The Battle of Land's End

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The crowd falls dead silent at the sound of Paddam's booming voice. A hush so strong sweeps over the scene you can all hear the sound of the breeze through the alleyways. Only the rustling of dust, the smell of cherry pie and a faint trace of smoke are in the air.

For a moment, there is an uneasy sense of standoff. Even Urbest looks as if he has lost the will to rile everyone back up. But only for a moment. Soon his jowls quiver and he regains his wits. Snapping his head back at the crowd he opens his mouth to yell.

But not a word ever leaves his mouth. Or if it does, no one can hear it over the blaring of the horn from the top of the watch tower. Captain Lance Hardspear stands atop the spire, blowing with all his might. The deafening bleat of the horn nearly shakes the ground and all look to the south west  for a moment.

Everyone quickly finds themselves looking back to the north east, however, where the sky has turned bright orange. Fires burn, smoke trailing into the dark warm sky on an unseasonably cold spring night. The horn sounds again. Two signal an attack.

...

At last the smoke clears as the town people put out the last of the flames over the battlefield where their precious farms used to grow. Others clear the rubble in the giant holes of the wall. There is a general sense of unease and dread as those who survived know that the worst is yet to come. Eldric tends to Lance Hardspear's wounds while Orland helps remove debris from the roofs of buildings near where the projectiles from the trebuchets hit. Loggers begin stacking tree trunks near the wall to start repairs.

But all carry out their tasks solemnly. Everyone saw that monstrosity of a hulking Orc. And everyone heard his promise to be back. For as much as Urbest was disliked by some and even hated by others, he was a pillar of the community. There are rumors that the adventuring guild would have given the Orcs anyone to save themselves. The "Heroes of the Battle of Land's End," are really just cowardly traitors who would sell their brother to the enemy to save their own skins. Still others agree there was no choice - the first battle was hard fought as it was. Everyone would have been slaughtered if forced to fight a full second company while winded that badly.

At any rate, those who can pick up the pieces if only to keep themselves occupied and to distract themselves from the fear of what lies ahead. Orland decrees that for their bravery the guild has rights to the spoils of the battle. Among the dead bodies you find quite a horde of valuable items strewn about.

Records and Journals

 * Essart's Account