Bellavarn shrank from the attention. "Let the war begin" was a heavy line filled with drama and his performance itched at him. After a shiver in his neck, he pointed out orders the best he saw fit.

"With the way I see things going, I'm giving two sets of orders. Bear–"

"Ted."

Bellavarn drew a circle with his head to remove the lump in his throat.

"Teeee- Bear. I'm sorry. Ted-Teddy? I'm calling you Teddy. I just can't do Ted, it makes you sound like a middle-aged accountant. What's the fastest you can you write?"

"I like to take my time, you know. I'm particular."

"No problem. You can start laying down the tarps. Keep them within an inch of each other but don't let them overlap."

Teddy relaxed, finally finding comfort in busying his hands.

"Kelly, I want you posted at the Left Corner entrance to direct the traffic."

"Still think I'm trying to kill you?"

"Definitely. Tell me why and I'll let you off the hook."

"Naw. I'm good."

Bellavarn stared at her. She acted like she was out for a stroll despite the war calls echoing their way.

"Well?"

Kelly chewed her gums. The grip on her sword handle gave her away.

"You're not very good at giving orders. And I don't feel like following."

"Tough luck. I know you care about Teddy enough to protect him. Directing traffic will give you a chance to halt any potential attackers."

"I'll be the first to be gutted, you mean."

"You'll have enough time to notice a war party and run back to us. Kerv will switch places with you when we're under attack."

"I will? Lucky me."

Kelly rolled her eyes heavily. Understanding there wasn't a good option, she stomped off to do her job away from the group. When she was out of earshot, Ester posed a question with a quirked tone.

"How many times has she tried to kill you?"

Teddy answered from behind the stack of cloth he was hefting.

"Oh, I count eleven by now. They've all been halfhearted since the first one, though. She's just stubborn."

Teddy was very particular with the way he laid out the first piece of cloth. The precision was appreciated, but Bellavarn could tell the quality would diminish quickly once the action started. It gave him an idea to streamline the process and organize the files for easier access.

Ester eyed the papers and feel her wrists locking up.

"Awesome. What sort of backbreaking work will you have me do?"

"Nothing."

"Just what I thought—Wait. Seriously?"

Bellavarn bobbed his head and gestured to the pyramid.

"Yup. You get to sit atop that pile and look pretty."

"Oooh~ Something I'm good at."

The decision also catered to Ester's inherent laziness, but she knew what Bellavarn intended. He didn't trust Kelly a single iota and wanted Ester to act as their watchtower. If Kelly ever lied or withheld information, the group would be properly informed within moments.

Kerv watched Ester practically skip her way up the trunks and crates like it was a jungle gym.

Ester smirked.

"Perv."

"Layabout."

"Says the pot to the kettle."

Bellavarn interjected.

"Ester, throw Kerv your ring."

Her mouth opened and then closed. Admitting that she didn't need it up here, she pried the ring off her index finger. Kerv tracked the arcing glint and caught it in an open palm. Holding it up for inspection showed it was a polished brass ring with clear lines of enchantment. The object made him slightly nervous, but he trusted Bellavarn enough to put it on before asking any questions.

"Huh. My toes are all tingly."

A catcall came from up high.

"Ooo~la~la!"

Kerv gave Ester a meaningful glare. Legs crossed and resting an elbow on her knee, she waved sarcastically.

Bellavarn couldn't tell if he liked this dynamic or not. They were both generally laidback and easygoing, but Ester was more into teasing than Kerv. It had something to do with Kerv's experience in combat, it made him quicker to action and more dialed-in.

"It's a minor movement enchantment. I had Ester buy it to catch up to us more easily."

"He likes me more!"

"That's enough commentary, Ester. Thank you."

Bellavarn didn't look back to see how she responded. Kerv only scratched his beard, but Teddy's face had incredulity written all over it.

"The enchantment should take hold as long as it fits on your finger. The effect is vague at best, and it's smaller than anything I could create."

Kerv squeezed the ring on. Flexing his hand, he shook the circulation back into the choked digit.

"What a rare opportunity to know something you don't. I can tell by the feeling that it clears mana blockages."

Belavarn tilted his head in a "tell me more" gesture.

"Mana blockages are common. Clearer channels make for better breathing and faster muscle reaction. Every knight and royal guard needs to learn how; it's part of the training."

"And what about soldiers?"

Kerv's mediocre enthusiasm diminished to a low simmer. Rubbing his neck, he grumbled.

"Yeah... Yeah, some soldiers pick up a thing or two."

=

Kelly had enough time to kick a few rocks and dig her feet in the earth. Eventually, she got bored of slacking off. Finding some toys to play with, she dragged over a few loose boxes and broken pieces of wood to cobble together a makeshift barricade. The construction went swimmingly until a wagon wheel tipped over on its own and not at all due to hitting it with an elbow. Regardless of the cause, it sent the rest of her metaphorical sandcastle into a tumble.

Kicking the fallen wagon wheel only made her toes hurt.

In a lightbulb moment, she stormed over to a nearby draft horse and repeated her earlier efforts. She learned the meaning of horsepower when a kick to the chest sent her sprawling. Wheezing and grasping at her armor, she laid there for a long while, stunned.

