After that short rest, I told Atols to get ready, as we were about to move out again. The supplies were already prepared, and waiting for us at the gate. Besides supplies, a heap of shields was there too. I instructed the Atols to take one shield each, and to my surprise, there were a few left. I kept them just in case, and said "I know you have no experience with shields, but this will change in the future. When you get accustomed to using them, it will no longer feel weird".
The Atols didn't seem to mind that much. After all, they already witnessed what happened when they lacked shields. I grabbed one of the carts, and told the rest to follow. Ama and the rest jumped atop the carts, while we dragged them forwards. I didn't mind really. They were not strong or as disciplined as warriors. The stops we did, were mostly due to them being tired.
I again chose a different route. The more battles Atols had under their belt, the stronger they would be. We didn't have to travel for long, before being ambushed by a few groups of enemies. This time I helped out, and provided some hints to how the Atols should position themselves. Although Atols didn't use shields before, they were able to instinctively learn a thing or two about their usefulness from that battle.
No one died, and the amount of wounded Atols was kept to a minimum. 'My medicine is running dry, I can't afford to treat them every battle' I thought. That was the biggest reason I did whatever I could, in order to minimise the damages. Our enemies were rather weak, there were no Slethers, Furians or Grondors. Only Vanauts, probably the leftovers from that tunnel. Although they used some poison, it wasn't that difficult to get rid of it. Their poison also required contact, unlike Cloud Haze Poison, which was spread through the air.
I rounded up the six new medicians in our team, and said "Look guys, this weak poison can be cured with the use of Oviral Plants and Ghost Flax. When we mix the properties of both herbs, they can cure weak poison. Fortunately, the Vanauts we encountered were not that strong. If the poison was stronger, then we might have problems. You can wrap up the rest by yourselves". I experimented with those herbs a long time ago. Although I could mix them to gain different results, they were rather weak.
From what I heard, Vanauts had access to more deadly poison. Fortunately, I was there to control the situation, and killed the strongest Vanauts myself. Otherwise, a lot Atols might've died. 'I will need a better antidote. I just hope the herbs from Endrosian Empire, have the ability to grow here as well. With that, I will have a much better variety of antidotes' I thought.
The others wrapped up the treatment, and we were on our way again. This time, no more enemies ambushed us. We managed to clear the wilderness, and arrive at Sedon. The Shades who were guarding the city from outside, were rather surprised to see an army of Atols walking towards them. They stayed on guard just in case, which was a good sign. When we clarified the situation, and more Shades recognised me, they let us in without further delays.
Ama looked around the place, and said "This place is really tattered. I should go to work immediately". I stopped her, and said "Follow me first, I will introduce you to someone. You will need people, especially those who know the place well". She nodded, and followed me. The Atol Warriors followed too, while we made our way towards the area with my fields.
Everyone seemed surprised to see so many Atols arrive. Whether they were Shades or Lizards, all were shocked at the sight. When we finally arrived there, a smile appeared on my face. 'The Lizards didn't sit around at all. The herbs are growing well too' I thought. One of the Lizards saw me, and notified others about it. They lined up to greet me, as if I was their general. "Don't worry about such things. I brought some reinforcements", I said while pointing at the Atols.
The Leader of Lizards replied, "That is great to hear. I can see you brought back supplies as well. With that, our problems are mostly gone". I shook my head, and replied "Not yet. Either way, you guys have experience with shields, right? Can you teach them how to use those shields properly? They didn't have any prior training with shields before". The Leading Lizard straightened up, and replied "Of course! We will teach them to the best of our knowledge".
That was enough for me. I asked, "Any issues while I was gone?". He replied, "We had a small scale battle with Vanauts, but Shades dealt with them without much of our help. Vanauts are not really effective against Shades, that is why they usually didn't attack us. Maybe something bigger is at the horizon". He wasn't wrong about that for sure.
I nodded, and said "Good, in that case, I will leave the Atols in your care. Make them practice the same set of exercises, I passed onto you guys. I will take care of other things. Oh yea, another thing. The supplies we brought, those will be under your care. Make sure each warrior and soldier has enough to go by. When you take inventory, tell me how long will those supplies last for. We might need to get more".
He nodded, and told his people to take the carts off of us. I said to the Atol Warriors, "They are good people, and good warriors too. Learn from them, and make your home proud". The Atols nodded in unison, then helped Lizards move the supplies. I turned to the rest, then said "You guys follow me. No doubt you saw the fields, right? I will show you how to care for the second field, as the other one you should be familiar with".
I was glad to see people working hard in the fields. The fields were very clean, and the herbs sprouted very well. Even the herbs originating in Endrosian Empire managed to grow. 'Although not as well as the others, the fact that I will have access to them, is already great' I thought. Lerry was there too. I called out to him "Lerry!". He turned around, and stood there bewildered. 'Yea, he needs to work on that' I thought, and waved my hand.
He finally snapped out of it, and ran over. "You are back! The herbs grew very well, and you brought Atols with you. What about the Warriors?". I pointed behind me, and replied "Pay a bit more attention Lerry. Either way, the fields look great". I then turned around, and pointed at the six new medicians/farmers. "These guys will take care of the fields from now on. I have a different job for you. Ama and her three friends here, are craftsmen. They will be responsible for repairing Sedon's walls. I need you to show them around, where the materials are, and round up some people to help them out. Can you deal with that?".
Lerry nodded his head, and replied "Of course!". I turned towards Ama, and said "You will need a place to work, how about…". Before I finished, she stopped me and said "Who do you think I am? I can build our own house here. It will be used for all the projects necessary". She then laughed while adding "You don't have to baby me, I can manage". I smiled, and said "In that case, use any free space you deem necessary in this area. I will leave you to it". Ama grabbed Lerry, and they headed to explore the city properly.
I turned towards the remaining six Atols. "Don't get me wrong guys. Although you will take care of the fields, I will teach you how to treat injuries and make basic medicine. As you can see, the water delivery system has been implemented here as well. All you have to worry about is growing the herbs well, and harvest them. When we have enough herbs, I will show you how to make medicine. Is that alright?".
They replied "Yes!", then we moved to the Endrosian Empire's herbs, where I explained to them, how to care of those particular herbs. I also told them about the properties of each herb, and how to harvest them. They were not stupid people, and quickly picked up on the basics. They went to work, while I left to take care of other things.