Chapter 47: Act 1: Chapter 37
Thirtieth day, Ninth Moon, 250 AC
It was nearing nightfall by the time I was able to sit down again. I had sent someone to bring all the people at the cliff back into town, and then a few others and I had tried to contain the fires. We ended up losing six homes from my Molotov's, but the rest were untouched. The rest of the day had passed in a whirlwind of activity, and by the end, my limbs were trembling and my throat raw. My injuries had moved passed pain and were starting to get into debilitating, so I was forced to stop for the day.
By the time the sun started to set, the people that were at the cliff had arrived back into town and started to pitch in. It was hard work, but we managed to get the town from falling down around us.
As I sat down, Nyra put some food in front of me, and I started to wolf it down. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I was starving!
It was leftovers from the feast the Ironborn had laid out, with some additions made by the women of the village when they had arrived. A mixture of lamb and chicken, with some potatoes, salad, and bread.
Nyra pulled up a chair beside me while I ate and sat down and leaned up against me.
"Zane is going to be alright," she said. "Barring infection. He shouldn't lose the arm, but he might not get the full use." She sniffled a little, before continuing, "It could have been worse, I know, but I'm still worried about my brother."
"There were some close calls but we're past it now," I said, reassuringly. "Has there been a count of the dead yet?"
"We've counted what we can. We think a few families might still be in the woods since we haven't seen anything to think they are dead. There were 151 people in the village before the raid, plus about forty farmers in the immediate area. There was, we think, thirty people killed immediately – mostly men. Then another twenty women died. There were 77 people taken hostage, of which, sixteen died attacking the Ironborn alongside you. One died on the beach, and then we have ten seriously hurt – including Zane. Most of the farmers were untouched since they fled when Violet, Bran, and Jeran were able to warn them. So, that's 67 dead with more wounded. Eleven houses burned down, with more damaged by the flames. A lot of the animals in the village were slaughtered as well, and some of the grain stores destroyed."
My face grew grimmer as she listed it all out. "Over a third of the village dead? Truly?" I asked.
She nodded, grimly. "43 Ironborn were killed, and seven are prisoners."
"Speaking of prisoners," Bronn said, as he joined us. "What are we going to do with them?"
I shrugged, as Koryn and a few other villagers joined us. "I don't know, they surrendered and will take the black, but I don't want to walk them all the way to the wall."
Koryn nodded. "Aye, but we can't trust 'em to walk by themselves."
"Kill them," said Vestrit, in an angry tone.
Bronn shook his head. "We can't just kill 'em. Only Lord Stark can do that. It's his right."
Everyone could hear Vestrit grinding his teeth. He suddenly gave a chilling smile and said, happily, "Don't worry! I'll bring 'em to the wall. And I won't need anyone else to escort them, so it won't be a problem!"
Nyra and I gave each other a disturbed look.
"For now," I said, "How about we set them to work around the village. Chain up their legs and put them to work. Can you rig something up, Bronn?"
"Aye, I can. Take me an hour or two. Best to lock them up tonight and have them start in the morning. I think we all need to sleep soon."
"That's fine," I replied. "What should we do with the dead Ironborn?"
Koryn asked, "They normally go out to sea, or something, right?" At our nods, he continued, "Well, I don't think they should get what they want. Let's bury 'em inland or something."
Vestrit's face lit up. "How about we burn the bodies first, then bury 'em!"
"Sure, Vestrit. Why don't you work on that?" I said.
Vestrit got up and left, whistling to himself, happily.
"I hope he gets better," Nyra said, sadly.
"He needs to get the anger out of him," Bronn said. "If it doesn't in the next few days, then we might have a problem."
I nodded my agreement. Some people need to work through their anger. I just hoped it wouldn't destroy the boy.
Koryn wiped his face tiredly. "So, what are we going to do about the prisoners then? We can't keep 'em here for long. And we definitely can't keep them here until the next tax patrol. That won't be for a few moons."
Bronn agreed and said, "Aye, but we can't take 'em to the wall either. What if we only brought 'em to Deepwood? Let the Glovers worry about it from there? And let them tell Lord Stark."
The men in the group looked intrigued. "Not a bad idea, Bronn, "I said.
"Let's give it a few days," I said. "Have the prisoners work in the meantime, and let's have our funerals. Get our village in some sort of order, and then take them to Deepwood. If we keep them chained, we won't need too many men. Maybe five?"
The group gave their assent. One of the fishermen, Jax, asked, "What are we going t' do about tha' boat? I went out 'n looked at it earlier. It's mighty fine."
"Is it fine where it is now? Or does it need to be pulled in?" I asked.
Jax replied, "It'll do for a few days, but we shouldn't leave it out there long, especially if a storm comes by."
I nodded. "Alright. I don't know much about boats, but I reckon it's the villages now. No idea what we can do with it, but after the funerals, can you and some of the other fishermen bring it in? We can deal with it later."
Jax nodded.
"It's really important we all work together these next few days. Look after each other too," I said, tilting my head to were Vestrit had gone. "Some peoples' houses are burnt down or damaged, so others might need to take 'em in."
Nyra said, "Some of the women are already trying to organize were people will sleep. We'll be okay for tonight, and things will become clearer as the last few families out in the woods drift back in."
The people around us all nodded. Eventually, one by one the group drifted away in search of sleep.
I looked over to Nyra and noticed she was exhausted as well. "How are the children?"
"Shaken, but alright," she replied. "Violet took the younger ones back to the house an hour ago."
I smiled. "Violet did really well today. I am proud of her."
Nyra gave a pleased smile as well. "She did." She leaned in a little closer and whispered, "I know she was using her animals. Did anyone, other than family, see?"
I shook my head. "No, no one saw anything definitive. Mimi was by my side most of the time, but I lost sight of her near the end. I think the smoke drove her away. But Mimi being by my side can be explained away by training."
"Violet told me that Mimi is fine, but you are right, the smoke drove her off. She's back at the farm already."
"Good, I never saw anything hurt her, but I worried nonetheless."
"Did anyone figure out why the Ironborn came here?" she whispered.
"No. I don't think so. I told people that the Ironborn were acting weird, but not why. I'll try to make sure none of the villagers talk to the prisoners."
"Alright. I will talk to everyone over the next few days and see if I can pick up any gossip."
I kissed the top of her head, that was resting on my shoulder. "That sounds wonderful, dear."
"One day at a time, honey. One day, at a time."