When Kelly was sure both lungs worked correctly, she saw neither hide nor hair of the offending beast. The draft animal appeared to have fled the scene after a whinnying roundhouse. Possibly being the victim of the world's first drive-by did not sit well with her. Not to mention that she'd be blamed for losing the animal, and knowing her luck, she'd probably be roped into pulling the wagon that was left behind.

The wagon...

"Hah!"

Kelly managed the last laugh as the wagon rolled directly into the Left Corner entrance. It covered two third's of the entrance leaving just enough room for two skinny people to walk through shoulder-to-shoulder. Or one moderately fat pony. Either way, she now had her barricade.

Who said happy accidents didn't exist?

=

Exactly a hundred tarps were laid out in neat order. The nice round number was how many tarps occupied a crate. Reaching the number gave the grave shift a brief break before deciding if they should crack open the next box. Considering that all one hundred spots remained vacant, it stood to reason that they should err on the side of caution despite Jerome's warning.

"Maybe things are going well?"

Orange light preluded two delayed booms from the battlefield. Bellavarn gave Teddy a pointed look.

"Doubtful."

"Why aren't we getting any traffic yet?"

Teddy's back was like a springboard as it rapidly transitioned from hunched over to bending backward. The knots in his muscles were secondary compared to the anxiety the situation was giving him.

Without a way to console Teddy, Bellavarn took stock of the overall mood. Over an hour passed with no change. Kerv looked ready to spring at a moment's notice while Kelly was only a minute away from sleeping on the job. On the pyramid, Ester appeared to be watching the distance with a measure of focus. It was unclear where her thoughts were. The vantage point wasn't high enough to see the war raging, but she could make interpretations by the direction of the shouting and pops of lights.

Bellavarn caught himself reorganizing the death certificates for the fourth time. They were laid out as tidy as could be, ready to be used in quick succession at a moment's notice. He was prepared for a rush of deaths and a potential attack, but not a waiting game.

When a battle begins, injuries occur. It will be challenging to pull back the injured and dead during a melee. Runners will prioritize the injured in hopes they can be saved and rejoin the fight. From that point, they're taken to the triage center where they are treated and positioned to recover. But, how many cots do they have? Would they remove the bodies before they start piling up?

"Hey! Do I count the people carrying the dead, or just the dead guy?"

Bellavarn maneuvered around the tarps and shouted back at Kelly.

"Both! Count both."

Kelly's reply came only after they blew past her.

"Two dudes covered in blood and, um, another guy covered in more blood."

Bellavarn waved the men over to the designated cot. They wore what used to be white coverings that were now splattered in blood, their eyes were glazed over in a way that indicated they weren't thinking about anything other than their job. This was why Bellavarn was relieved when they followed directions rather than going for the closest cot. That would have messed up his entire system.

The stretcher carried a man drenched in blood and as dry-lipped as a draugr. The two... paramedics? What was the proper term for corpse transport personnel?

Whatever the case, they set down their stretcher and transferred their cargo off with practiced ease. There was a grunt of pain.

"Oh my lord. He's still alive."

Teddy couldn't believe it. The man was drowned in wounds but he still hung on to life. Kelly's words suddenly made sense, and the implication made Bellavarn's blood run cold.

"Hey, this man is still alive here! He needs medical attention."

The paramedics didn't seem to break out of their trance. They gathered their stretcher and started jogging back to the Left Corner without answering. Gobsmacked, Bellavarn couldn't believe it. Roaming his eyes up and down, he tried to think of a way to help.

It's one of the things his parent's drilled into him as a child— a simple checklist. Breathing and Bleeding, his dad called it. His mom hated it but the alliteration helped young Bellavarn to remember. One always needed to happen and the other should never happen. Stop one, ensure the other.

The checklist doesn't work, dad.

The blood was nearly dry and the man still drew breath.

Kerv tried to grab his attention.

"He's at death's door. There's nothing anyone can do short of feeding him an Elixir."

"If he's alive he can be saved."

Kerv tried to gauge his friend's intentions.

"I believe you believe that. Are you able to repeat what you did in the Palace?"

Bellavarn shook his head and ran a hand through his shorter hair.

"That only works if their heart stops, and even then they need blood in their veins. This man's wounds—here! See. They patched the gash on his thigh and torso, but he's already lost too much blood. The checklist doesn't work."

"Bell."

"I'm not a doctor. We don't have the equipment or his blood type. Why did they just give up?"

"Bell, he's gone."

The man's eyes were vacant. Death had taken him while Bellavarn was reconciling.

Kerv saw the misunderstanding swirling inside his friend. In a way, posting Bellavarn at the Top Corner, a place he'd be forced to encounter each death and remain helpless to do anything, was a crueler fate than fighting on the front lines.

"What's your job, Bell?"

Crinkled eyebrows.

"To document."

Kerv smacked Bellavarn's back, hoping that would focus him. He stole the honor of prying off the dead man's identity token. The stickiness didn't bother Kerv as much.

Bellavarn took it and breathed in deeply through his nose. The smell of iron woke him up. A look of determination overtook him as he brought his clipboard to his chest.

Ian Flemt. Male. 27. No next of kin.

"Two more dudes covered in blood."

Kelly's call brought all their eyes up.

"Teddy."

"Y-yeah?"

"We're going to need more tarps."