In the middle of the open area was a woman laying on the ground sobbing, and a young girl, maybe thirteen years old, was sitting next her crying.
They were both covered in old ragged blankets. One of the soldiers, Digger, was standing over them. He looked at me.
"These are the only living ones. The captain wants you to look at them. Anyone else living will be brought here too, and I am to help you."
Oh, no. What a dreadful thing to happen. I asked Digger to make me a small fire and sat down next to the girl. I laid my hand on her mother's shoulder, and looked at the girl.
She was quite pretty, but tears were running down her face, and she wasn't looking at me. "I am a healer" I told her. She lifted her eyes to mine, and looked straight through me.
She went to speak, but words would not come. "Are you hurt?" I asked her. She shook her head, but moved the blanket to show me some surface marks and cuts on her side and her arms.
I knew that I would need to tend to her but she could wait for now.
I lifted the blanket covering her mother, and gasped in shock. They had not just raped this women, they had beaten her too.
She was already bruised across much of body, and she probably had some broken ribs. She must have fought them viciously.
I had treated a rape victim once before, but nothing like this. She was lying in a pool of blood and still bleeding from several cuts.
I took a deep breath and gathered my wits. Though I was no stranger to death and injury, the depth of evil and size of the problems I faced here made me afraid.
But even if I was out of my depth, I was all that these two poor victims had, and I would have to put my problems aside for them.
"Right." I straightened my backbone, and tried to be as decisive as I could be. I turned to the daughter. "What is your name?"
"Lani" she replied.
"Lani, your mum's going to be OK, but we have to do things for her. Can you help me?"
She nodded. "OK, can you help Digger here find a clean bucket of water and a cloth?" She looked relieved to have something to do.
While I was waiting I checked the woman. Other than several sharp but shallow cuts, and the bruises, she actually seemed to be in a more reasonable condition than I expected.
Lani ran back with a bucket. I washed the woman. She had lain on the ground sobbing to this point, but when I open the first wound to check it and clean it she fainted.
I bound her wounds with some of the bandages the old healer had given me. They looked clean, and would probably heal OK.
I wiped the sweat from my brow and took stock. Things were not as bad as they had seemed.
Both Lani and her mother were going to survive. I used Digger's fire to prepare a poultice for them that would help to prevent infection in their cuts.
While I was waiting for it, I spoke to the mother. Her name was Edina. They had no warning, the enemy had run in on foot and started killing everyone in the small settlement.
Two men were holding her down and using her when Digger had run up and killed them both.
She pointed out the body of a small child, her son Peter, and a body of an enemy lying on the ground, with an arrow protruding from his face, not far from us. She told me that he was the one that had beaten her.
I think that it was at this time that I started to understand that this wasn't even war. This was something worse, just killing and raping poor innocent working people who were struggling to make a living.
What possible response could there be to this outrage? This was far different to how I had been treated.
Tom had been hung as a criminal, but this, how could you respond? At this moment the captain walked into the area with several other soldiers dragging a prisoner. His blond hair and pale skin marked him as an enemy.
The captain asked me to prepare a special brew that the old healer had shown me how to make. He would force it into the prisoners mouth while he was unconscious so that he would be disorientated when he became conscious and would talk.
When the prisoner became conscious, the captain spoke softly to the prisoner in a language I did not know. The prisoner groaned and answered in the same language.
They spoke for a few minutes. Then the captain stood up and looked around at his watching men. "This scum here confirms that we have killed all of them.
Scar, tie him up and leave him on the ground down there. Gather all the enemy bodies with him, and the villagers up here."
The soldiers spent the next couple of hours gathering bodies and digging a pit for the enemies and graves.
I helped with the graves — digging graves was something I knew how to do. We buried the dead from the village, many of them young children.
The soldiers didn't say much, but their grey faces showed a grim pall. The captain pointed to the prisoner, who was fully awake now, and explained that the prisoner had proudly claimed responsibility for killing the children and raping the woman.
They gagged the prisoner, placed him on top of the bodies of the other thugs in the pit, and burnt them.
The captain gathered all the soldiers together. "I know that many of you have doubted this mission.
The prisoner told me that they came over the mountains to rape and kill until they are dead. These thugs will keep coming, this will keep happening. Do not doubt anymore.
We must hold the mountain passes through winter. And we will hold them. We will do this, not for ourselves, but for the people and the land."
We stood as one, inspired, and echoed, "For the People and the Land", our age old war cry.
The captain wanted to take Edina and Lani to a nearby city, but they completely refused to leave the village. By the time we left, the sun was setting.
The captain announced that we would be staying at the garrison in the nearby city tonight.
As we rode to the city, the captain spoke to me. "So, you heard the woman in your mind?." I nodded. "Is this the first time that's happened?."
"It's never happened before", I said.
"OK. We will talk about it later."
"But how did you know to believe me?" I burst out.
"Well, don't tell anyone, though the squad knows. I can see through my falcons eyes when I want to."
I shivered. I had already thought his eyes were piercing.
That was incredible. Well, there was no way that I would ever try running from this amazing man.
I repeated to myself, this man owned me, I had to do anything he asked without second thoughts. And I knew that I'd do anything for him and for the mission after today.
"Even lick his boots" I said to myself, though I figured I'd be using my tongue somewhere else.
And, looking at his piercing eyes, I shivered again. For once, it'd be a real pleasure.