Chapter 12: On the Hunt for Witches
-----Raven gives Rinda a small smile and says, "Welcome back Rinda. I've.." Raven pauses, "we've missed you." Raven moves closer, "You need to rest, then we'll talk about what happened here."
-----Raven turns to Goff, "Tell all you can remember about the men that attacked."
-----Rinda tries to stand with Amythiel’s help. She moves over by Raven and Goff. "I’ve rested enough for now," she says waiting to hear how Goff responds to Raven.
-----Goff looks down at the floor and closes his eyes. He then slowly speaks, "They all rode horses and they wore armor like mine." He points to his chain mail. "I remember hearin’ one of ‘em yellin’ at the others to knock the door down. There was another one yellin’ ‘bout shooting when they saw Broactor."
-----Goff pauses and looks at Sarah with a look, as if seeking approval.
-----Rinda looks at Raven with her steel blue eyes and a look of alarm grows there. "Raven, . . . Broactor, Jon, and Kylne, where are they?"
-----Raven moves closer to Rinda and puts a hand on her right shoulder. Raven meets Rinda's gaze and says, "They were all killed when the keep was attacked." Raven lowers his head not able to look at Rinda, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to stop them. Maybe if I had been here..." Raven voice trails off.
-----Rinda straightens her stance staring into the shadows. After a few moments, she softly mutters, "What will we do?"
-----Suddenly Rand’s voice is heard downstairs, "Someone’s heading this way on foot. I believe it’s Zentil." The sound of the elf’s voice a few moments later proves that Rand is right. The elf quickly bounds up the stairs where he finds the rest of the party in the room dimly lit with the torches.
-----"Brocator is hurt badly over by the bonfire in the woods", he tells the others. "He said he wanted to be left alone, but he looks like he's in bad shape."
-----Sol quickly looks to Raven, "We can’t leave him out there. Shall we go fetch him?" The excitement builds in the young man. "Well, here’s where I better start using what I learned guarding those caravans. We need to secure this place before anything else unexpected happens. Thalog, my friend, how about you be in charge in lighting a few more torches in this place?" Sol then looks at Raven to see what he wants to do.
-----Amythiel hands the gem back to Sarah and tells her, "Keep this close in case we need it again. Can you help me find some things to make some makeshift beds?" She then turns to Rinda, "Rinda, I know you’re upset, but I want you to rest as much as possible." Rinda nods back at Amythiel.
-----Goff looks at Sarah. He politely says, "Is there anything I can do for ya, MiLady?" Sol goes over and whispers something to Sarah.
-----Sarah pockets the gem and replies to Sol. Then she turns to everyone, "If the people that came before are coming back, we need to get to work right now." She turns to Goff, "Are there enough of us to hold the battlements or do we need to hole up in the interior? If so, where would be the best place?"
-----"MiLady, there are more of us now than there was before," Goff replies, "There be more to take the watch." Here Goff slightly shivers, "If that army comes back, it didn’t take ‘em long to get through the door. I guess we could hold ‘em back from the top of the stairs if they got in."
-----"Naw, I bet we could keep them out of here," interrupts Sol, "We may need to take a look at that door."
-----Raven says, "I'm going out to see Broacter." Raven starts for the door then stops, "Why stay here? We would have no chance to defend it. We'd be killed if they returned." With that Raven then heads out the door.
-----Thalog speaks up, "I agree with Raven. To stay here is suicide. An army that can take the Keep and kill its inhabitance will have no trouble doing the same to us. There is also our health to consider. Half of us are injured, so how can it be possible to fight an entire army. Our death gains nothing."
-----Sol looks around at the destroyed furnishings. He nods his head, "Looks like we’re moving out!" He looks at Sarah, "Could be a chilly night out there. You ready to go?" Sol moves toward the door to mount up outside. Rand is just ahead of him following Raven.
-----Amythiel calls after Raven, "We still need to find shelter of some sort. Rinda and most of us need time to heal."
-----Rand chimes in and then looks over at Zentil. "Good point! Did you see any kind of structure close to the bonfire where Broactor is?"
-----Sarah nods at Amythiel’s statement. "That's why we need to find somewhere to set all the injured people for the night. We can't risk another fight."
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