107 A happy ending?

The first thing they saw was scared families all gathering near each other, in an attempt of protecting everyone. While they seemed to be on guard, they were not frightened to the point of shaking. The injured were still taken care and were not being transported anywhere else like they should if danger was imminent. At the same time, the external forces that didn't belong to the guard were only in a more vigilant state. "At least, it was not a complete massacre" The leader of the knights were relieved because from what they had heard, it could have been anything.

Unfortunately, while he was thinking that, the citizens of Archet were no looking as highly as before their saviors. Because they were still attacked after their arrival, and many good men had died on top of the western ramparts to protect them., even after they heard the complete defeat of the two liches, they were barely grateful. Meeting this hard resistance from the civilians, the helping riders could only smile weirdly, not knowing what to do. They were not particularly good at doing anything, besides training and killing monsters.

So in the end, they could only reach the walls, only to see two armors being acclaimed, alongside the guards. The moment they put their eyes on the two supposedly adventurers, they felt something bad, deep inside themselves. Their instincts were telling them to not fight the two, that they were extremely dangerous. Of course, they took it as proof that they deserved to be cheered like that, especially when they received the news that it was them that killed the other lich.

Looking at the dark armor the giant one was wearing and his massive and powerful hand, they linked that with the weird wound on the deceased undead. That was at least one of the two mysteries that was solved, even if that one was just curiosity more than anything else. Because they were tainted by the undead blood of the zombies, no one was willing to get close to them, especially knowing who they were. They saw a few officers discussing about them a few meters away, but they had only come here after hearing the situation from the White Hand. Making the knights a bit reluctant at taking the first step.

Fortunately, a pretty young woman approached them, wearing some kind of uniforms. They were not expert in clothes, but it was apparent that it represented something, especially since the surrounding citizens looked at her earnestly. "I, on the behalf of Archet, thank you for your help in this dark times. May I ask you if you have vanquished the remaining lich?"

Her question provoked the curiosity of everyone, and because the knights were way faster than the common guard, the later hadn't propagated the news. They were also in a hurry when they heard that there was an attack here, so they had rushed at full speed. "Yes, we have destroyed all the undead still left in this city. Their core had been shattered, they will not be resurrected."

Even the most doubtful pessimist broke in laughs and cheers after hearing this. This meant that they were safe, and the officers linked that with the recent attack. It seemed for them that after the death of the lich, the ghouls were free once more and, attracted by the living humans, they attacked in a disordered fashion. After talking a bit more, the situation was resumed in a few sentences.

This place that was apparently the closest for the ghouls was caught slightly by surprise. Dozens of guards were killed before the adventurers and mercenaries downstairs could react. Following this, with the help of Davion and Meridiana that blocked their way, the undead were slain. The 10 ghouls were mostly killed by the magicians that finally acted and displayed their power. Because they were supposed to counter the liches, they only played a minor part, and the resentful stares from the other fighters were making them ashamed of themselves.

It didn't reduce the fact that they had done next to nothing in this battle, but they had at least saved a few lives. They also went on top of the ramparts, ready to unleash spells at whatever new threats will arise. But none could notice any other enemies, meaning that the city was finally safe, leading to the spectacle the knights first saw.

"I see, that's a relief to hear that all the undead are exterminated. May my men examine the surrounding, to not miss anything else?" The leader of the knight was trying to fix his past mistake since they hadn't spotted the ghouls when they arrived. At the same time, now that they knew ghouls were present, they will act differently. The only thing they heard was that two liches were seen in a city called Archet.

"Of course, no one here would want to live in fear for the next days. I am certain that you will not miss any undead, again." Even if her voice was agreeable to the ears, the last word still stiffened a bit the knights. But they couldn't retort anything since they truly could be blamed for the recent deaths. Unconsciously or not, the survivors of Archet completely let Gwendoline act as the representative of the Mayor. Not even the old families said anything.

After exchanging a few more diplomatic sentences, the group of riders approached the walls and examined everything. At least, she managed to get rid of them. As long as they were not messing with their plans by being here, Meridiana was pleased. The longer those knights stayed, the bigger would be the impression they will leave in the heart of the humans. That's why, with Davion, they were traveling everywhere, to be seen as often as they could. They knew that nothing else will happen, but they couldn't show that. From an exterior point of view, the two would seem to be patrolling.

"Zzzz ... Zzzz ... ZZZUNDEAD!" An old man violently woke up and found himself in a familiar place. Only that the roof was gone and the beautiful painting that should have been seen on the wall was partially destroyed. Looking around, he could see the comfy chair he was in and the luxurious tables, surrounded by wreckages and stones. Feeling a nasty headache, he massaged his head and tried to figure out what the hell happened here.

"Wait ... City Hall ... that means the undead have breached the walls and the rest. What in all the gods I know did you do Seron? But it's the day, so the help from the White Hand have probably arrived. But you will hear me nagging for a long time, look at that buildi ... THE STREET?!!" He was only looking at the City Hall, but when he finally got out, he noticed the huge hole in the ground.

