Valerie was able to get to her feet with the help of Markus. "I'm... yes, I'm alright," she managed. She had to take a second to confirm that she was actually telling the truth. She wasn't bleeding from any wounds, but that orc had thrown and hit her with significant force, and there was still a pretty debilitating pain in her torso, one she hoped would pass soon. It lessened a bit with each slow breath she took in and exhaled, which was a good sign. Regardless, this was going to result in some bruising.

But she was alive and whole, and that was more than could be said for quite a few of the mercenaries. A few looked to have been cut down right where they stood when the attack started, finding themselves out of their leagues battling against a bold orcish raid. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. In the battle's immediate aftermath, Valerie could feel her adrenaline fading away. She began to feel a little sick to her stomach; it wasn't the first conflict resulting in death she'd been involved in, but that had been by far the worst. The orcs were capable of such unbridled violence. She had to lean back against the nearby wagon for support, but she at least avoided embarrassing herself.

"Eventful's one word for it," she said, once her breathing was a bit steadier again. Horrifying might have been her choice. The point of armed escorts for caravans was usually to discourage attacks from ever happening, and much of the company likely hadn't expected to get into a fight in the first hours of the trip, or at all. Now a great many of them would never see home again, leaving the strength of the survivors severely reduced. If another attack of that force came, they could easily be cut down to the last.

"Thanks for saving me, by the way," she said to Markus, a bit more subdued. Her hair had become a bit disheveled during the last stages of the fight. She idly worked to fix it. "I probably shouldn't have run off... took on a bit more than I could handle. But I thought the others needed the help." And she was probably right. It'd nearly cost her life, but she'd at least been able to cut off some of the orcs swarming the section, and delay the biggest of them as best she could.