleaning the tools he just used to take care of the last patient. “Just the cut?”
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“Just the cut.” I bent down a little to grant him easier access to the wound. “The bruises will have to wait until later.”
He got a clean cloth and a flask that judging by the smell, contained some strong spirits. After cleaning the superficial cut he put some herbal ointment on it that smelled almost as strong. Once he was done with that he looked up at me again. “Can you keep it clean for a while, long enough for it to scab over, or do I need to bandage it? You won't be able to talk much if I have to though.”
It was hard but I kept from grinning, as that would have hurt again. He was right of course. Any bandage he put on my face would have to be kept in place somehow and one way or another that would have inhibited my ability to communicate. “I'll be fine for now. Save the bandages for someone else who needs them more.”
He sighed with relief and motioned for me to get going again. “Good luck and take care. Have someone look at it again tomorrow just to make sure.” Even as I rose he waved the next patient who had been waiting in line forward. “Next one.”
I left but I didn't leave for the perimeter immediately. First I made a quick round through the camp, to have a better look at the situation of the wounded and the healers tending to them. I hadn't gotten far when I stumbled across the two troll shamans of the Wall Breakers taking care of Yath'zur. He was acting tough, but he had obviously suffered some serious injuries. The broken lance tip still stuck in his left hand was only the most obvious one. I stopped at his side. “Well, damn, look at you. And here I was hoping you could keep me company as I took stock of the situation all around.”
He laughed weakly. “Sorry to disappoint you, my Lady. You'll have to look for someone else. These two just won't stop fussing about.”
I snorted. “Well, let them fuss to their hearts content. At least you won't have to clean up the mess we made that way.” I got a little more serious again. “Have you seen any of the other officers?”
He shook his head best he could. “Tortho should be out in the woods somewhere with Quu'za. As far as these two are concerned no news is good news since no ghouls are crawling all over us coming from their direction.” He fell silent for a moment. “Last time I saw Arngard was just before that second line of heavy cavalry hit us. Sorry, I just don't know what became of him.”
I swallowed hard. That really wasn't exactly the best news. I tried to reassure him anyway. “Keep your eyes open, in case they bring him in.” I gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and moved on.
I stopped at my sister's side next. Kaele was busy patching up wounded just like anyone else who was a healer or could at least double as one. Like anyone else who knew some healing magic she was taking care of the more serious cases. I quickly shook my head as she noticed me. “Don't worry, I'm good. Just a scratch and that has already been taken care of. Have you seen Arngard?”
Relief flooded her face only to be replaced with worry right away as I asked my question. She shook her head. “No, I don't think so.” She swallowed hard. “Its a bit hard to tell though in some cases. Some of those the ghouls got to are hard to recognize even if they were lucky enough to get pulled out of that mess before the damned things could completely tear them apart.”
Now I swallowed as well. That sounded bad. “Keep you eyes open, just in case. I'll grab myself a guard or two to have a look at the situation in the woods in the meantime. If you see Tero, tell him to grab any Wall Breakers that are free and not wounded too badly. I want them to gather wood and some of the oil we got for the siege engines. Have them burn the enemy dead as soon as we have recovered all our own wounded and dead.”
Before she could even acknowledge my request the man himself arrived at Kaele's side though. He placed a moderately sized chest next to her. “More healing supplies. And there is no need to repeat yourself. I hear everything. I'll see to it.”
A wave of relief washed over me. That was another unpleasant task taken care off. “Take care. I'll be on my way then.”