The city woke up after the long night. Survivors gathered to figure out what they wanted to do with the future. The Watch, surviving clerics, and any knights and aligned magicians started by setting aside a place for the dead. Most of the people and animals killed had been stripped of everything by the demon army, but those caught in the collapsed buildings from the titans had to be dug up and carried to that spot for their rites. Some of the older residents had suffered their bodies betraying them and letting them die before they could face death from the invasion.

Magicians helped move the rubble from where the buildings had been knocked over to a clear spot on the other side of the wall. One of them had giant hands that helped the job move faster.

A boy and a wounded knight accompanied her as she exerted her will. She nodded as she cleared a spot where they could sit down without worrying about a collapse.

A list was composed of the missing and the confirmed dead. There was a good chance that someone not being around any more meant they had been turned into food, but there was always a possibility they had fought clear and saved themselves.

No one wanted to write off someone who might show up alive and well after things had settled down again.

Local inns and other eateries hosted people coming in. They could show some goodwill. Who knew what the business would like with a good percentage of the city's citizens dead and wounded. Some of the places might have to close when things had straightened out enough to be normal again.

The surviving temples did the same, the clerics providing food and water while purifying public sources of water. Some of the clerics had to stop and rest with the amount of their god's power they were using to rebuild what they could. It might take years to rebuild the city. The temples were duty bound to help things along.

Avrii Noll's clerics didn't have a temple where they conducted services. They used any open space that would hold their numbers to gather before going about whatever duty their god had assigned them.

Alexander Quin stood at the back of the crowd that had gathered where the summoning circle had been destroyed Warton Macomber. He had accompanied the masked fighters that had helped him. They had found spots close to the front. He waited for the talking to settle down.

The array of colors dazzled his eyes. Other fighters and clerics settled for muted colors to blend in. Avri Noll's chosen did the opposite.

A woman with the marks for One Thousand moved from the crowd. She looked at the gathered clerics. Silence fell on the assemblage.

“Is anyone here with a higher number?,” she asked. Her hand rested on the hilt of the sword at her hip. No one stepped forward to challenge her leadership.

“I want to say that despite our losses that we have helped defend the city and won glory for ourselves,” said One Thousand. She ran her hand over her short purple hair. “Some of us were killed in battle. I don't think anyone knows how many of us have fallen at this point. A few of us will have to stay here as residents until we have crossed off all of our missing.”

“Who will have to stay?,” asked a voice in the front. “What will they have to give up in this peaceful town?”

“The goddess will give out the assignments as always,” said One Thousand. “No exceptions will be given to those that are picked.”

“Is there a time table?,” asked another cleric.

“Whomever has to stay behind will be expected to find all of our dead and perform rites for them,” said One Thousand. “I assume that the goddess will inform those people if they have completed their task so they can be assigned to other duties.”

Alexander wondered how many of the dead would they find. The demons hadn't left a lot of the civilians they had caught. There was no telling what they would do to clerics actively opposing them with their grants.

Avri Noll would have to tell her searchers when there wasn't anything left to find. She was the only one who had a complete record of whom was dead, and whom was just missing.

“Is there any other problems and grousing that we have to deal with at the moment?,” asked One Thousand.

The masked clerics stood silent. Some of them had their hands on the swords they carried.

“All right,” said One Thousand. “We should look at the Glory Wall before we break up and go our separate ways. Our assignments will be on the board. Anyone assigned to be a resident should ask the master for another assignment personally.”

Alexander doubted the goddess would change her mind once she had decided to send someone somewhere. Refusal to follow an order probably meant the offending cleric would be stripped of their grant and asked to leave the service.

The gods were patient but they did get offended and dismissing a representative was not unheard of in the wake of disobedience.

“All right,” said One Thousand. “Let's go ahead and see how well we did in the fighting.”

The clerics raised their voices in a chant. Alexander stepped back from the flow of power he perceived. He looked around. The clerics didn't seem to care about the light passing over them and into the air.

A column of fire took shape behind One Thousand. Alexander reached for his sword, but didn't draw it. The column became an image of a man becoming a woman becoming a man in a suit of light chain armor. Weapons floated around the image as the goddess smiled on her children.

“Greetings,” said Avri Noll. “I wished to speak to you in a group before you went about your duties.”

