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Osmod took command as the group drew closer together and they were counted up. Raedwald was dead, but he was the only one they had lost. Sythric was very badly wounded, and Brand had lost a deal of blood from his shoulder. Vaenosa, too, was wounded, though Leod deemed her cuts not so dangerous or life threatening as the two men's.
Sizing the situation up as quickly as possible, Osmod called Athwen and Meghan to him. 'Take your horses, and also take Rędwald's horse, up to the top of the hill where we intended to stop and make camp for the night before we were attacked. There, gather wood and start a fire. Do what you can to prepare camp. While you do that, we'll have to bandage wounds as best we can in order to move them up there.'
'But won't they - mightn't they still come back?' Athwen asked. She looked frightened from her very core out as the asked the question.
'They won't come back after having most of their men killed,' Osmod replied.
'We'll go,' Meghan said. She laid her hand on Athwen's arm and gently led her away towards the horses. They mounted and Osmod handed Meghan the reins of Rędwald's horse. They rode up to the crest of the hill where, beneath the oaks, near complete blackness met them. Athwen shuddered as she entered the shadow and she felt terrified of the darkness.
'Meghan?' she called softly, feeling suddenly a fear of being alone. Meghan must have heard the tremble in her voice - who couldn't have? She was right by Athwen's side and she reached out towards her, her hand touching Athwen's shoulder.
'I'm here. It's not necessary to go farther. Let's make the fire here.'
The two of them set to work finding wood. Their eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness and they found it was not quite so balck as it had first seemed. They continued searching for and gathering the dryest wood they could find until Meghan deemed it enough. Then, as Athwen cleared a place for it and set the wood in order, Meghan searched about in the saddle bags for a tinder box with which to set the flame.
A few minutes later they had a bright little blaze going. It banished the shadows back farther and farther as Athwen carefully added the damp wood. She was just about to ask Meghan how long she thought the others would be when she heard the sound of approaching horses entering the trees. The girls looked up to see Incana riding into the firelight, a horse in tow. Vaenosa was on the second horse, half concious.
Meghan and Incana helped her dismount and led her towards the fire as Athwen sat and watched rather uselessly. Before they had Vaenosa seated, the others began to arrive, and in little time at all. everyone was off their horses, the wounded were laid near the fire, and while they were being tended to by Leod and a couple helpers, Athwen and Dorran prepared dinner while Osmod and Fion made the last few arrangements for the horses.
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