The sight of the watchtower and the keep was more than welcome to Erik. It meant this ordeal was almost over, and he could rest once the injured were taken care of. Luckily I listened to my gut and came early. If I hadn’t… Erik shook his head, not wanting to have that scenario playing through his mind. He had been there, and that was what mattered.

They soon reached the tower, and one of the men standing watch there descended the long ladder quickly to meet them at the base.

“Your Grace! I see the wyvern reports were well founded,” the man, Neil, said, looking out at the mostly injured men. 

“Yes, but we were fortunate not to lose anyone as of yet,” the Duke replied grimly. “I sent Benedict ahead to rouse everyone at the keep and the infirmary.”

“I saw him pass,” Neil acknowledged. 

“I haven’t seen any signs of wyvern following us,” Erik continued. “But we can’t be too careful. I’ve decided to double the watchmen at each tower for every shift. At least until we can be sure they have not encroached too far north.” The man grimaced, then nodded.

“It will be done, Your Grace.” Neil bowed, then straightened again. “Do you need assistance getting the rest of the way?”

“No, you and the others stay and keep watch. I don’t want any surprises.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The man bowed again, then went back up the ladder as quickly as he had come down.

“Your Grace!” a familiar voice shouted, coming from the direction of the keep. He looked up to see Julianna, the matron of the town infirmary, driving a wagon pulled by two sure-footed mules. In the back of the wagon rode a few of the nurses and one of the doctors. Following closely behind were some knights that the Duke had left behind at the keep in case they were needed, as well as Benedict returning from fulfilling the Duke's orders to alert everyone of their arrival.

Their party had already stopped at the base of the watchtower to allow the Duke to talk with the watchman, so the Duke now began giving orders to bring the most severely injured forward to be assessed by the nurses and doctor. A flurry of activity ensued. 

The Duke caught sight of his new wife and her lady’s maid sitting down to the side of the road, probably to stay out of the way. Wisps of auburn hair had again worked its way free of its tight braid due to the effort of walking, delicately framing Karissa’s face again. Erik tried for a moment to catch her eye, but then turned back to the work at hand. There will be time later.

“Julianna,” he called out as the wagon stopped on the road ahead of them. “I trust things are being readied at the infirmary?”

“Of course,” Julianna said tersely, hopping down from the wagon and giving him a look that quelled any other questions or pleasantries. The curly-haired matron was slightly younger than him, but she had a commanding air that could rival anybody he knew, including himself. “How many wounded?”

“Twenty-three,” the Duke answered. “We were able to bandage them up fairly quickly, but some have been unconscious since the attack yesterday.”

“Let’s get the men in litters onto the wagon if we can fit them. I want all injuries looked at, including yours,” the woman said, eyeing his bandaged arm. “No telling what kinds of diseases those monsters carry.”

The Duke nodded, then gave out his orders to the men. In no time they had every injured man, waking or not, headed to the infirmary. The small group of uninjured knights left behind started making their way to the keep, leaving the even smaller group of uninjured guards to mill about uncertainly.

Erik saw Dalvo approach Karissa and the lady’s maid, along with the horses that still carried their supplies and luggage. The Duke hesitated to follow the procession to the infirmary, but he knew that if he didn’t he’d get an earful from Julianna at some point. It would be best to let her fuss over my arm sooner rather than later.

Erik walked over to the two women and their guard captain.

“Your Grace, we were just discussing what we should do,” Karissa said as he came up to them. “I assume we’ll be heading to the keep now.”

“I’ll need to go and have my arm looked at,” the Duke answered grudgingly. “I regret I will not be able to accompany you to the keep as I thought. But Benedict will make sure you are all taken care of.” As if the knight could hear his name spoken on the wind, Benedict approached the group as well, leading his horse behind him by the reins.

“Very well,” Karissa said, nodding her head in agreement. “We shall see you later then, when you return.”

“Here, Your Grace,” Benedict said, handing the reins of his horse over to Erik. “You have farther to go than we do.”

Erik looked at Karissa and out of habit almost offered the horse to her, but then remembered her insistence at walking the day before. Perhaps she had changed her mind by now, but he didn’t have any desire to argue with her at that moment.

“Thank you, Benedict,” Erik said, looking back at the knight beside him. “Make sure our new Duchess and her men are made comfortable.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Benedict answered with a short bow. No doubt he was itching to be set free from any more duties for the day, but the Duke knew that his friend would follow his orders to the letter.

Erik mounted the horse and nodded to the group before departing, noting that Karissa had a softer, more open smile on her face than he had seen as of yet. She’s probably just relieved that this is almost over. He also noted that her lady’s maid was looking rather pale and unsteady on her feet. Rest will do her some good, too.

He turned the horse and galloped after the wagon containing the severely injured men, determined to be seen by Julianna and then return to the keep as swiftly as possible. As the horse ran he went through the items added that day to the mental list he kept in his head.

Select a new horse from the stable.

Assign personal guards for Karissa.

Make sure the infirmary is resupplied. 

Ensure the watchmen are compensated for the extra shifts.

Get Karissa new underskirts.

The Duke thought hard about the list for a moment.

I could probably leave that last one to someone else…