From atop the ramparts, Sevine knotched her bow as she carefully made each shot count. Leif continued to kneel beside her, curious to see if the Kamal would breach the walls defenses, but alas, they did not. Perhaps they were too big to take to the ladders. She watched in delight as reinforcements arrived to aid those still fighting below. Sevine spotted another three armored ships arriving in the bay, the feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel apprehensive at the thought of more of those monstrous beasts arriving on the shores of Windhelm. When the docks cleared below, save for the dead, and for the wounded, Sevine looked down at Leif, and nodded with her head to leave. Roze mentioned that she was going to head inside, and Leif addressed her quietly, both of them watching as she departed.
Some of the guardsmen, and archers atop the walls, clasped her shoulder, and gave her words of encouragement, praising her for her accurate aim, and some even thanked Leif for not dying, though, he didn’t do much. The feeling of being thanked, made Sevine feel nauseous, as she felt that she hadn’t fully contributed to the battle, but felt like more of a coward for hiding upon the ramparts behind the safety of the walls. In fact, the carnage below left her feeling saddened that she had watched so many die, obliterated by the Kamal’s deadly weapons. She already heard whispers as to what those creatures were amongst those on the walls.
“The dead shouldn’t be left to a dishonourable burial, help me bring them in, unless you want to help heal the wounded.” With that, she slung her long bow over her shoulder, and ventured down the stone stairwell to the gates below. The iron gates had opened, allowing those that were wounded to be brought in, as well as the bodies of the dead.
“So many of our kinsmen gave up their lives today.” Leif quietly commented as Sevine, and him emerged on the docks, littered with the bodies of the dead, and those of the wounded. The organic matter made for a slippery going through the vast puddles of blood, as she carefully picked her way amongst those still alive, and able to move.
She came upon the body of some poor unexpecting victim, with a missing head, she couldn’t tell if the person was man or woman. Kneeling beside the corpse, Sevine looked at Leif, her eyes stinging with tears of anger, and frustration.
“Help me carry this person.” She instructed as she grabbed the arms of the corpse, while Leif grabbed the legs. Together, they lifted the corpse off the bloody cobblestone, and carried it through the gates, and down the streets of Windhelm, to the Hall of the Dead. When they reached their destination, in the graveyard outside of the Hall, those who had joined the crusade to recover the dead, had already amassed a large pile of bodies. Upon witnessing the dead, Sevine knew that too many had given their lives, for it took many warriors to slay but one Kamal. With utmost respect, and care, the two warriors laid the corpse down alongside the others.
On the way back to the gates, Sevine witnessed a man, whom she believed to be crazed, shouting that the creatures they fought against were, Kamal, or rather snow demons. She dismissed him without a thought, those that were interested would go, and investigate what they could. Continuing on, Leif, and Sevine removed more bodies from the battlefield, working in silence without speaking a word to one another. Her hands grew bloody, from moving the dead, and eventually, flecks of blood appeared on her cheeks, and upon her skin as Leif and her struggled to move the dead.
“So many have lost their lives today.” She whispered with a heavy note of sadness clinging to her words.
“We will bury them all, but we may have to dig a mass grave. There is simply too many to dig individual graves for.” Leif concurred in agreement.
Heavy footsteps led the begrudging duo back to the docks again, where they recovered what they could, as most corpses weren’t even corpses they could carry; either burned, or smashed to pieces, with nothing but organs, and chunks of human flesh remaining. The smell that was death permeated the air, and while Sevine found the work nauseating, causing her eyes to burn, and her mouth to water at the stench, nonetheless, she stuck to her task at hand. Beside her, Leif bent his head in prayer of the dead, praying for a safe journey to Sovrngarde through Talos, those that lost their lives that day were honorable men, and women, as they deserved a safe passage to into the afterlife.
Finally, as Sevine, and Leif exited from the graveyard, she glanced at her companion that strode alongside her in contemplative silence, and cleared her throat.
“Today was a strange day, no?”
“How do you mean?”
“Those…things, they weren’t normal men. Nor have I seen the likes of them before. I overheard some man shouting that they were snow demons.”
“Ah, yes. I have to say, the most peculiar thing I saw today, were the ships they came in on. I’m not certain as to how those metal ships were constructed. If I knew any better, I would have assumed that the weight of the metal plates, and those chimney-like stacks would have sank the vessels already. For as long as I have sailed upon the Sea of Ghosts, I’ve never witnessed such vessels until now. If anything, I’m more curious as to how they were constructed.”
“Mmm.” Sevine nodded in agreement, though in truth, she almost didn’t hear Leif’s words, as her thoughts led her elsewhere.
“Sevine, I’m going to go see what that shopkeeper was blabbering on about, with those books. There might be something useful I can learn from the situation at hand.” Leif stopped her in her tracks, as he grasped her shoulder firmly with one hand. Their eyes locked momentarily, before Sevine nodded once more.
“Very well, I think I’m going to head to the inn, and warm my bones up by the fire. Come find me when you’re done.”
And with that, the two separated, as Leif went in search of the shopkeeper, and Sevine headed to the inn. Her eyes were set upon the cobblestones under her foot as she walked without purpose towards the inn.
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