"Oh." Of course they couldn't leave Sileas's horse, but Lightning probably wouldn't be very useful right now, being as hurt as he was. "Take him, but we're still going to need another horse. There must be other horses around here... Cover his nose so he doesn't give us away."

Sileas untied the rope tethering him to the tree and led him back to where she had been standing. She rested her hand on his nose, and whispered softly and soothingly while keeping her eye on Wulfsen. "Shhh, my boy," she whispered, rubbing his nose with her thumb.

Wulfsen found a rough corral made of branches. He quietly climbed in and spoke softly to the horses so as to not spook them. He chose a chestnut gelding and was leading him to the makeshift gate when a challenge rang out.

"Hey, what are you doing? Who are you?"

Wulfsen swore.

Sileas was feeding Lightning a sugar cube when she heard the shout. She let out a few curse words that she was certain would please Aunt Lia. "I need you to stay here and not move." Lightning nodded and nickered, but her hand covered the sound. "I'll be right back."

She readied her bow with an arrow and headed in the direction Wulfsen had gone, coming upon the corral. And blast it all, one of the raiders. Sileas took careful aim and fired the arrow.

Wulfsen threw open the gate, before he could lead the chestnut out, the whole rest of the herd charged out, nearly trampling him.

"Oy," Sileas said. Having seen the raider go down with the strike of her arrow, and not seeing anyone else in the area, Sileas made her way down to the corral. She wasn't certain at all what she might be able to do, other than having a calming influence on the horses. Sileas stayed back from the make-shift gate, out of their way. "Whoa, whoa!" she called out softly.

The chestnut tugged, but did not run off with the other horses. Wulfsen gave Sileas a sheepish look. "That should make things difficult for the raiders."

Sileas grinned. "Yes, it should. If any were treated the way Lightning was, hopefully they get some revenge." Then Sileas frowned. "I didn't see Papa's horse. Let me get Lightning and we'll head back." She started walking back the way she had come, ignoring the injured man crying out in agony. The price of doing battle.

Wulfsen winced when he saw where the arrow was sticking out of the man, but he remembered what these raiders had done and left him to suffer.

Sileas hummed softly, barely audibly. The man had most likely taken a turn with her mother and she doubted he would ever be able to harm another woman if he was found in time. It was personal and it felt good to make him pay.

Wulfsen brought the chestnut to the wagon and hitched the horses to it. Star did not look impressed, but he pulled the wagon out of the barn with the chestnut's help. Wulfsen smiled at Sileas. Getting the injured and more supplies to the keep will be easy.

Lightning followed Sileas to the wagon but looked grateful when he wasn't hitched to the wagon. Every once in a while he made a sound that let her know he was hurting. "When we get to the keep, I'll see what I can find to help you, Lightning." She noticed the confidence in Wulfsen's eyes and hoped everything would go as easily as he thought.

"You can tie Lightning to the back of the wagon." Wulfsen said, and offered Sileas a hand up.

Sileas tied Lightning's reins to the back of the wagon. She accepted his hand to help her climb up. She was starting to feel weary to the bone but she couldn't rest until everyone was safely back at the keep.

Wulfsen drove the wagon to where they had left Brighid, Yehudit, and the injured boy. He hopped down to help the injured into the wagon bed.

Sileas hopped down to help. She immediately went to her mother's side. Having had the chance finally to allow herself to let go, Sileas felt she could be strong for her mother. "Come on, Mama, Wulfsen is going to get us out to the keep and to Difyr. I will get Aunt Lia for you as well." Sileas knew there would be hell to pay when facing Aunt Lia, but hopefully finding her mother would negate some of her aunt's anger.

Wulfsen removed his own cloak and spread it out on the wagon bed. He gently lifted Brighid onto it. "I'm sorry it's a bit rough, hopefully Questa got some blankets while foraging."

"Questa is pretty good with foraging. She's probably got half a cartload of things by now."

"Would she know to collect blankets though?" Wulfsen asked, gently placing the boy next to Brighid in the wagon.

"Questa knows what we need for survival. I told her to grab any fabrics to make bandages and the like and she reminded me that she knew what she was doing."

Just a few hours ago Questa had stolen his belt, so Wulfsen did not have a lot of faith in the thief. "I hope she find what we need."

"I am trying to have faith in her. Something I've been sorely lacking for quite a while," Sileas admitted. Once her mother and James were settled, she grabbed her cloak and spread it over them.

Yehudit clumsily hauled herself into the wagon. She gave Aunt Brie a worried look.

Sileas climbed in as well. She sat beside Brie and took her mother's hand in hers. She seemed so small and frail. Her mother was one of the strongest women Sileas knew.

Meanwhile, Questa was taking quite a haul. She found a lot of valuables that the raiders had missed- coin, jewels, other expensive bits and pieces. But she also found a lot of practical stuff too. Food, clothes, blankets... She got into where the healer's cottage used to stand and found a lot of bandages and herbs the healer used for medicine, Questa even found some of that tea Sileas drank there. Questa knew it would be dangerous to put everything she found in one place- what if the raiders or some scavenger happened along and found her stash? She would lose everything. So she was hiding caches of food and supplies all over the village.

Feeling rather pleased with herself, Questa was lugging a basket of candied fruits from a shop when she heard hoofbeats. She looked up expected it to be Sileas, Wulfsen and Sileas's millstone, but instead they were two strange men. It was too late to hide, they had seen her and were coming right her way. Questa watched them. The men reined up before her.

"Well! I was hoping for some sweets but it looks like we've found something even better- aye Errol?"

"Aye, finish using up that old whore and we find us a fresh girl." Errol leered. "Shame she's so dark- think it's just dirt?"

"We could dunk her in the pond to see." Errol's companion said. "I like them to be clean."

Questa knew running would not do her much good, their horses would be faster than her. "Go stick yor own 'eads in the pond and take a deep breaff yer muck-covered perv."

Errol took offense to Questa's order. He made a grab for Questa but she stepped back. When he overreached for her she hit him in the face with the basket. He fell from the saddle and hung by one foot in the stirrup. Before Errol had a chance to free his foot Questa slapped the horse's butt and screamed: "Run yer stewpid 'orse!" Errol was last seen screaming to his death as he was dragged into the distance over rubble by a panicked, galloping horse.

"Why you crazy bitch!" Errol's companion leapt from his mount upon her. "I'm going to teach you a lesson-" Errol's companion grabbed Questa's collar but let go when Questa buried the blade of her shiv into his belly. Questa shoved him off herself. He screamed like Errol and tried to hold his intestines in with his hands. Questa stabbed him repeatedly in the chest until he stopped screaming and went still.

"I'm bloody well not copping dunked in any pond." Questa muttered. She cleaned the shiv on what part of the man's tunic was not soaked with blood. She tried to wipe the blood off her face and hands with his cloak- but Questa knew she had to be a bloody mess.

"And ole Sileas were just lecturin' me about violence... Screw that." Questa said ruefully. She looked at the basket, it had been ruined when it hit Errol's face and all the candied fruits had been spoiled by dirt and blood. Well, there were more sweets in the shop.