source:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dOd4eWThe band had begun the grim labor that follows all great battles: Clean up
The charnel house of a fort was a field of rotting meat, maggots, bones and disease. If left alone it would likely be a source of plague for the region for years potentially destroying the tribal plains Kanil so adored.
The more important reason though was less practical: Dignity
None were satisfied at leaving so many victims of such a tragedy so dishonored. In dwarven culture only those properly memorialized can enter the after life. The rest live in a purgatory-like middle land between the Mountainhome and hell until the time of final judgement. Many dwarven heroes died here defeating Tumam and it would not do to curse them to this fate.
What bodies that could be gathered were, but so many parts were unidentifiable or were reduced to a slurry that was a feast for worms. Legendary weapons and armor were all over the field as well and each body was placed inside the former barracks of the fort now turned into a sepulcher. The rest of the ground of the fortress was burned. Even with the cloud obscuring the sun the savannah was still in the deepest part of its dry season and so the ground caught well. The smell of burning rotting flesh and the sound of it was more disturbing than Kanil imagined.
Although he was a veteran of many battles it was his first battle of such scale and where clean up after even mattered. "The ballads don't sing about this, do they?" Called Nemo grimly
"Certainly not, but neither shall we, I expect." Ersi the priest said after swigging some wine from his waterskin he continued "I imagine as age takes our minds we will mostly just remember our glorious triumphs"
"I am timeless, Priest. I doubt I will remember this as you did when you are too old to rise from your seat" Nemo replied sadly
"Mores the pity" Ersi the warrior interjected. The priest silently raised his waterskin in toast
Kanil was staring up into the cloud wishing his gaze could pierce it and see the sky above. "There's peace in knowing that it was true evil that we killed. Our enemy were foul cursed beasts who desired to kill all that is good in the world. That gives me comfort about today even if this labor disturbs" he said
Ingiz stomped over from the dwarven party. He looked to have aged many years, as far as dwarves go, and out of the entire crew his whole body was a criss-cross of scars, missing teeth, and even a missing toe. "A wrong has been made right and many of my kin given peace. I thank you, brothers"
Ersi the warrior nodded his head toward the dwarf party some distance away from them "They gonna arrest us still?"
"Try to" Kanil said flatly
Ingiz shook his head "No, they know better now. Lost too many of their own number and now they don't trust each other after letting Ushrir rush ahead and get herself killed. More wrongs to right, but Kanil Inchwhip isn't one of those"
Kanil looked intently at Ingiz "What wrongs still need to be righted?"
"No reason to involve yourself, lad. Dwarven matters and you've proven yourself a hero."
There was a strange twinkle to Kanil's eyes. A desire in him that he never could put into words "I feel no obligation. Let me help" he paused realizing that he rarely ever verbalized his affection for his friends "...my friend"
Ingiz noted the intention and chuckled "A madman you are. I doubt you wish to involve yourself in all the trade debts, family grudges and clerical grudges that are going to be fought over in courts these final days. There is another great battle coming though. I'll tell you more back home" It meant a lot to the party to hear Ingiz refer to Helmsfragrance, their base, as his home as well.
"Lets be off then, but first, Priest what was your plan for the cloud? It hangs over us still"
The priest looked despondent "I see that too! I had heard from the dwarves that the cloud was made from Tumam's fell zombies he summoned near the end of the battle." He scratches his head "I sort of hoped that killing them all would cause it to dissipate."
Nemo "So, no plan. Just a hunch that didn't pay off?" Kanil asked
"It might go away someday, you never know!" he defended
"And this land, one of the most fertile in human hands, will likely turn into a desert before then" Ersi the warrior stated. He spat on the ground and continued "A cursed desert to our west and cursed lands to our east. We're fast running out of places for our children to call their own"
This thought left the party in a dark state of mind. They decided to return home to plan the next steps with one thought left unsaid for it being too dark and too soon to utter "The sudden drop in population of the dwarves has left their lands to the north empty to occupy and farm and so there's hope for mankind in the end of the dwarves"
OOC:
Failed on destroying the cloud, but oh well! The fact that it is still around at all is a glitch, but I hoped it was attached to the zombies that summoned it.
I know the others probably don't check in, but I assume they're okay with this idea. King Zultan would Burt and the old band of adventurers like to come out of retirement for the final arc of the elves and goblins after the dwarves?
Sorry for delay in posting, but I had a major block in writing because of real life distractions! I've been continuing to play and am reasonably ahead of this moment!
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Topic: In Search of Fairy Tales - Adelaathira - The End of Dwarfdom (Read 46165 times)