time: end of Sehnir 1537 HC
location : mouth of Berendor river, aboard of ETN galleon Grace
persons: Maire Cwyllmie in her usual robe, exhaustion and sorrow clearly written in her face;
Reudard Willen, young man in battered knight armor, fighting with fatigue, but standing straight, determined look in his eyes
setup: MC and RW are standing aboard the galleon staring in the direction of burning and bleeding city of Calrie. Around them, smattering of sitting or lying soldiers, most of them with treated wounds, and weapons and pieces of armor of all types. Occasional sailor weaving through on his way.
MC: "Im glad that at least you have made it, commander Willen. How many others?"
RW: "Not many, high priestess. About 40 knights and 100 of others, mostly marines, town militia and some royal archers. More managed to flee on other ships though. But as a fighting force, royal army ceased to exist."
... (short pause) ...
RW (frowning): "To be true, I expected more succesful or at least longer defence, given the numbers, quality and support we enjoyed from you and Kawela. Especially after we repulsed the first wave of attacks. But general Dhon was missed greatly. Without him, coordination was not sufficient. I should have done better in that regard."
MC: "There is no point in blaming yourself, commander. You were not deemed as general of the whole army. Given the circumstances, you did well."
RW: "But the result ..."
MC: "Yes, I know, but it is not your doing. Our country was betrayed and sold to foreigners by others. Death, destruction and suffering will rule Aerenwe now. But we must persevere, because, flatly, we have no other choice. I believe that one day, there will be independent, proud and happy Aerenwe again. We have to work for it."
RW: "Yes ... and ... thank you for finding Elisene."
MC (with a hint of smile) : "That was the least I could do for you, hero of Calrie."
... (few seconds of awkward silence) ...
RW: "Where are we heading now? Ilien?"
MC: "Right. We need to set up new headquaters of the church. Fortunately, most courtiers are here with us. Ilien was centre of ETN once and will serve as temporary one well now."
... (galleon finally catches full wind and departs on open sea disappearing below the horizon after a while) ...
