****In town***

Brisa stared at Argurios in astonishment. He had done that so easily. She knew instinctively she never could have done that. At least not so quickly. She blinked owlishly one or two times to try and focus but she was impressed. 

“Bakers” she finally said and pointed a finger at a nearby building with a sign hanging out front showing loaves of bread with little squiggles to represent heat.

“Come, I’ll show you.”

She led him to the baker’s shop and pointed out the cellar at the back of the shop. It was a simple matter to get the bodies inside and when they were done Brisa scrounged around and found the lock the baker used to close it up at night. She snapped it on, pretty sure that they would be safe from scavengers there. 

“Um” She walked up to Argurios and shyly put a hand on his arm for a brief second “Thanks. That, well that was really nice of you.” 

Then she turned, pulled out a piece of charcoal and wrote a simple note on the wood of the cellar door.

[i]Here lies Aheric, Dorn, & Autry. They gave their lives to our town and for our town and shall be remembered in the hearts of those who live on.[/i] 

Brisa was no poet but that sounded like something one might see on a tombstone or grave marker. As she was putting the piece of charcoal away she realized she had yet to tell Dakin about what happened to his mentor. He would have wanted to see. 

“Dakin” she said by way of explanation as she turned and began running back towards the gate. “I forgot. Oh and Atrus” she hollered back over her shoulder as she increased the distance between herself and the other two.

“He needs to know too.”

****at the wall***

Once things had been sorted out, to the satisfaction of the three boys gathered there, a ladder had been lowered so Ronin could climb up. It was significantly easier than opening the gate. They would have to team up to get that open, which they would in order to bring the horse inside at least. And rope ladders may be mildly challenging for grown men and women to climb; they held no challenge to young children. The emptiness of the town was still eerie, quite and pressing, but there was some comfort in knowing that there was life outside the city walls. 

The stillness was broken by the sound of running footsteps and panting as Brisa came running up. 

“Dakin” she said panting a little. She wasn’t used to so much activity, since signing on as Autry’s apprentice she had spent most of her time in fairly static study and simple chores. 

“I found Dorn” she continued between pants. “I mean his body. Um…he’s dead. I..I…Autry’s dead too. And…”

She looked up at the three boys and for the first time really looked. Her eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer. Him she did not know, even by sight.

“Were you the one yelling.” She blushed briefly. “What I mean is who are you?”