“This wasn’t always part of Valdemar,” Jicks reminded her. “Outside of the villages, people are wary of strangers. Some of these homesteads have been here for centuries. Some of these clans have a tradition of cattle and sheep theft from each other going back that far. Plus, there’s bandits, the closer you get to the Border. The kind of bastards people hire the Harriers to get rid of, over on the other side where your Guard won’t go. So you don’t make your buildings obvious, you make them blend into the countryside or even hide them if you can, and hope they aren’t spotted.” Jicks poked at the fire with a stick. “And speaking of the Border, we’ll be there in a day, two at the most.”

“And then our real work can begin!” Master Vance said, rubbing his hands.

“And then we’ll be staying in villages until our work is done in each one,” added Byrne, forlornly. “I’d like a proper bath more than once a fortnight.”

The three mercenaries exchanged amused looks, but they kept any comments to themselves. There was a pause in conversation, though, and the fire crackled and threw sparks up into the night.

“First stop is just about a day past the Border station,” Jicks said. “Especially at the rate we’ve been traveling. Not sure if they’ll have anything you can do for them, but that’s the first sizable village, and we need provisions, so we’ll be stopping overnight at the very least.” She poked the fire again, thoughtfully, releasing the scent of resinous wood they’d gathered from beneath the trees. It was trees that they looked for now for their nightly stops, rather than water sources. There were plenty of the latter. These hills were alive with tiny springs, little threads of creeks, rills, and brooks, which did, indeed, to Abi’s delight, ‘babble’ as books said they did. “I’m going to assume that since we brought up an entire group, they are all still speaking to one another and not feuding, and I can ask whoever is in charge if he knows what most needs mending thereabouts.”

“Or replacing altogether,” Padrick reminded her. “If they have the labor, we have the ability to help them completely replace anything that’s tumbled down.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”