‘We were expecting a night of rest,’ Sulmar said, frowning. ‘Everyone’s dead on their feet—’

‘An hour,’ Coltaine growled. ‘The wagons with the wounded first. I want at least four hundred across by dawn.’

Nethpara spoke, ‘Please, Fist, reconsider this order of crossing. While my heart breaks for those wounded soldiers, your responsibility is to protect the refugees. More, it will be viewed by many in the Council as a grievous insult that the livestock should cross before unarmed civilians of the Empire.’

‘And if we lose the cattle?’ Lull asked the nobleman. ‘I suppose you could spit the orphaned children over a fire.’

Nethpara smiled resignedly. ‘Ah, yes, the matter of the reduced rations numbers in our list of concerns. We have it on good account that such reductions have not been applied to the soldiers of the Seventh. Perhaps a more balanced method of distribution could be considered? It is so very difficult to see the children wither away.’

‘Less meat on their bones, eh?’ Lull’s face was flushed with barely restrained rage. ‘Without well-fed soldiers between you and the Tithansi, your stomachs will be flopping around your knees in no time.’

‘Get them out of here,’ Coltaine said.

The other nobleman cleared his throat. ‘While Nethpara speaks for the majority of the Council, his views are not unanimously held.’ Ignoring the dark glare his companion threw him, the old man continued. ‘I am here out of curiosity, nothing more. For example, these wagons filled with wounded – it seems there are many more wounded than I had imagined: the wagons are veritably crowded, yet there are close to three hundred and fifty of them. Two days ago we were carrying seven hundred soldiers, using perhaps a hundred and seventy-five wagons. Two small skirmishes have occurred since then, yet we now have twice as many wagons being used to transport the wounded. More, the sappers have been crawling all over them, keeping everyone away even to the point of discouraging the efforts of the cutters. What, precisely, is being planned here?’

There was silence. Duiker saw the two captains of the Seventh exchange puzzled looks. Sulmar’s baffled expression was almost comical as his mind stumbled back over the details presented by the old man. Only the Wickans seemed unaffected.

‘We have spread the wounded out,’ Bult said. ‘Strengthened the side walls—’

‘Ah, yes,’ the nobleman said, pausing to dab his watering eyes with a grey handkerchief. ‘So I first concluded. Yet why do those wagons now ride so heavy in the mud?’

‘Is this really necessary, Tumlit?’ Nethpara asked in exasperation. ‘Technical nuances may be your fascination, but Hood knows, no-one else’s. We were discussing the Council’s position on certain vital issues. No permission shall be accorded such digressions—’

‘Uncle,’ Coltaine said.

Grinning, Bult grasped both noblemen by their arms and guided them firmly to the door. ‘We’ve a crossing to plan,’ he said. ‘Digressions unwelcome.’