Back at the village, the initial, but impressively well ordered, excitement had died down. Still, no one could sleep, or were in the mood to for that matter. Instead, the peasantry of the village as a whole now milled about with no general purpose or direction where they'd been left behind. The set of Imperial guards who been left to block passage on the causeway ultimately found the task dull; the Mor'osi were a an obedient, almost frighteningly so, people for the most part.
Manzhī had finally begun to recover from the initial loss of his bean harvest, and now just sat eyeing the imperial guards for lack of anything better to do.
"Darlin'?" It was Halmu, no longer carrying Shauas. The young child had been put into bed.
Manzhī allowed himself a slight smile. "Halmu," he said to correspond her greeting. She sat down beside him. The conversation died there. What was there to say? The most important matter of the evening was plainly obvious to anyone who wasn't blind and deaf.
"Well, lookie there!" The exclamation came from Vethash. He pointed down the causeway. past the guards. All around immediately took interest as one.
"They've done come and returned, and with more!" More murmuring, the indication of collective thought. Indeed, Vethash's claims were confirmed as the unmistakable form of a hurried Parzan and a priest, delightedly babbling away to no in particular, were approaching.
