Chp.19: After the fire

Sarpa and his companions stuck to the door for more than two hours before mustering the courage to open it and look out. When they did, the red light of the fire still glowed from the top of the shaft, and ash and debris flowed down and settled to the bottom as if they were snow. Apparently, however, there were no signs of the fairies' presence.

Sarpa proposed to go ahead with two volunteers. The three ogres put a cloth over their mouths to avoid being suffocated by the ash and tied powerful pieces of leather to their feet so that the skin wouldn't have been burned; after which they went out, while their companions closed the door behind them as they had been told to do; after all, it could always be a trap, even if it was highly unlikely.

Sarpa and his two companions went back up the well, continuing to cover themselves as much as possible to avoid being touched by the hot ash. When they reached the surface they saw that the fire was now much reduced in size, since most of the city had already been consumed and reduced to ashes. Even the chieftain's house, despite the fact that the stone walls were still there, was badly damaged. Here and there were still small fires that burned what was left and illuminated the environment with an ominous red glow, and the sky was covered with a blanket of smoke from which snowed ash.

Sarpa and his two companions searched the city for a while but found nothing. Eventually, they reunited. "There is no sign of the fairies" one of them said.

Sarpa nodded. "It seems we are very lucky. They must be gone" he said. "Go down into the cave and call our companions. We must put out these fires permanently and clean up the ash"

"Certainly. We'll do it soon, sir" the two ogres said, who were clearly relieved to have survived. "Shall we get the population out too?"

"Damn, no!"

"But they could help us..."

"And do you want them to see those?"

Sarpa pointed to the charred bodies of the ogres who hadn't managed to enter the shelter in time. "There are children down there. Do you want them to see this? Or the women, many of them are wives of the soldiers who have just died in the battle: how do you think they will react?"

The two ogres looked at each other with a hint of shame in their eyes: it was clear that they hadn't thought of that detail. Sarpa continued: "I'll tell you how they will react: as soon as they come out and see this disaster, they will go crazy and start searching all the bodies for their loved ones, constantly touching the hot ashes or maybe even tripping over a fire. We can't let them out now. We'll sort things out as much as possible, and then we'll get them out. Go get our companions, and just they, no one else. If anyone from the population wants to go out, tell them it's not safe yet"

The two ogres nodded and went down the well again. Within minutes, they were back up with the rest of the soldiers. As soon as they saw what had happened, an expression of dismay appeared on the faces of the ogres and some even vomited; evidently their two companions hadn't informed them of the extent of the disaster. But Sarpa quickly brought attention back to himself: "Listen to me! I know you are shocked and I don't blame you. I am shocked too. But now you must keep your mind straight and your heart strong. It is our duty to take care of people that we were able to save. I know many of you, maybe even all of you, just want to get a good night's sleep or mourn your fallen friends now, but I have to ask you to hang on and help me make this place safe"

The other ogres nodded and inhaled deeply, trying not to vomit again at the smell of burnt flesh. After what had happened that night Sarpa had assumed a real position of leadership in their eyes, therefore they were ready to carry out any order he gave them.

"There are twenty-seven of us…well, twenty-eight if you count me. We're not that many, but we can do it" Sarpa said after a quick count. "Listen! We'll split the tasks. You" and he pointed to nine of those ogres, "must put out the remaining fires. Get some buckets or anything that might hold water and do your best to put out the fires. You instead" and he pointed to others nine ogres, "have to clean the streets of the ash. Equip yourself with several leather rags and drag away as much ash as possible. You don't need to remove it completely from the city, just make sure the path from here to beyond the wall, so that the rest of the tribe can exit safely"

The eighteen ogres nodded and immediately ran to perform their assigned tasks. Sarpa turned to the last remaining ones, whom he had selected precisely because he knew they had very strong stomaches and souls. "We will have the most horrible duty. We must recover the bodies of the dead and carry them out of the city, and hide them under a thick tarp so that the population cannot see them. If possible, we should try to identify the dead. Do you think that you can do it?"

