Chương 70: Chapter 71: Aftermath Part 1

Day 210 Tachweld 10th (November 10th) As the three of us began walking towards the town hall, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky. I reached out and let one fall into my hand. It was cold, but it felt peaceful after the last week of the siege. I heard Hawker curse, and I asked him why. He looked up and said, "It's too early for snow. It'll just make a mess of things. It's barely freezing now, and it's supposed to be in the 40s during the day the next week.

If we get too much moisture it'll be a real nightmare chasing down the goblins. Their wargs do better in the mud than our horses do." I had to admit that did seem like an issue. Traditional armies usually fought in the summer. Mud was a real killer. This late, the city streets were mostly empty. I could see that the tents were still set up on top of the city walls, but only the sentries were visible. Hawker and Bruce talked about the battle, but I mostly stayed out of the conversation.

I might have just played a big role in us winning the battle, but it wasn't because I was a tactician, or had any skill as a warrior. Once things had calmed down, I needed to look at the new class and see if it would help if I needed the tractor again. I'd do that tomorrow, but I didn't have it in me to do it now, even if it was instantaneous. When we got to the mayor's office, I was ushered into the main hall. The room had a surprising number of occupants at this late hour.

In addition to the mayor and bishop, there were Priest Lewys, Captain Castell, and all four of the Wall Captains. Also present were the other two Wizards who had been on my tractor, as well as Johnstone and the other Fire Wizard, whose name was O'Neill. That was all five of the mages, and all five of the men in charge of city defenses. The bishop eyed me up and down before he spoke.

"Well, your tractor was indeed instrumental in the city's defense. Did it suffer any harm?" I nodded, and said, "Unfortunately it did. I gained a battlefield skill upgrade, Bruce said that happens sometimes, and was able to use mana to repair the issues. But, I'll have to keep repairing them at least once a week. The fixes aren't permanent." He glared at me, as if I'd purposefully harmed my tractor.

"I see. Mr Jacobson, if necessary can you fight with it again?"

"I believe so," I said.

"I also just checked my XP notifications, and it says I have a new class available. Mechanized Cavalry. I haven't looked at it yet though." That brought about some murmuring in the room. The bishop held up his hand, and the room quieted.

"Very good. Now, I have been told that aside from the men on the wall, loyalists one and all, no one got a good look at your tractor in the darkness and confusion." He took a heavy breath, then continued.

"But, your tractor was loud and very large. It is clear that something happened. Your absence was no doubt noted as well. But, I have received a notification from the Emperor himself. He wants us to send two hundred and fifty men, along with Captain Castell, to relieve the northern fort. The capital will be sending another two hundred regular soldiers and five mages upriver." I wasn't quite sure where this was going, or how it would help me out, but I kept listening.

"I have some men who I am very suspicious of. I will make sure they are sent with the expedition. All of the men in the army coming this way are loyal to the Emperor. We will make sure any potential troublemakers fail to return. Your secret will hold for now." I felt the blood drain from my face, and I felt as if I had been punched in the gut. Men were going to be killed because they might tell on me? By the System that was awful. The bishop failed to notice my reaction, that or he didn't care.

He continued speaking about the logistics of preparing for an expedition to the north. We had a week until the soldiers made it here, so there was some time to make sure everyone was properly outfitted for the early winter weather. I stood and listened as they talked about how Harold intended to deal with the goblin army that was scattered about, moving towards the interior of the territory. We'd only killed around a couple of thousand of them, so their army was still nearly ten thousand strong.

We had killed all but four of the hill trolls, and at least a dozen of the Shamans but they were still a strong fighting force. There were also another five thousand goblins between the two forces attacking the northern and central forts. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The militia that could be called in around the capital was close to seven thousand strong, and there were another five hundred regular soldiers and ten mages who would be marching with them.

Weston would send out those two hundred and fifty men, then they would come back south and liberate the central fort. Aside from that, the rest of us would stay in the area. There were a dozen more ranchers, and ten dairymen, including the Newtons, who would need to go back to their places, assuming they still stood. We'd need the dairy products, as well as any of the animals they could spare to slaughter. There were still plots of land free close to the town walls.

