This entry into Jaggar's story marks the end of Volume 1. I will be taking a while off from Jaggar's story to play other games, and tell other stories. We will come back to Jaggar, and begin Volume 2 at some point in the relatively near future. Thank you all who have followed along with this endeavor. Those of you who have followed, retweeted or otherwise shared my fiction on Twitter or anywhere else, you have my undying gratitude. Now, let's get into the finale.
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Jaggar, Sendra and the rescued villagers spent a week in the Grove. The villagers of the Grove were more welcoming and friendly than Jaggar expected, considering the reception he received on his initial journey through the pinewood. He spent quite a bit of time discussing the forest and the village’s history with Joa and promised to return after the business with Stonetower was settled. The Grove’s blacksmith, an elderly man named Eberhard, had recently been forced to retire after decades of service to the community. The village’s tools and weapons were in severe need of repair. Jaggar offered to repay their kindness towards him and his people with his skills as a blacksmith, much to the joy of the villagers of the Grove.
On the evening of the sixth day in the Grove village, Amhlaidhe announced that Sendra’s knee would likely support her for the final leg of the journey home. Mattick, she said, would need the aid of a crutch but would be able to hobble along with the others with frequent rests. She produced a gnarled branch, carved into a serviceable crutch, and handed it to Mattick. The villagers, including Sendra, thanked the elderly healer for her services and swore friendship to her on a small iron statue of a stag.
The next morning, just after first light, Jaggar and Joa led the group down the nearly hidden path south out of the village. By mid-morning, they left the forest behind and traveled along a well worn shepherd’s path through the rocky fields. By noon, they reached the old, ruined beacon tower and stopped for the midday meal.
Joa said their goodbyes to the group and turned back toward the Grove, a shadow on the horizon from their current location. Jaggar shook hands with the gracious forester and reiterated his promise to return to aid the village in the grove once Stonetower’s threat had passed.
Sendra and Mattick both looked tired and miserable, so Jaggar let them rest for another half hour before helping both his mentor and Mattick to their unsteady feet. They set off again before the sun had moved from its zenith.
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The meal drained more of their supplies than Jaggar had expected, but it made little difference as he knew they would reach Olgar’s Stand before the next meal. If there was a home left. But Jaggar refused to think that way.
They reached the last mile as the sun was beginning to touch the treetops on its descent. Rising from behind a low hill that obscured their view of the village were columns of dark smoke. Jaggar’s heart sank at the sight. Sendra gripped his bicep. She squeezed it comfortingly.
“We don’t know what this means, my boy. Let’s press on.”
Jaggar nodded to his mentor and set off up the hill in front of them.
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The village burned, but only a few buildings were fully involved. Most houses had burn marks and or holes in the roofs where fire had caught but had been put out. The longhouse was intact, with barely any damage that Jaggar could see.
Corpses littered the street, but he was relieved to see that most of them bore the colors of Stonetower. Dozens of enemy warriors were sitting in a line against the sheep fold fence. They were unshackled, and many looked confused. Several men and women stood guard over the three dozen men and women of Stonetower, but they did not have weapons drawn and most were ferrying food and water to the morose folks from the inn.
Jaggar led the way to the longhouse. Inside he found Serene sitting on her chieftain's chair, her arm in a sling and a bandage on her forehead. Dried blood stained the white bandage. He was relieved she yet lived, even if she was a bit worse for wear.
Serene jolted to her feet when she spotted him walking across the great hall towards her, followed by a limping Sendra. Vereena and Padma supported Mattick on his crutches..
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"Welcome home Jaggar," Serene called, stepping down from the dais and embracing Jaggar. She held him tightly, and did not release him when he slackened his own grip.
"How do you fare?" he whispered.
"A bit banged up, but well. Sendra looks worse for wear though."
Jaggar chuckled and Serene finally released him. She stepped past him and greeted her people, sharing a hug with each one, save Sendra, to whom she bowed to and shook hands with.
Stepping back onto the dais, she turned to address the gathered villagers and administrators.
"Friends, people of Olgar's Stand, we have struggled valiantly against those who would usurp our freedom, and our hard-earned resources. And we have been victorious! Our own Jaggar has returned with those of our people who languished in captivity to Stonetower. It is a day of celebration, a day of mirth! Let us celebrate all who gave their life in defense of our beloved home. Let us celebrate the life that we continue to have because of their sacrifice."
Cheers echoed through the longhouse as Serene's speech came to an end. She dismissed them, asking her advisors to act on the plan already made to throw a feast in celebration. After a while, only Jaggar, Serene and Sendra remained in the longhouse.
"Sendra, for your service both now and in the past, I would like to appoint you as my seneschal. You will speak with my voice, and make decisions while I am absent. Do you accept?"
"I am too old, chieftain. Though you honor me greatly."
"This is precisely why I want you to take this role. You have knowledge, experience, and wisdom that no one else does."
"May I have the night to think on it?"
"Of course. Now, go rest. You look about to fall over."
"That's because a light breeze could topple me right now."
Serene laughed and Sendra chuckled, then gave the younger man and woman a pointed look and shuffled out of the longhouse.
"Why do you need a seneschal?" Jaggar asked when they were alone. "Are you planning to go somewhere?"
Serene looked up at him, and now Jaggar could see the pure exhaustion on her face. Whatever had happened when Stonetower attacked had taken its toll on her.
"The battle went in our favor, as you might have noticed, but the Magister slipped our grasp. If what Tayyah told you is true, we need to find him and stop him before he can subjugate another village like he did Stonetower."
"Subjugate?"
"Yes, Jaggar, he had these people cowed either with threats or magic. When he fled most of the warriors surrendered in confusion. When we questioned them, many said they remembered nothing since before the winter."
"Nothing? How can that be?"
"I do not know, but I believe them."
"What will we do with the prisoners?"
"They will be taken home, and a new leader elected to replace the one the Magister killed. And we will help them heal and rebuild. We would have traded with them, or even given them supplies if they had but come to us."
"Sendra and I discovered that the soil had been sanded, but there's no sand for miles and the beaches that far up the Ragged Coast are stony. Do you think the Magister cursed the ground?"
"If he did, he is patient. It took years for Stonetower's crops to completely fail."
"So what do you propose we do?"
"Tonight, and for the next few days, nothing. We will celebrate tomorrow, and send the Stonetower villagers home the next day."
"If we don't go now, we will lose the Magister's trail," Jaggar said, wanting as much as Serene to stop the wizard's machinations.
"I've sent our best trackers out already. If there's a track to be found, they will find it. And if they do, we will be ready."
"So that's why you want Sendra to be your second. You plan to go after the Magister yourself."
"Not alone, no. This whole thing started with you and I, Jaggar. Should we not finish it together?" Serene took his hand and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Come, Jaggar, there's much to be done.
He allowed her to lead him from the longhouse and into the twilight. He would go with her wherever she wanted him to. He knew it, and he could see from the glint in her tired eyes, so did Serene.
As they stood, hand in hand, in the center of the village, Jaggar was filled with love for his people, and for his chieftain. He squeezed her hand and smiled down at her. Yes, he thought, whatever she wants.
Thank you all, once again, for following along with this actual play story. Stay tuned for a new mini-series coming next Tuesday!
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