The nine ogres clearly would have preferred to do something else, but they nodded. After all, someone had to do the job. "Good. So let's get busy. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish" Sarpa said, starting to collect the charred bodies of some ogres, probably two women.

It took the group a long time to clear a safe way out of the city, and even longer to clear away the bodies. Many of them almost got injured and some burned their hands, but they didn't stop: they knew that the safety of the entire Bolvek tribe depended on them. By the time they finally cleared a road clear of burning ash and debris, the sun had already been up for an hour.

Finally, the civilian population was able to leave the shelter. Sarpa and his companions arranged to get everyone out of the city in an orderly manner and without incident. When they saw what was left of the city, many women and children burst into tears, but nevertheless they followed the soldiers who showed them the way.

The soldiers drove the civilians out of the city; they settled not far away, in a fairly open meadow, so as to be able to see any threats. They planted some stakes to prevent attacks by animals and began distributing water to the inhabitants, treating those who needed assistance, and above all doing the saddest and most difficult work: finding the families of the victims and telling them what had happened. It was a heartbreaking scene, full of crying and despair. Many asked to see the bodies, but despite their protests Sarpa refused to avoid disturbing the rest of the population with the vision of the charred bodies. The funeral should have waited for a more propitious moment.

However, it wasn't hate what he earned; on the contrary, many people came to thank him. The story of how he staunchly defended the tunnel and prevented the fairies from entering spread quickly thanks to the soldiers. Furthermore, the fact that it was Sarpa who engineered that strategy to get the inhabitants to safety was not unknown. While he hadn't been able to save everyone, Sarpa was now regarded as something of a hero, or at least a respectable figure. Sarpa had to tasted a lot of hypocrisy in his mouth every time someone came to thank him, but he didn't falter and gave no sign of objection.

Around noon, help finally arrived. Volgor appeared on the horizon with about a third of his army. The arrival of the soldiers was welcomed very favorably by the population, who could finally feel truly safe again. Volgor, on the contrary, did not share that happiness. As he saw his magnificent city reduced to ashes, a strange mix of fury, worry and despair welled up in his heart. He hurried to the survivors' camp, and many of the soldiers behind him loudly thanked the god Baat as their families were safe. But Volgor did not find what he was looking for. "Where is Goroth?" he exclaimed. "Where is my son?"

Sarpa stepped forward. "Chieftain Volgor" he greeted. "Your son fell in battle"

Volgor looked as if he were about to lose his balance, but he managed to muster the determination to stay on his feet. "How?" he whispered in a strangled voice, clearly summoning all of his self-control to not scream in rage and despair.

Sarpa told him everything: how he had arrived in the city three days earlier, how he and Goroth had devised a strategy to save the inhabitants, how the fairies had suddenly attacked during the night and how they had ambushed Goroth and killed him. As he spoke, the other soldiers of the Bolvek tribe were listening, and that's how they found out why their families had survived such an attack that completely destroyed their city. Many of them also asked the ogres of the 'special unit' and the inhabitants of the city for confirmation, who not only confirmed everything but told how Sarpa had heroically led the resistance. Very quickly, a deep feeling of gratitude made its way into the hearts of the soldiers: it was clear to all of them that they owed the lives of their loved ones to Sarpa.

Volgor listened to Sarpa without saying a word. Only when the ogre finished his story the chieftain's lips parted: "I want to see his body"

Sarpa nodded and led him to the place where he and his companions had hidden the bodies to avoid traumatizing the population. The bodies were piled up on a large leather sheet, but one of them was set aside and hidden under a cloth veil. Sarpa removed it, revealing Goroth's corpse.

The corpse was so burned that it was almost impossible to recognize it. The skin had turned black and hard to the touch, and the eyes had literally melted. The facial features were almost indistinguishable. However, what was very clear was the fact that the corpse had been reassembled: the head must have been cut off cleanly.

