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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4764649" data-attributes="member: 3285">Serpentine Path: ConclusionSemar had been liberated, but at a terrible cost.  The city and its people would never be the same.  They had witnessed the brutality of the Ssethregoran horde firsthand.  Somehow, Kham had produced a wineskin.  He took a long drink.  He had seen things he would never be able to tell anyone without several bottles of strong drink.  Muatma addressed them all, holding one arm with the other, useless and bleeding.  “Some of you have lost trusted companions and love ones.  Some of you have witnessed great acts of bravery and terrible acts of cowardice.”Kham thought of Quablo.  Was he dead?  Did it matter?“We have all seen the best and worst of man and beast.”He thought of Bijoux and Calactyte.  Calactyte had been buried under the rubble.  They were forced to abandon Bijoux in their flight to the citadel.  She could fly, but could she escape the flying Ssethregoran troops?  Would she even care to?“We have been tested by battle and survived!”  The crowd gave a cheer. Muatma left to survey the battlefield.All around them was the carnage of war.  A child’s bloody rag doll lay silently next to a broken sword.  An empty baby carriage sat idly on its side next to a destroyed temple.  A tattered Shining Patrol banner wafted languidly in the breeze, keeping silent time with Ilmarė’s hauntingly beautiful lament for the dead.“In gwidh ristennin,” Ilmarė sang of bonds cut.Bodies of patrolmen and ss’ressen lay in long swaths where the battle was most fierce.  Families had already begun to search the bodies for loved ones.  In some places, they rejoiced.  In others, children fell to their knees, sobbing and praying over their loss.  “I fae narchannen,” Ilmarė sang of the spirit broken.One man scooped up his daughter, tears streaking his cheeks.  They had been separated and only just found each other. “I sell Altheria ed ardhon gwannen.”  The children of Altheria had left the world.“That lizard’s sacrifice saved my daughter.  If it wasn’t for him…if it wasn’t for you…I don’t know…” He broke down, weeping with joy and relief.“Nauris! Calactyte! Bijoux! Holden!”“He gave his life to save human children he didn’t even know,” Beldin said in awe.  “I am sure Yig will welcome him home.”“Ú-reniathach i amar galen.” No more would they wander the bright world.“To the big stupid lizard!” Kham raised his wineskin and took another gulp.  “May he finally find the time to learn to read!” He handed the wineskin to Vlad. “I reniad lín ne môr, nuithannen.” Their journeys had ended in darkness.“To Cal!” Vlad took a swig.  “May the Black Talon tribe follow his noble example!”  He passed it to Beldin.“To Cal!” Beldin drank deeply from it. “An axe was never wielded by a scalier dwarf at heart.” He offered it to Sebastian.“To Cal!” Sebastian finished its contents.  “May resilient spheres work better than I hoped.”The crowd took up the chant, cheering and weeping and laughing.  Exhausted survivors followed Kham’s example and spread the warmth and blissfulness of Larissa’s gift.Kham took a moment to rest his weary body upon a broken piece of wall and wipe the grim and gore from his face.  Ahead, through the still-smoking haze of the battleground, a figure came rushing towards him.  Kham got up on weary legs and drew one of his pistols, determined to send whatever it was to the pits of the nether realms.   But it was only a boy, a runner used to relay messages from the Patrol’s commanders.The runner stopped in front of him, his breath coming in ragged gasps.  His dirt-covered face revealed a boy who had aged must in the past few days. “Sir.  The general wishes for you to come at once.  A matter of great urgency has arisen and your help is required.”  Kham took a deep breath.  “I don’t suppose I can say no?”The boy handed him a note.  “The general thought you might need some persuading.  He asked me to hand you this note.”Kham read it.  A second later he dropped it to the ground and took off at a running, gathering his companions behind him.On the ground, forgotten, the note read:“THERE’S A SSETHREGORAN GATE BENEATH THE CITY.”</blockquote>

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