[IRP] The Dead One Calls

[Swift_Assassin]

Shad couldn't believe what he heard. They had maybe a dozen people up there? There was no way that a dozen of Shad's people were up there, which made him, in his own mind, complicit in the capture of innocent refugees. This was his fault. He left the castle undermanned and now a band of brigands were using it for human trafficking. He should have sent more men than what he had. Why didn't he just leave twenty men with Leon and send the rest of his men here with Maria? He knew it was for Maria's safety. Too many people would have drawn attention, but he refused to acknowledge that.

When the brigand told them how many men they had up there, Shad started laughing. "Was that including the men on the pass? Because, guess what? They are dead. Which means its more like ten or eleven guys up there instead of fourteen or fifteen." Shad turned his head to Satsume. "We found and cleared the pass. Well, there are some rotting corpses there now, but I have no emotional attachment to those."

When Paige interjected about there injuries, Shad just had to chime in. "They didn't even lay a hand on me." He looked himself over and saw the blood all over him. "This...was me venting. It's not like those crossbowmen that we encountered back in Santaruz."

The girl on the other side of the suit of armor apparently began trying to explain their reasoning for being there. "I..recognize that accent. You're an islander, aren't you? One of my men, Brutus, came from the Isles. I'm sure they would have targeted you, just like us." Shad looked over the suit of armor.

"Shad, you're not going to get a word out of him. That's Goldhardt."

"Sounds like he's from Bern, based on the name. But I think if our foes had the funds to completely armor up someone like this, they wouldn't be resorting to taking refugees to sell as slaves," he replied. Shad looked around. "But don't listen to me. I'm the reckless idiot that got us into this mess." Shad began walking away from the group, back towards the smith.

"Where are you going?"

"To get a spade. After we take back the castle, I'm burying my men." He took a few more steps, before turning back to the group. "OH. Did anyone else hear that wyvern cry? I'm not going crazy, am I?"