Volgor remained motionless for several minutes, so much so that he seemed to have turned into a statue. It almost seemed like he wasn't breathing. Then his body began to shake, and his teeth gritted so tightly that they became visible under his lips. "I'll kill them..." he whispered. "Those fairy bastards... I'll kill them... I'll kill them all..."

Sarpa could only imagine what Volgor was going through. He had lost his son, but he knew he was alive and well and that one day he would have had him back. Volgor, on the contrary, was in front of the body of his offspring. "Chieftain Volgor, do you want us to prepare the burial for..."

Volgor turned and punched him in the face. Sarpa was unable to see him: when he felt the pain he was already on his face. "Shut up!" Volgor roared. "Don't you ever dare talk to me again! I trusted you! You should have saved him!"

Sarpa coughed, but he didn't lower his gaze. "You sent me here just to warn him. I did a lot more and tried to save everyone. I would have saved him too if I could!"

"Shut up! I don't want to listen to you!" Volgor cried. The chieftain seemed about to kick Sarpa, but suddenly two of his soldiers got in the way. "What are you doing!?"

"Chieftain, we can't let you do this!" one of them exclaimed. "It is thanks to Sarpa that the Bolvek tribe still exists. You can't blame him!"

Many of the soldiers nodded; all of them believed that Volgor's reaction was completely inappropriate. The ogres respected strength, and under normal circumstances they wouldn't have resisted the chieftain if he wanted to beat one of their own, but in this case they owed Sarpa their families' lives, and they wouldn't have let Volgor slaughter him.

The chieftain snorted furiously. "I don't care if it's not his fault! I don't care about anything!" he yelled, then he looked up at the sky. "I will kill them! I will kill all the fairies! We leave now, get ready to march!"

The soldiers were glad that Volgor's mind had changed the subject and forgotten about Sarpa, but they were somewhat reluctant to carry out such an order. "But chieftain... the Bolvek tribe..."

"Who cares! Who cares about the tribe! It doesn't make any sense now that I no longer have my son! If I don't have my son, what do I have!?" Volgor exclaimed. "By now I'm already damned! Well, if I have to be, then I'll drag all the fairies with me! So we leave now!"

Volgor strode back to the road back to the army camp. By now he just wanted to gather all his soldiers and attack the fairies with all his might. He stopped thinking: he just wanted revenge. Losing a child was a traumatic experience for a father, of whatever race he was (well... almost whatever, Haku would have opined); furthermore, the ogres believed that a father who lost his child was guilty of the worst of sins and damned forever. By now, Volgor wasn't just a desperate ogre: he was an ogre with nothing left to lose.

The two soldiers who had come to Sarpa's aid helped him to his feet. "Sorry" they told him. "Forgive our chieftain, he's just..."

"He just lost his son. He's shocked, I understand it" Sarpa stopped them immediately. "I don't hold any grudges, you don't have to worry"

The two ogres looked relieved. "We want to thank you for saving our children" they said, bowing their heads slightly.

"I appreciate it, but now it's not the time" Sarpa said. "At the moment Volgor is too upset and doesn't think clearly. Go to your families and tell them to go and seek asylum in a tribe with which you have friendly ties. Leave some soldiers here to defend them during the journey. It's not safe here"

The two ogres looked at him in surprise: not only Sarpa didn't hold any grudge for the unfair treatment he had suffered, but on the contrary he continued to worry about the future of the Bolvek tribe! Their respect for him grew even greater. "We will do it immediately and spread the word now!" they said, almost as if they were responding to an order, and immediately ran to do so.

The plan proposed by Sarpa took little time to spread among all the inhabitants. As soon as Volgor had finished gathering his troops and started the journey to go back and face the fairies, the people of the Bolvek tribe knew exactly where to go. And the admiration that both they and all the soldiers in the army had for Sarpa continued to grow.

Meanwhile, Haku and his siblings had now returned to the cave where they normally stayed. But as soon as they arrived, they noticed that some of the plants outside the cave were disturbed, and some of them appeared to have been scorched. "What happened here?" Haku exclaimed.

Kotaru's head emerged from the cave. "Hey, brother. We need to talk"