His men had endured a hard march and a brutal battle, and they needed rest, more rest than he could spare for them. There was also a tremendous quantity of loot. The Justiciar remnants had abandoned their baggage train, and both the Justiciar knights and the armsmen had carried the finest armor and weapons. The lords and the headmen had gathered the spoils, distributing them to the men who had displayed valor in the fighting.At dawn on the second morning, Mazael intended to march for Knightreach.“It was a great victory,” said Romaria. “Few men could have led an outnumbered army to triumph against a foe like the runedead.”Mazael smiled. “It was a great gamble. But if we sat back and let Caldarus besiege us, then we would have lost anyway. If Caldarus had been a little smarter, if he had arrayed his scouts more intelligently, we would have lost…but if we had done nothing, we would have perished anyway.” Bonfires blazed here and there as men set up camp…but the crackle of the flames could not drown out the cries of the wounded.
