A warm feeling of contentment fills Lilia as she sits with her back against a wall, basking in the afternoon sunlight. With long, slow strokes she runs a cloth down the edge of her blade, checking it for cracks. A warrior’s weapon is the most important item for staying alive in combat, and careful maintenance ensures the weapon will serve faithfully for as long as possible.

It has been a productive day, the villagers- No. Not villagers any more, she thinks. Now they’re just people. They found an old well, mostly still intact, with water at the bottom. Bo climbed into it, and with the help of a small crowd and a chain of skeletons, managed to clear out most of the debris that filled it over the years. It would need some more maintenance, but already they had managed to extract some drinkable water, much to the delight of the thirsty crowd. The river Seine runs through the other side of the city, but having a source of water within the small safe area inside the barricades would do wonders for making it seem more like a liveable home.

The skeletons that spent the night helping the carpenters had continued to work all through the day, enthusiastically cutting down trees and turning them into a network of walls. Never tiring, never stopping, they had already completed an impressive stretch of barricades. The safe area now surrounds some six large buildings, stretching out to encompass the well at its very limit. The rest of the people spent the remaining day exploring the city, or clearing out the vegetation covering the buildings, unveiling the old city that was hidden beneath.

A voice to Lilia’s side catches her attention. “My lady?”

Turning to the newcomer, Lilia spots a woman approaching her slowly, her head bowed and an armful of apples clutched to her chest. Lilia recognizes her, it was the mother of the scared girl from the night before.

Lilia puts her sword to one side and stands up, smiling at the woman. "How can I help you miss…"

The woman raises her head, looking nervously at Lilia. "Willa my lady. My daughter and I found an apple tree. I wanted to thank you, for what you did last night." She holds out the fruit in her arms. "Here, please accept this gift."

Lilia accepts the offer gratefully and bits deep into the fruit. It is sweet, slightly sour, but delicious. Willa looks relieved and happy as she watches Lilia eat.

"If you want we have blackberries too." Willa says. "Well, that's if Tina can resist eating them all." She frowns for a moment. "Tina is my daughter by the way. She's a real troublemaker, and your stories from last night have got her all excited to explore. I… I'd best get back to her actually, there’s no knowing what she's getting up to."

Willa begins to walk away then stops, turning back to Lilia. "You're welcome to come eat with us any time, my lady. If you want." With that she hurried off back towards the compound.

Lilia continues eating her apple as she thinks. The people they rescued from the village really have pulled together. There seems to be a feeling of hope, new beginnings. Maybe Idia is smiling on them, blessing them with good fortune. Lilia offers up a quick prayer to the sun goddess, something she hasn't done since before the war. Please let this succeed. These people deserve peace. Reud deserves peace. I deserve peace.

A cry comes from one of the men keeping watch on the wall. "The search party is back!"

One thought shoots through Lilia's mind; Reud had finally returned. Grabbing her sword and slamming it into the sheath, she springs into movement, running back to the compound and vaulting the wall, not waiting for someone to pull open the planks that serve as a door.

Willa yells in surprise as Lilia lands next to her, the apples spilling from her arms. Lilia shouts a quick apology before running off again, making her way to the southern wall beyond which her husband is finally approaching.

She nimbly darts up a ruined wall and springs across to the small platform the watcher is standing on, his shout morphing into a strangled squeak as Lilia slams into the wall beside him. He stares at her in terror, his eyes glued to the purple glow blazing from her irises.

Murmuring out another apology, Lilia turns to scan the southern treeline. Two heavily laden carts emerge from the trees, each pulled along by a half dozen skeletons. A further five skeletons are dragging large wooden pallets, loaded with bags of bulging items. Tel is dragging a large chest behind him and carrying a lumpy sack that bounces against his back as he walks. The humans of the group look completely exhausted, a few of them snoring away whilst lying in the carts.

Lilia's eyes scan the crowd until they fall on Reud. He looks as sprightly as always, not a hint of tiredness clouding his face. As his eyes meet hers he waves to her, a smile lighting up his pale face. With a big smile, Lilia hops down from the wall, dropping into a roll to avoid hurting her knees.

Striding over to Reud she pulls him into a hug. “Welcome home.”

“I’m glad to be back.” Reud responds. He looks over her shoulder at the compound beyond. “I see you’ve been busy whilst I’ve been gone.”

“We’ve been turning it into a home, instead of just a shelter.” Lilia says. “We have water, some foraged food, and even some makeshift rooms now, though we’d need the carpenters to fix things up properly.”

Reud turns slightly and gestures to the laden carts. “From the village we salvaged a selection of metal tools, though most of them need some repair. Also, a fair amount of flour, onions and beans.” Reud points to the heavy chest Tel is dragging along, lowering his voice to a whisper. “We also have what looks like all the tax gold.”

“Sounds like we have everything we need to really get this city underway.” Lilia says, smiling widely.

Reud smiles back. “That we do.”

Behind Lilia the creak of the wooden barrier being opened sounds, followed by the excited babble of people streaming out to greet the returning party. Reud’s eyes follow the crowd before flicking back to Lilia.

“How about you show me how you’ve allotted the buildings, then we can get some of this,” he gestures at the carts, “put away.”

Lilia grabs his hand and pulls him along. “This way then my love, let me give you the grand tour.”