In times of emergency, the crown could lease them out for essential purposes for a single gold. No permanent structures, aside from a single cabin, could be built on those plots, but animals could be brought closer to town. The bishop wanted me to go back to my homestead. Lieutenant Woolsy, with twenty soldiers who could be trusted, would stay with us. I'd bring the tractor to the homestead and park it right next to the house in case it was needed again.

No one else would be allowed to come our way except the Newtons, who would be appraised of the situation. They weren't in the know already, but they'd kept their mouths shut when they had to have known I was an outworlder already, so they were being brought in to the know, whether or not they wanted it. Once we got the logistics taken care of, the conversation changed, and the why questions began to be asked. Why did they choose to attack? And why right now?

If they'd attacked a day before or after, they could have wiped out a majority of the human presence in the western area of the territory. Were the orcs behind this, or were the goblins on their own? It was nearing midnight, and I wasn't a part of the discussions going on, so I started thinking about asking to find my tent.

It wasn't that I didn't want to know what was going on; it was that at this point the conversation was just going in circles as the men wildly speculated about why they believed something was happening. I caught Hawker's attention and asked if I could go. He nodded, but Priest Lewys, who was also mostly silent throughout the conversation, cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Gentlemen, can I get your attention?" Lewys said, raising his hand. The conversation in the room slowly quieted down. When he had everyone's attention, he said, "As it appears that Mr Jacobson here is not going to be forced to flee for safer pastures, at least not right now. I propose that we still hold his wedding ceremony in the temple the day after tomorrow. It will be good for town morale." The bishop looked as if he didn't think it would be good for his morale, but he stayed silent.

When there were no objections, Priest Lewys beamed.

"Very good! I will prepare the temple for the wedding. It is not on Samhain, but it will still do. I am determined that Mr Jacobson and Mrs Lloyd don't spend another night on that homestead together unless they are married." After that, I was dismissed. I decided that Emily was almost certainly asleep, so I'd just go back to my tent and sleep up there. It would be warm and I could sleep until daylight. When I got up to the top, I saw Glenn and Hari sitting by the brazier in our section of the wall.

They were leaning against each other and looked to be holding hands. So that was why they were bachelors and hunted together. I smiled. I made some noise, and they quickly moved apart. Hari looked back and saw it was me. I smiled and saluted. They both relaxed at that. I pretended as if I hadn't seen a thing and waved them over to another brazier that didn't have any tents close to it. It was no business of mine, and the social mores of the empire didn't exactly approve of same-sex relationships.

There were no laws against it, and there would be no official punishment, but it was something best kept quiet. Once we were settled around the brazier and made sure there was no one close to us, I told them everything I'd heard in the mayor's office. They were happy for the wedding, and I told them I expected them to be there.

They didn't think they'd be among the men sent out with the expedition because they'd been kept active as city scouts since two of the regular scouts had been killed on the day the goblins made their move. I was glad they'd stay close. I also told them about my tractor and asked what the other militia members had been talking about regarding the battle. They said that with the fires and the smoke from the guns, it was hard to tell what was going on. No one had said they were sure about what they had seen.

There was wild speculation, but no consensus on what was out there in the dark. People had asked where I was, but they'd said I was on an assignment and this worked for now. Several of the dockhands in our squad were likely to be sent north, and probably on a one-way ticket. I felt awful about it, but there was nothing I could do to change it. Hari and Glenn both thought it was for the best. I couldn't believe how big this conspiracy really was. It felt like at least half the town was in on it.

Colin came out of our shared tent during the conversation, so we stopped talking about that topic. He was extremely excited to see me and rushed to give me a hug. He'd been on the wall during the battle and had seen everything. He excitedly told us about things from his perspective. We had to shush him twice to make sure he wasn't talking too loudly. I told him about the wedding in two days. His first comment was, "Does my Ma know about this?"

I laughed and told him I hadn't seen her yet, but that unless she wanted to vacate the homestead, I didn't think there was a way Priest Lewys would allow it to be put off any longer. We talked until nearly 2 a. m. when the next round of sentries came to relieve us. I was so amped up; I thought I'd have trouble falling asleep. Ten seconds after my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.