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Tevildo's post
"Sythric!" After the ceremony in front of the bier, Leod walked over to the injured man and tapped him gently on the shoulder, adding in a soft voice, "I don't like that look on your face. I wish there was some other way we could manage. By rights, you should be spending today in your bedroll and doing nothing more strenuous than lifting a spoon to your mouth to feed yourself. Still, we must be off. And staying here in the woods isn't a good idea when there are roving bands of Orcs and Easterlings about. Take this before you mount up." The healer handed his patient a small packet of herbs. "Just add it to a hot beverage. It will cut down on the pain in your side. But truthfully you're still going to feel something. If I give you too large a dose, the pain will be gone but you'll be falling asleep in the saddle and risk plunging down to the forest floor."
"One other thing," Leod added. "If your side starts bleeding heavily, you must tell me. I've tightened and readjusted the bandages. I only hope it's enough."
In the next hour, Leod quietly made the rounds of camp to give each of his patients a final check. He found Vaenosa's wounds especially troubling. Like Sythric, she should probably be spending the day in bed. Even Brand could stand with some more rest. But it would be utterly useless to ask the young man to delay their departure any longer. Though quiet and modest, Brand could also be amazingly stubborn. The blunt fact was that the trip had taken longer than expected. One way or another, they needed to get going and make a forced march to Edoras, even if it was hard on those who had been injured.
Leod cast one last look at the pyre which now lay silent, its red-gold flames reduced to no more than smouldering embers. It was a symbol to him of defeat: a good man gone who should have lived. Curse these crazy times! When would men learn to live in peace? It was a question to which he had no answer. And seeing that he could not control the behavior of Orcs or men from the east, the next best thing was surely to get on the road and offer a word of warning, both to benefit the good folk of Edoras and those who would be fleeing from the outer villages seeking the safety of strong walls. Impatiently, he stalked up and down the camp, eager to be on his way.
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