A couple of months passed by rather quickly. Chamberlain was bigger in the stomach now. It could easily be noticed from under his tunic garb.
The movements had gotten stronger and it was getting harder to find a comfortable position to sleep in. The best Sil could try was on his sides.
Chores for him during the day had been cut down on. He had cramps in his back and legs, plus his legs would swell if he stood up too long. He also had to start taking afternoon naps because he got tired so easily. Wyneth had told him all this could happen.
The Gelflings were doing the majority of duties around the lair. Only if Sil's help was truly needed would they ask of him.
Milena was still around, but she felt she was ready to move on. She was tired of being paranoid about Sil watching her constantly, and she had never let him touch Kayra, though he had asked if he could hold her. She simply would never trust him.
She packed some supplies and moved on with Kayra while Sil and Byron had been out doing field chores.
Byron and her had tried to get along as good as possible, but there had never been a connection. If she was going to treat his friend that way, then he didn't want a thing to do with her.
When Byron and Chamberlain returned to the cave, they saw no sign of Milena or her baby.
"She moved on while you two were out there." Wyneth said.
"Good riddens." Byron said. "She had to be the most annoying female I ever met."
"I agree too." Sil said.
"What are we going to do about ones who are just passing through though?" Byron asked Wyneth. "They all might be more like her about Chamberlain."
"That's their problem. We may just let them stay long enough to have a meal or so, but we might have to send them on their way as quick as possible." She replied.
"I just hope none come by too often." Chamberlain said.
"Same here." Byron agreed. "But what about the Garthim attacks? Would they stay away from here, since we don't live with the village anymore?"
"Garthim attack anything that gets in way. But they obey any Skeksis. Even me. I can keep them away." Sil said.
"Let's hope so. In your condition, you can't afford a serious fight." Wyneth said. "And we don't know how much longer you could carry your child. Big stress could cause a premature delivery."
Chamberlain didn't want that. It could kill it.
They could only hope that the Garthim stayed away from here, but then, Sil knew that it was the Crystal Bats that gave away secrets of the outside world. He hadn't thought of them for a long time.
…..
One night, Wyneth had a bad dream and it made her wake up screaming, which also woke up Sil and Byron too.
"What's wrong, Wyneth?" Byron asked.
"I had a horrible dream, about some attacks going on." She said. "I think it's been long enough. It's time we went back to check on our people, Byron."
"What about me?" Sil asked.
"We already know how they would see you. It would be best if you stayed here. But we don't know when you could go into labor, so I will stay here with you while Byron goes and checks on their status. You don't have to interact with them, but just go see if the village is alright." Wyneth instructed.
"Alright." Byron reluctantly agreed.
After getting some more sleep and some breakfast, Byron got on his favorite Mounder and left their home to see if their old clan was alright. Sil hated to see him go, but knew it was a bad idea to go. If he ran into trouble, he knew Byron had the Mounders to protect him.
Later in the day, Wyneth went out to the fields to gather up some vegetables and herbs. Chamberlain stayed at the cave, trying his breathing exercises on his own.
While Wyneth was out in the field, all of a sudden, a clicking noise could be heard and then a big, black claw came out of nowhere and grabbed her. She screamed in surprise and fear. She dropped her basket and began to try to escape, but they kept their grip on her.
Sil heard the scream. He stopped what he was doing and knew it had been Wyneth. He got up and left the cave. He knew she was out at the field getting food and herbs. He went to go check out what was going on, his knife at the ready.
When he got there, he saw about 5 Garthim trying to subdue Wyneth. She was trying to get away, but it wasn't working so well. He knew he had to do something.
He got into the fray. "Let her go, Garthim!" He yelled out.
It took some moments for the Garthim to process the order, and Sil also raised his hand in defiant order, saying they weren't allowed to continue the assault.
Wyneth was relieved, but she was also seriously wounded.
The Garthim backed off and moved on. At least no other Skeksis had been with them. It would be harder for Sil to fend off another Skeksis more so.
When he was certain they were moving away, Chamberlain turned to Wyneth on the ground. He saw she was bleeding badly from injuries on her arms and legs.
"Come, Wyneth. Get you back to the cave." Sil said and helped her up.
With one leg bleeding so badly, it was hard for her to walk, but Sil kept her up.
When they got back to the cave, Sil put her on her resting spot and knew to go for the medical supplies. Wyneth would have to guide him in how to do this, but she wasn't feeling too well.
When he got the bandages, he had no choice but to tear the clothes off from where the wounds were. He tried just to apply the bandages. Blood soaked them immediately.
"Hopefully didn't hit… an artery." Wyneth murmured. "Apply more pressure."
Sil applied as much pressure as he could on that thigh. Soon, it did seem to stop. Then he attended to the other wounds on her arms. They weren't as bad as the leg wound.
Wyneth wasn't going to be allowed to do anything for a few days. She realized now that after she had saved Chamberlain's life so long ago that he had now repaid her for what she did with saving her life.
When he was sure she was stable, he went back out to the field to get the basket and supplies. He found it and saw it was full, though some of it had been scattered because of the attack. Sil knew that if he had not been around, Wyneth would have died for sure.
When he got back to the cave, she was unconscious. He hoped she wasn't dead.
"Wyneth…" He said nervously. "I got your food."
He checked to see if she was alive. He finally did see she was breathing. She was just weak and feverish right now. He wished Byron was back, but then, was his friend alright?
….
Byron had arrived back at the village and what he saw was carnage everywhere. Houses, the palace, the market, it had all been destroyed. There were bodies in some places, and obviously, most had been taken away.
In this case, it was good that he and Wyneth hadn't been here. He got off his Mounder and checked every home and the palace for any survivors, but any Gelfling that he saw were all dead ones. Even children had been killed. Even little Bodo that he found.
Byron had had no family. They had all died when he was young. After that, he had been a straight outcast ever since. He felt afraid of what could do this to his clan, but at the same time, he was satisfied that they had gotten a punishment for what they did to his friend.
But the slaughter of all Gelfling kind wasn't right.
Byron did right to cremate the bodies that he found and then would go back to the cave. There was nothing for him or Wyneth there anymore. And Wyneth was the only Gelfling he had left from his clan. She was almost like a mother to him.
After dealing with the death of his people, he got back on his Mounder and headed back to his new home.
Beta read by SkekLa.