The clerics bowed to their goddess as one.

“Alexander Quin, please step forward,” said Avri Noll. Her gaze fell on the demigod at the back of the group. He nodded. He didn't belong to the group, and was only there on sufferance. The clerics watched him advance through their ranks with their numbered masks hiding their emotions.

He bowed when he had reached a position close enough to touch the image if he wanted.

“This is Alexander Quin,” said Avri Noll. “He will be considered a friend of ours for the rest of his days. He has defended the city with us and is worthy to stand beside us anywhere we may go to fight.”

“Thank you for the honor,” said Alexander. “Your clerics did most of the fighting for me.”

“I know,” said Avri Noll. Her eye seemed to twinkle as her face changed. “But you have performed bravely when your own term of service has been over for such a long time.”

Alexander nodded. He supposed that was correct. Neither one of them wanted to explain about the Brotherhood and how he had killed monsters before the city they stood in had been built. His duty had died when he had killed the last monster opposing the demigods.

“Go ahead and look at the Wall and see your placement and new numbers before you disperse,” said Avri Noll. “Forty Two and Hundred to One will be the residents in charge until the other temples can take up the slack. Wounded brought to the city will be handled by them. Is there anything else before I go?”

“Can I ask a question?,” said Forty Two. He stepped to the front of his fellows.

“Yes, Forty Two?,” said the goddess.

“Why were we selected to be the residents?,” said Forty Two. He indicated himself and Hundred to One.

“I deemed it necessary for the tasks ahead,” said the goddess. “You will understand in the near future.”

The flame dissipated, fading from the square.

A wall of gold and ivory appeared. Some of the numbers on the masks changed as Alexander watched. He couldn't read the script on the wall but the noises of happiness coming to him said the masked fighters had received parcels of good news from the wall. The wall faded away after the last cleric read it.

“Everyone have their assignments?,” asked One Thousand. Her number hadn't changed. Alexander supposed she was most powerful of the fighters there. “All right. Let's go and kill things.”

The fighters split up and walked away from the meeting. Only Forty Two and Hundred to One were left. They nodded at the demigod.

“Well met, Fifty Five and Hundred to Ten,” said Alexander. “Congratulations on your promotions.”

“Being made residents means we won't get another promotion unless we encounter some unforeseen trouble that will allow us to expand our tales of victory over adversity,” said Hundred to Ten.

“I'm sure there will be trouble enough here in the city,” said Alexander. “There will be people coming to raid the city, or to make new lives for themselves, or to use the city as a home base for exploring the forests around us. And that will mean that sword fighters will be needed to keep order.”

“I hadn't thought of it like that,” said Fifty Five. “I thought we were being sidelined because we hadn't done enough.”

“I doubt that,” said Alexander. “Your goddess is not really vindictive. She lets others do that. Her interest is strategy and tactics on fighting enemies with single strong representatives. If she needs you here, then there's going to be a problem here soon enough. She's holding the ground she has captured.”

“All right,” said Fifty Five. “The sun is going down. We can start scouring the city for our dead tomorrow. The others will have fled the wall in the night.”

“Let's see if we can get something to eat,” said Alexander. “You two can stay with me until you find a place of your own.”

He realized his comrades had never stayed in one place long enough to need more than a room at an inn before they had settled one thing and moved on to the next.

“Do you have room for the both of us?,” asked Hundred to Ten.

“I have come in possession of a place until the appropriate authorities can arrive to take it from me,” said Alexander. The scars on his face crinkled when he smiled. It had been a long time since he had done that. “It's big enough for the three of us.”

“Really?,” said Hundred to Ten.

“I will be glad to show it to you,” said Alexander. “It was damaged in the fighting. I'm going to have to repair what I can.”

“Let us see this damaged hovel for ourselves,” said Fifty Five. “Lead on, friend.”

“Don't worry,” said Alexander. “There's nothing there we can't fix up tonight so we can stay. Then we can fix the rest of the problems while we're taking care of the rest of your duties.”

“There's no dead for us to recover here,” said Fifty Five. “If any of our brothers and sisters were caught, they would expend all their power to take as many of the enemy with them as they could.”

“Some of them might be alive and trapped,” said Alexander. “We won't know until we start looking. I plan to ask for some help so we can make sure.”