The next day wasn't exactly fun. I had no right to complain though. After that encounter I counted myself lucky to still be alive. It got entirely too close not once but twice. If my desperate, reckless idea hadn't worked and if my comrades hadn't arrived in time I'd not only be dead but on the damned headhunters' menu as well. That was not a comforting thought. No, not at all. The disapproving looks Kaele shot me time and again as she took care of the wounds I suffered wouldn't let me forget about it either. Not anytime soon anyway.

I wasn't the only one suffering either. Tortho had rejoined the army with a number of his scouts, as quite a few of them had suffered injuries as well. He himself was mostly fine but the same was not true for the others. I had seen the gruesome evidence that the headhunters must have gotten some of the scouts and rangers screening us first hand but obviously that hadn't been all that had gone down last night. I winced as Kaele put some kind of ointment provided by our Troll shamans to the bite marks on my neck.

Usually she would have apologized but not today. She bopped me atop the head instead. “That is what you get for your foolhardiness, going out on your own like that. And that bite looks really nasty.” She sounded like she wanted to cry and somehow that was worse than everything else, including the pain and the exhaustion.

I sighed again and nodded. Talking back now would not make anything better. Thus I addressed my captain of the scouts instead. “How bad?” That wouldn't be a pleasant conversation either but it was one we needed to have.

He grimaced as he answered. “We lost two groups completely. I suspect they were hit by the main force of the headhunters.” His face darkened even further. “There was barely anything left of them.”

Silence fell between us. We all knew what that meant. I had seen first hand what had become of some of those victims. After a moment he continued. “Other groups encountered headhunters as well but in much lower numbers. They fared well enough. We only lost a handful among those but we have several wounded that need some time to recover. I need to reorganize our patrols as well to compensate for the losses.”

Again silence fell. This time I was the one to break it though. “We will stay here for a day or two until the next supply caravan reaches us. We can't dawdle. Anyone not fit to march with the main column at the very least should probably return home with the supply caravan afterwards.” I'd probably need the time to rest as well. I suspected that the Regeneration spell Kaele intended to cast on me, once she was done with the ointments and bandages, would pretty much knock me back out for a few hours at the very least.

“Well, at the very least we can claim that we dealt a rather devastating blow to these damned cannibals.” I looked up as Tortho took over the conversation again. “We wiped out the individual groups we encountered and Arngard led the infantry to surround the forest where you stood your ground against the pale king. You already got most of his retinue anyway. None of the rest got away either.” He still looked grim but at the same time a little pleased as well and I shared that sentiment.

Before we could go on my sister returned with more ointment. This one wasn't for the bite though. No, this one was a simple burn ointment. Kaele shook her head as she applied it in liberal amounts to my neck and shoulders where the headhunters clinging to me had partially succeeded in undoing my armor. She spread some of it all the way up into my hair and around to my face as well. “I probably won't like the answer, but how exactly did you manage to get sunburn in the middle of a moonless night.” Considering how her voice shook she probably really was afraid of the answer.

Absentmindedly I scratched a little at one of my ears only for her to slap my fingers away again so she could rub some of the burn ointment into my ears as well. I was a little unsure how to break the news to her. “Well … you remember the bright flash of light that drew everyone to my position?” I looked over my shoulder, up at her and she nodded. Of course she remembered. It had been rather hard to miss after all.

I cleared my sore throat and continued. “Well … these scum already had me pinned down at that point and I needed to do something to make sure I wouldn't end up as their next meal.” I stopped to lick my lips and frowned. I was making up excuses there. That was not good. I better get to the point. “Well … you know how a bright light can blind you if your eyes have gotten used to the dark? That was the best thing I could think of just then. Thus I channeled as much Mana as I possibly could and then some into a Light spell. And then I added a loud shout empowered by Lion's Roar to disorient them even further. That got me back into the fight.”

For a moment there was utter silence. It wasn't just Kaele either. Just about everyone within hearing distance was looking at me like I had grown a second head. Kaele just groaned, stopping herself from face palming at the last moment as her hands were still full of ointment. It was Tero who found his voice first. “You gave yourself sunburn with a Light spell? The kind that produces cold light? Just how much Mana did you channel into it?”

Tortho in turn broke into a giggling fit, almost falling of the folding chair he had been sitting on. He only stopped, when Tero boxed him in the arm. Well, he made a honest attempt to stop giggling anyway.

Tortho handed me a cup of tea for my sore throat. He didn't move away afterwards though. Instead he planted his hands in his hips looking down at me with a frown. “And you probably put just as much into the Shout, didn't you?”

I shrunk away from him a little as I nodded.

Finally he threw his hands up in the air. “Well, that would at least explain your sore throat. Most of the amplification happens once the sound leaves your mouth but still … ” He shook his head. “You have a raging headache, don't you?”

I nodded again and winced. “What gave me away?”

He stared down at me as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. “What gave you away? Nothing did! I only guessed. And that is not the way you should be acting when seeing a healer. If you hurt, you let the healer know. Acting tough will only make things worse!”

I grimaced but he wasn't done yet. “Anyway, you have to be more careful when channeling Mana like that. Your capacity to channel it can be trained and increased, up to a certain degree but if you overdo it you'll eventually end up burning yourself out.” All strength left his voice at that point. “But I'm pretty certain you have been told before already. Just stay still. I'll brew up something that will help with the headache while Kaele puts on your bandages.”

I sighed and waited until he was gone again before returning my attention towards Tortho who was still fighting down fits of giggles. “Anyway, have someone look through the remains of the headhunters. Even if little else remained of the scouts they got there will be trophies. Gather everything you can and build them some pyres. It is the least we can do.”

That was all it took to banish the giggle fits still wracking him. From one moment to the other he was all business again. “I'll have someone see to it. What about the headhunters' remains? What about that damned pale king and his cursed crown?”

I spent a moment thinking about the questions he had posed while Kaele wrapped my neck, shoulders and upper back in cool bandages. “Have the remains of those monsters gathered in a nice pile. Put the pale king's remains on a stake at the center. And have everyone gather enough wood to burn those as well but first you'll spread word that that damned pale king is dead. Give the locales a chance to behold the defeated monster of their folktales. Give them a chance to spread the word as well. Let slip that we will burn the glade of the Headhunters' pact next.” Well, that was not exactly true but it was true enough. After last night there was no way I would pass that place by. We didn't have to let the enemy know that we would deal with Gothol'uin first though.

I would have kept going but at that point Kaele bopped me atop the head again. “Enough talking. You still need to rest up. The others can take care of the rest.” She handed me another cup of medicine that Tero had passed along to her. “Drink up and lie down.”

I did exactly that and the moment I was lying down on my cot again, wrapped in my blanket and another on top she hit me with her Regeneration spell. I could feel a wave of heat wash over me as my body did its best to heal more quickly and the world turned fuzzy. I started to sweat but at least the headache was quickly fading. After that it was only moments before sleep claimed me again.