Things were looking grim, even if we tried to make the best of it all. Kaele reheated the rest of the herbal medicine she had brewed up for Khuzan on the rekindled fire and made him drink it. He still looked like death warmed over but he was able to drink it on his own which was already a grand improvement. At the same time I cut what little remained of the cheese we found into slices which I put on sticks. The children, Ad'zan a little boy of no more than four years of age and Umar'za, a little girl that was slightly older, could hold those close to the fire. That way the cheese would soften a bit and more importantly, it would be warm.

It wasn't much of a meal but it was all we had. The rest of us would have to go hungry for the time being. At least until we could scrounge up something else. There were sheep out on the pastures. We probably could catch and butcher one. That wasn't something I would usually consider. These sheep belonged to someone after all. Given the circumstances I was willing to take the chance though. I could always compensate the farmers later. If they were still alive. The carrion birds we had seen yesterday came back to mind. The two calmed down a little as they could busy themselves with their meager meal. Eld'tide comforting them helped as well. She probably would make a good big sister, or mother. Some day. If we survived this mess.

I pondered our situation as I watched the two eat. What should we do next? Khuzan was still not fit to rejoin the fight. We couldn't simply abandon the little ones either. No, the thought alone felt utterly wrong. That wasn't all though. Before planning our next move I needed more information first. The children had already told us a little of what had transpired. The humans and their elven headhunter allies had appeared three days ago before noon. Probably. The two weren't entirely certain. They had snuck out into the woods not entirely unlike our little group. And when they realized that something was wrong they had hid in a hollow tree. It was hard to properly keep track of time in there.

There had been some fighting, but most people had probably run. If they made it to the village they should be safe. More or less. The children hadn't dared to come out though as they had heard human voices time and again. That was worrisome. Only once hunger and even more so thirst had gotten unbearable they had come back out of hiding, stumbling across us in the process. I eyed our supplies which were pretty much non existent at this point and our weapons, which had seen better days as well. My glaive had lost much of its edge and I had no means to fix it. My hunting knife and Khuzan's swords were only little better. The two spears we used for the stretcher were serviceable but not made for someone of my stature. We had one crossbow and plenty of quarrels for it. “Eld'tide, how many arrows have you got left?”

She held up one hand behind the back of the children, all fingers extended, not saying a word. Five. That wasn't much. Better than nothing but still not much. Maybe enough for one fight. Afterwards we would have to get creative. I bit my lip. “The little ones mentioned the humans returning time and again. Since they already looted everything of worth here, I can only imagine one reason why they would do that.” I pointed in the direction of the pastures beyond the stone walls. “The sheep. They butcher some of them every day to have meat for their soldiers.” In a way that was an elegant solution to their supply problem. They certainly wouldn't have carried tons of perishables over the mountains. Why would they when plenty of food was right at hand.

The thought made me angry as well. Then something else occurred to me. The elven headhunters wouldn't even bother with the sheep. They would go straight for the farmers instead. I wanted to gag. I wanted to scream in rage. I couldn't afford either. Instead I turned towards my Gorgon friend. “They will be back today as well. Put out the fire once you are done with our meal. I don't want the smoke to give away our presence. Get some more water for everyone if you can. Hole up in here and keep everyone safe.” Everyone meant her, Khuzan and the children. I let her know that much. “Kaele and I will head out and deal with them. Maybe after they had some time to butcher a sheep or two. That way we might have something to eat afterward.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“You? I!” My sister was perplexed. Eld'tide raised an eyebrow as well but didn't say anything. Khuzan looked at me as well, curiosity evident in his tired eyes. Even the two children were looking up at me, although they probably had no idea what was going on. “Are you sure?” Kaele stopped, her brows furrowing. “Of course you are sure. You have a reason to take me along instead of Eld'tide although she is the more formidable fighter. Especially in an ambush. You have a plan, right?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at me expectantly. “Come on, spill it!”

I sighed and nodded. “I will go as I have gotten some experience with the crossbow. I can face them in melee as well, should it become necessary. You on the other hand can keep casting spells without running out of power for a while. And while you might not be able to move about as sneakily as Eld'tide, you can cast Invisibility on yourself just like her.” I paused. “They probably won't send their best soldiers to gather supplies. They need them elsewhere if they are really besieging the village. What we will face will be the ones no one else wanted around. Or maybe some wounded still able to move. Nothing we can't handle.”

That seemed to satisfy her. At least for now. We waited for the children to finish. Then the two of us got ready to go. I turned back to them one last time. “Barricade the door once we are out. Maybe use some of the stones from the flooring if you can break them loose. Just in case.” Then Kaele and I left. It was still dark, but I could already see the sky brightening in the east. It wouldn't be long now before the sun was up. Kaele Shivered and rubbed her arms. She had left her clothes behind with the others. She probably could have gone invisible with them on, but it would have required more concentration and effort thus she decided against it. I pointed to the forest's edge. “Move on the dirt paths wherever you can. They might be able to notice you moving though the high grass.”

I pointed to another spot where a few dry stone walls intersected, providing decent cover. “I'll be over there. We will observe them for a while. I will strike first. You strike once I have their undivided attention.” She nodded, shivering again. “And whatever you do, when you move in position, don't get in between them and me. There will probably be bolts and arrows flying around.” I paused and frowned. “Don't move behind them either if you can avoid it. You know, in case I miss. Wouldn't want to shoot you by accident. You probably wouldn't want to be shot either.”

I pulled her into a hug. “Stay safe.” She nodded once more and got moving in the direction of the forest's edge I had indicated. I watched after her for a moment and got moving myself. Not only would the intersecting dry stone walls provide decent cover from anyone approaching us from the direction of the village, I would have a decent few as well. Especially, I could keep an eye on the pastures that still had sheep grazing on them, which they would reach first. There was no reason for them to pass those by. I pretty much expected them to get those sheep they would reach first. All those spots should still be well in range for the crossbow as well. In theory at least. I might still miss though.

I put the weapon down in the wet grass next to me. That wasn't good for the weapon in the long run but I didn't care. I didn't really intend to keep for long after all. Then I put the quiver with the bolts down on my other side before placing my glaive at the base of the low wall as well. I had hammered out some of the worst notches it had suffered with a stone. That was a rather makeshift repair though. The weapon probably need a new blade before long. Last I checked my hunting knife, keeping it sheathed on my belt. I was ready. All that was left was waiting. I ducked low and decided to pass the time imagining sheep stew or roast lamb and things like that.