Lancecain waited for several minutes to be sure that the monsters’ retreat was real. He didn’t think the birds would make a tactical retreat to lure out the more vulnerable members of the fort before resuming their assault but he wouldn’t be the one to underestimate a manabeast of legend. Once he was sure the battle was over, he gathered a group of young knights from the Duelists and sprinted back to the fort, eager to help.

He arrived to find no one guarding the gate. He borrowed one of the young knight’s spear and slammed the butt of it against the door. The resulting ring was loud enough to carry to the top of the wall, he was sure of it, but no one opened the gate. Lancecain frowned. He understood things had to be dire within the walls but he didn’t think they were so bad no one was available to open a door.

After knocking one more time, Lancecain turned his group around. Whatever was happening, the knights didn’t need him as a distraction. The people inside the fort were in the most dire circumstances but that didn’t mean there weren’t other ways to help. He had led hundreds of civilians from the fort. They needed a place to sleep, blankets to keep them warm, and food for the night. With every order’s resources depleted, that was a tough ask.

He sent messengers to the other orders, looking for assistance. Instead, he found more civilians. He wasn’t the only tasked with escorting non-combatants out of danger. He was grateful that so many had escaped the battlefield but it left them with many mouths to feed.

Thankfully, the people of the north were used to banding together under trying circumstances. Private stocks were raided, furs gathered from closets, and cellars raided for drink to calm the restless spirits of those with weaker wills. It wouldn’t be a comfortable night but Lancecain was satisfied that no one would freeze or go hungry. He arranged for a nightwatch, still unwilling to believe that the crisis had come to such a peaceful end, before settling down for the night, leaning against a wall with his armor on and his sword beside him.

It was a long night of fitful rest. Lancecain never relaxed into a deep sleep and his body ached from too many hours sitting on the floor but he rose at first light. He was seeing to breakfast and devising a plan for the day when one of the trainees ran up to him, looking excited.

“Lance, some Moons are coming toward us with a wagon!”

“Don’t go yelling that around,” he said immediately. The last thing he needed was the civilians mobbing the knights looking for answers. “I’ll go meet with them. Get a dismantling team together and tell the cooks we got them some meat for breakfast.”

Given the fighting, knights pulling a wagon could only mean they were transporting corpses. The Polar Duelists weren’t as adept at taking apart monsters as Winter’s Bounty but every order taught their members how to harvest the monsters the north depended on for their survival and livelihood.

He ran out to the road. True to the trainee’s words, a contingent of five knights approached pulling a wagon behind them. As expected, he spotted the wing of a doomhawk sticking over the side. “Good to see you,” he called out, taking the hand of the knight in the lead. “The cooks are looking forward to seeing those birds.”

“After yesterday, I wouldn’t mind cutting up a few of them myself.” He waved for the others to go ahead, Lancecain exchanging solemn nods with the other men as they passed. “There’s plenty more where that came from but the fort is hectic.”

“Is it bad?”

“Worse than what you’re thinking. The fight was…intense. We’ve lost too much this year. Too many people. Too many homes.” He shook his head. “Doubt we could have recovered in a year but we don’t have that long.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ancestors blessed us when the Lord retreated with its servants but that doesn’t change the fact that something is still going on there. We can’t wait until another Lord leaves its nest to investigate. The team selected to investigate it has already left. Your master asked me to pass on a message. Said he trusted you to know what to do.”

Lancecain would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn’t a little disappointed his master had left without saying a goodbye but he understood. “Does the duke think the problem persists? The Lord returned.” He didn’t think it was too far a leap in logic to assume that whatever was causing the disturbance beyond their walls had disturbed the Lord. Presumably, it wouldn’t have returned unless the disturbance was gone.

“It’s not something we can leave to assumptions. If we’re lucky, the team will be back in a couple of weeks with no news. If not…there has been talk of abandoning the fort.”

Lancecain balked at the thought. From a tactical perspective, it made perfect sense. Their forces were devastated and their resources depleted. The king had never dared to think of marching an army against Victory, no matter how unruly they got, because of their tall walls but those meant nothing when their enemies came from the mountain they were built into. They were outnumbered. They were tired. They had the burdens that were the noncombatants to consider.

An evacuation wasn’t just a smart option. Without confirmation that the disturbance had been neutralized or a guarantee that the birds would stay in their nests, it was the only option. The duke had already conceded as much having ordered Lancecain and others to lead the most vulnerable members of the fort outside. “Where would we go?”

“The James are a ducal family. Their concern is Victory, as it should be, but they have governance of the surrounding territory. Villages and towns.”

“I doubt they have the infrastructure to support a few thousand unexpected guests for an indefinite time.”

“So do I but they have free land. We’d have to break into smaller groups to not overwhelm any one area and get comfortable in tents but it’s doable. The one blessing of those damn birds attacking is that we’ll have more than enough food once they’re processed. No one will starve so they just need a safe place to lay their heads.”

The knight scoffed. “The decision’s beyond me though. Something for the duke and the commanders to decide. Personally, I’d rather be dead and buried than leave our home to a bunch of monsters.”

Therein lay the problem. Retreat would be the smart option but he couldn’t imagine any knight being happy with it. He doubted very many would accept it, ordered by the venerated Duke James or not. But, same as the knight, the decision was beyond him. So many things were beyond him that Lancecain was starting to feel useless. “How goes the recovery efforts?”

“There aren’t any. Anyone buried under the icefall is gone and there’s too much to dig through. A week working nonstop and we wouldn’t make a dent in the mess. Besides, all the healers have drained themselves patching together the injured from the battle.”

Again, nothing for him to do. “Did the duke give us any orders?”

“No. Just keep an eye on the civilians for now. It won’t take long to make a decision and if we stay, we’re going to need all the able hands we can get.”