Zandrianna listened to the battle outside, unable to do anything except wait for the outcome. She closed her eyes, holding Althessia close to her as she tried valiantly to keep the baby both safe and quiet, as not to draw attention to them. Rocking her back and forth, she could hear the grunts of men taking hits, the ring of metal on metal as weapons struck. Several times the wagon shook, as someone - friend or foe - was thrown against the side, causing both mother and child to startle. Briefly she wished she had heeded Rastellion's insistent plea to bring along a pair of the association guards, but she had faith that the caravan guards were capable and would protect the wagons with their last breath. So she waited ...
After some time - it felt like hours, though it was only a few minutes - the sounds of battle slowly died down. An eerie silence fell upon the caravan, and Zandrianna strained to listen for any noise. The only thing she heard, however, was the occasional croak of a toad and the splashing of water beneath the bridge. The silence seemed to drag on as long as the battle had and, after some time, Zandrianna could not stand the suspense any longer. Laying Althessia in her basket, and hiding the baby between the crates, she ventured outside the wagon to find out what was going on.
Stepping down quietly from the wagon, the young mother kept her back pressed close to the side as she slowly crept along. Peering around the corner she gasped and jumped back, her hand reaching for her chest where her heart beat erratically. Calming herself, she looked around the corner again, taking in the carnage.
Several brigands, dourhands by the looks of them, lay on the ground. She quickly counted 4, one with a sword still sticking out of his side, and none of them moving. The ground was covered in blood and footprints, heading east away from the caravan as the men had apparently chased what was left of the brigands off towards wherever they had come from. She followed the foot prints around to the other side of the wagon, looking for any other signs of life, stepping around another brigand's body as she navigated the swampy soil.
Propped against the side of the wagon, near the broken wheel, was one of the caravan workers, his eyes closed and a dark stain spread over his tunic. Zandrianna hurried to him, checking to make sure everything was clear, and knelt beside the man to check for any signs that he was still alive. Finding a pulse and a thready breath, she sighed and began assessing the damage, her healer training taking over as she concentrated on tending the man's injuries.
Pulling open the man's tunic, Zandrianna pursed her lips as she saw the slash wound in his side from some sharp blade. Running her fingers along it, she noted it was deep but not fatal on its own, though if she didn't stop the bleeding she knew it would still kill him. She raced back to the wagon, climbing in to grab her bag and digging out her healer's bag, returned to the man and began working.
In the middle of tending the fallen man, she heard footsteps approach from behind. Grabbing a nearby dagger, she turned and held it in front of her for protection. However, it was only the men returning from chasing the brigands down. Several of them appeared winded, and they were all sweaty and tired from the pursuit. Seeing her there, one of the guards scowled down at her. "You should be inside the wagon where it's safe woman."
Zandrianna snorted, turning back to tending their comrade. "And leave this man to die? I think not." Wrapping the man's chest and stomach in bandages, she briefly turned back to the men. "What happened? she asked, as she watched their burst of activity to get the wagon ready to move once more.
"Brigands took advantage of our situation to try us. We chased them down, but one of them got away." the caravan leader said curtly. "Let's get this show moving again, before he comes back with reinforcements!! Move your lazy asses, I want to be out of this accursed swamp two days ago!" The man swore up a storm as he stormed off to see about the condition of the other two wagons.
Quickly finishing her work on the man's injuries, she packed up her healers bag, slinging it onto her back as she returned to the wagon to check on Althessia. The baby was sleeping so, dropping a kiss on her daughter's forehead, Zandrianna went to see what she could do to help the men.
She went around the wagons, talking to the different men and, where she could, tending to their injuries as the wheel was replaced and the wagons made ready to move. Soon enough, the men were in formation again, one of the guards quickly guiding her back to the wagon she'd been traveling in as he helped her scramble in. "Move out!" the caravan leader yelled, the cry repeated by each of the drivers as the wagons started moving once more.
Before long, the caravan was out of the swamp and on its way to Waymeet. Zandrianna looked out the back of the caravan, breathing a sigh of relief; one that seemed to be mirrored on the faces of the men she could see. 'Close call,' she thought to herself, 'Mayhap I'll not mention this to Rastellion upon my return. He'll already be mad enough as it is.' Having settled that in her mind, she picked up her daughter, who had awoken and was fussing, and began to tend her.
Stopping briefly in Waymeet, the men took the opportunity to clean up and refill their canteens as the locals were informed of the attack back in the swamps. A couple of nearby bounders quickly took down the caravan leader's tale, nodding their heads and looking at each other grimly as they assured him the matter would be looked into. Having exchanged what information they could, and behind schedule, the caravan was soon moving again; the leader determined to make up as much time as possible before nightfall.
Pushing on, they made it as far as Budgeford before the caravan stopped again. It was fully night by that time, the moon the only light to guide them, and Zandrianna could hear the men talking amongst themselves. The caravan leader stuck his head in the wagon a short time later, nodding at his passangers. "We'll be stopping here for a few hours, the men need to get some rest. We'll set out again at first light. In the meantime," he threw up a blanket and small pillow to Zandrianna, "You should get some sleep too, while you can."
"Thank you sir." Zandrianna said, grabbing the bedding as she laid it down into a makeshift bedroll, before settling under the covers. Not yet tired, she picked Althessia up from her basket, cradling her as she tended her daughter, humming songs to her, her mind drifting off to the past few days. Her eyes began to close and when her chin hit the front of her chest, she awoke. Smiling tiredly, she looked down to see that the baby had also fallen asleep. Kissing her daughter's forehead, she settled her back into the basket and laid down to get a little sleep herself.