"Bomb, that's the bomb. That means one lich is gone, great job Seron!" He was mumbling in his mouth, talking to himself. The city was totally empty, not a single soul could be seen. Looking around, he could only feel bad when he saw the amount of blood spread everywhere. The two main colors surrounding him were white and red.

It was at that time that he saw a bit further some ice sculptures. Because they were not in the middle of winter, it was obvious that magic was involved. But from where he stood, he couldn't see what was inside them. There were numerous sculptures, and as he approached he saw that they were all encircling a skeleton. He couldn't see beyond the first rank, but since that was the case, it was probably a magician from their side.

"So, if they are here, the hole is over there. They probably retreated even more. But to give away the City Hall, they must have suffered a lot of casualties. Bah, who am I kidding? I didn't even study how to participate in a war. And why am I still talking to myself ..." The lack of sign that someone was still alive still perturbed him. He was certain that the cadre from the Organization was alive, since killing him would be next to impossible. But if only those people survived, it would be a calamity.

Thankfully, he was fully clothed, the same outfit that he wore when he left Seron, meaning that his appearance was easily recognizable. Because the euphoria of surviving was still present, all he saw was smiles, everywhere. There were also tears, but tears of joy, laughs, the atmosphere was similar to one that could be found in a party. It was only when he spotted the old turtle from the Elritch that he faced the harsh reality.

Seron died, the Guild Master perished, the poor area was wiped out, not even a tenth of the guards was still alive and at least thousands of civilians had perished inside the East of Archet. Even with all his experience at not letting his true sentiments appeared on his face, the Mayor was incapable of doing anything but stare blankly his mouth agape. The more those words resonated in his mind, the more inconceivable they seemed.

"Wha... what... why ... How?!! Tell me HOW!" He grabbed the other man by his collar and shook him. The adventurers tried to approach, but after seeing the deadly stare the Mayor sent at them, they diplomatically backed off. He was, after all, not just some random peasant trying to attack someone.

"The situation about Seron is extremely confused. Only a few that were there survived, and they are all terrified and gravely injured. Apparently, he managed to hit one of the liches but was frozen afterward. Nonetheless, he was a great man and we couldn't have..." The Mayor didn't hear the rest, only focusing on the frozen part. Remembering the ice sculptures, he could only shake his head. The good part was that his corpse was probably intact, he will have a proper funeral.

"... exemplary. As for the Guild Master, ask the two adventurers, Davion and Meridiana. He was in charge of the bombs, and he used one of them to kill the injured lich. He apparently sacrificed himself in the explosion. Too many good men and women had died this night."

"Too many ... far too many ..." The perturbed man left him with those words, still baffled by everything that happened. He could have never guessed that it will end up like that. He reached the location where a field hospital was created. His appearance managed to appease a lot of wounded, and he still dutifully spent as much time as possible with them. A few were those that recently survived from the claws of the ghouls.

Because the priests were barely lucid and all the healing potions and remedies had already been used, those poor men were condemned to die atrociously. There was not a chance that they will survive another hour, and all he could do was stay here and listen to their dying breaths. From the moment he managed to be elected, he had constantly received the praise of everyone, even his adversaries.

While some of his choices were dubious, the majority managed to improve a bit the life of the common citizens. But that was at the expenses of the defense of Archet, since he thought that they will never be threatened. It was not to the point of giving broken weapons or firing guards, but he still reduced a bit their numbers. Thinking about that, he could only imagine if Seron would have survived if he hadn't done this.

The harsh reality awakened him, meaning that if he hadn't been protected by the White Hand, he could have died. At this moment, a very muscular officer got closer and officially informed him of the current number of casualties. The missings were also recorded, mainly the adventurers and mercenaries that succumbed in unknown locations. The Mayor could only laugh drily since it was barely better than what he heard from the old Elritch.

Looking at the young boy that had his mouth filled with blood, he felt incredibly tired. He had no wife, no children. All he did in his life was fighting for power, be respected, enjoy the cheers from the crowd. All his visions for the future, the dream he shared with Seron, it was not appealing anymore. So, when he heard the sentence of the officer, he felt an exit from him.

"Do you want me to bring you Miss Gwendoline?" From everyone else, she was the representative of him. She was the one that calmed the angry crowd, she was the one that brought the fact that help was coming. She currently was held in high esteem by everyone, and for him, that was enough. "The next council will be in a few months, so why not try someone young for once?" He thinking those words as the beautiful employee arrived.

She looked behind him and saw the numerous corpses, making her face sadder. They were only a few meters away from where he was seated because he didn't want to disrupt the rest of the injured. As for her reaction, neither horror or disgust, but sadness and compassion, they were good. At this point, he didn't care if they were genuine or not, because they felt real and that was enough.

"Mayor, I am pleased to hear that you ..."

"Cut the crap. I am tired of all those things, even if you are as used as me to it. I will be brief, from now on, you are the Mayor." After the bomb was dropped, both the muscular officer that was walking away and Gwendoline were stunned.The former could barely restore his balance before falling while the latter had no idea how to react, just what happened?