Together they pass through the crowd, eliciting stammered Milords’s and Milady’s. They duck through the squat opening in the wall and into the compound. The area fenced in by the walls has been cleared of vegetation, revealing the cracked flagstones that line the road. The buildings that line the road have also been stripped of the vines that covered them. The buildings themselves are in fairly good shape, mostly intact. Crude wooden shutters have been balanced in place over the windows where glass used to sit.

“Luckily, this area used to be residences.” Lilia says as they walk through the compound. “Most of the interiors are still intact. We boarded up any holes and cleaned them out as best we could. It’s a little cramped but there’s space for everyone to sleep at least.”

Lilia stops, roughly at the centre of the compound. Turning she points to a larger building across the road, opposite the row of residencies. “We have that building. I think it used to be a shop? Either way it’s a little larger, and it has space downstairs to hold any meetings we may need.”

She turns again and points at the building they’d sheltered in the night before. “We’ve kept that one empty for now, seems like a good place to store what you’ve salvaged?”

Reud looks at her, admiration in his eyes. “You’ve really done a fantastic job. Maybe I should go off more often, when I return you’ll have Srinaber back to its former glory in no time!”

Lilia feels a warm glow rush through her at the compliment, it was always nice to know she had Reud’s approval.

A loud scraping sound comes from the door through the barricade. Lilia looks over to see Tel yanking the large chest through the opening. A few tugs later and it pops free. The skeleton continues to drag the chest through the compound, drawing the gaze of the people hanging around in it. He pauses in front of Reud. Reud gestures to the larger house Lilia claimed as their own, and Tel drags the chest over, disappearing inside.

One by one the skeletons file into the compound, carrying armfuls of tools, saw, hammer hears, arrow tips, a set of knives, and much more. They shamble across and into the storage house before exiting and going back out to collect another armful. Lilia watches them bustle along, not tiring even in the slightest. They really are amazing workers.

Shouting from outside the compound draws their attention. The voice sounds like a man’s. Frowning, they head back out to see what the commotion is about.

Outside the compound a man is struggling with one of the skeletons, trying to wrestle a bag of flour from its arms, his face bright red with the exertion.

“... off! That’s mine!” He shouts, pulling on the bag to no avail. The skeleton takes another step towards the compound, pulling the man off balance, sending him tumbling to the floor.

The man spits out an expletive and jumps to his feet, shaking an angry fist at the skeleton. He looks over the undead’s shoulder and spots Reud walking towards him. His face goes even redder and he storms over.

“Your servants are taking all my food!” He yells as he stops before Reud, breathing heavily.

Reud stares the man down in silence.

Eventually the man breaks the silence. “Didn’t you hear what I said. You deaf or something?” He shouts. “Your servants are stealing my food!”

“Your food?” Reud responds, an edge to his voice.

“Yeh my food! From my stocks! That I grew on my fields!” The man yells whilst slapping his chest, a vein pulsing along his temple.

Lilia drops a hand to her sword hilt as the man gets angrier with each shouted word. His eyes are wild, rimmed with the deep bags that come from the lack of sleep.

Reud responds in a calm voice, raised just enough to clearly carry across the area. “I see. So your neighbours should starve because that food is yours and not theirs. I’m sure they’ll appreciate hearing that.”

The man falters, glancing around at the people filling the area, each one of them staring at him. He pauses for a moment, looking guilty. The guilt disappears as he looks over to the cart where a skeleton is hoisting another bag of grain onto its shoulder. The man’s face goes even redder still. “It’s mine and I can do what I want with it! If they want it, they can buy it!” He screams, spittle flying from his mouth. He steps forward and raises a finger to jab Reud with it.

Lilia springs into action, pulsing her magic to enhance her reflexes. The world seems to slow down as she draws her blade, levelling it in front of the man, just barely resting on his neck. With her other hand she grabs his wrist, holding him in place. The man freezes, eyes going wide as he stares at the shining metal that appeared before him.

“You will not lay a hand on your lord. Is that understood?” Lilia growls, squeezing the man’s wrist tight enough to make him wince. The man tries to nod but the action causes the blade to press against his neck, and he freezes once again.

Lilia holds him for a moment longer before lowering her blade, pushing on the man’s wrist to force him to take a few steps back. She sheaths her sword as the glances at Reud, hoping she made the right decision about how to respond. Reud flashes her a quick, reassuring smile before turning to face the onlookers.

“Until the city is back up and running again I will be controlling the rationing of supplies.” Reud calls, his voice carrying to everyone in the area. “This is so that each one of you can be cared for, even if you have lost everything. In Srinaber no one will starve! You have my word, as the lord of the city!”

Murmuring sweeps through the crowd as they digest his words. Reud turns to the man rubbing his wrist and glaring at him. “You will be compensated for your crops, but they are now the possession of the city of Srinaber. You will get no more and no less than everyone else. There are no favourites here.”

The farmer glares back then spits on the ground and stamps off. Lilia watches him leave.

“You’re going to have to watch him. He looks like he’ll hold a grudge.” She says to Reud, not taking her eyes off the back of the departing man.

“I’m sure he’ll calm down in a few days.” Reud says, waving his hand dismissively. “They’ve just lost their home, come far away to a place they thought was haunted, and most of them are exhausted. Tensions are understandably high.”

Lilia grunts. What Reud says makes sense, but she can’t shake the bad feeling she got when she watched the man storm off. She’ll keep an eye on him, even if Reud won’t. Her husband needs someone to look after him when he’s being too foolish to do it himself.