For the shepherdess, or anyone else who sought out their sires, the abundant amount of turmoil made it a difficult and terribly trying task to perform, particularly when the village had been lit on fire and there were the carcasses of the enemy and of neighbors round and about the streets. There were people still trying to put out some small fires that burned near their homes. Others sought to shelter their wounded within their homes. Some people no longer had homes to go to, while some homes no longer had families to occupy them.
Akorsa located her mother and father near the village barn, a gigantic structure that was used to store the harvest. They appeared to be standing there surveying the extreme damage to the building. Not only had it been burned, but the Maseriff had taken axe and scimitar to it as well.
�Father? There you are! Mother? I have been seeking you out for a good while now!� she said. Both mother and father turned about with exuberance to see their daughter alive.
�I feared something might have happened to you, my girl,� said the father as he embraced his daughter. �You look dreadful, child. Though, I am quite certain we shall hear of your heroics soon enough.�
�Have you seen your baby brother?� inquired the mother with a great worry.
�Aye, mother, I found Keihl hiding in our room. He is waiting there for me now. But tell me, how badly damaged is the barn? How much have we lost?� asked Akorsa. Her mother looked at the barn and shook her head sadly.
�Now is not the time; we shall discuss this later. Allow us some time to find your elder brother and we shall call a meeting of the villagers, after the others gather the wounded and the dead are laid to rest. There will be much to talk about this night,� responded her father. �Did you bring the flock in, Akorsa?�
�No, I did not; there was no time to do so. When I saw the smoke, I feared the absolute worst, and ran here with as much haste as I could muster, father. I shall go back and get them now,� she said, starting to turn away.
�Child, do not go. Leave the flock where they are. The Maseriff could be out there waiting for you!� pleaded her mother with a fearful tone in her voice.
�I know we have lost much of this year�s crops, mother. We cannot risk the flock too. I shall take my chances with the Maseriff over what will happen to us this winter without food. Hurry to Keihl, he will be in a fit of worry and fright by now. I will return home to you, I promise,� she said, leaving the village, heading west towards the setting sun.
- - - -
It was to Akorsa�s great fortune that the flock had stayed precisely where she had left them, and that the Maseriff had not decided to take advantage of the situation and attempt making them into supper. It was getting dark, and the moon and stars were beginning to make their first appearances in the night sky. Most of the flock had decided that they had already had more than enough with grazing and thus had settled for napping in the soft, lush grass. Not wanting to wait any longer for fear of the creatures that thrive in utter darkness, she whistled loudly and the flock started moving.
Though slow and skittish, her flock was, in a sense, very well behaved. They did in fact trust their caretaker deeply, in a way that only animals are capable, thus they moved calmly and without worry. They were led back to their large pen at the village without incident and without need to stop. Once all one hundred and fifty-seven of them were safely put away, Akorsa headed for the center of the village where the people were gathering to talk about the dreadful events of that very day.
