The Swords of Sigmar hesitated and looked to Hendrick, all except Borik who grunted in disgust and got up to elbow his way to the bar.

Hendrick stirred himself, and looked around at them all as though surfacing from a reverie. Aelyn virtually felt him crush down his emotions and come to a decision. Suddenly brisk, he pointed at each of his comrades in turn.

‘Romilla Aiden, Sigmarite warrior priest and military veteran. Eleanora VanGhest, brilliant, outcast, and if there’s anything she can’t blow up it’s not worth the black powder. Aelyn Melethryl, Wanderer, waywatcher, if you mean us any harm at any point she will know and you will die with an arrow in your skull. Bartiman Kotrin, death wizard, does very much what it says on the keg. Olt Shev, scout, another veteran from Azyrheim’s glorious armies just like me, and the surly arse at the bar is Borik Jorgensson, who my brother Varlen hired as a bodyguard a couple of years back and who, I’m sure you will have noticed, carries a very large gun. There, you know us. Now, hire us and then we can get some damn sleep.’

Helena seemed taken aback, but Aelyn detected a hint of something else behind her apparent surprise, something like satisfaction.

‘Hire you? Why should I hire you? You don’t know anything more about this madness than me, perhaps less, and I’ve an army of watchmen at my disposal who I trust a damn sight more than any of you.’

‘You need more resources, you said so yourself. We’ve got a varied skillset that your watchmen lack, and if we had their authority we could aid you without coming to blows with your people. We want to leave, and never see Draconium again, and whatever in Sigmar’s name is coming we want to avoid being caught by it as much as you do. Sitting around ignoring the situation won’t achieve any of those ends, but taking a hand in dealing with the impending threat? That might.’

Aelyn heard the words her sergeant didn’t say, that this was still about Varlen, about Hendrick proving his brother hadn’t died in vain, but she said nothing. Now was not the time to undermine him and besides, she agreed with him. They were better off taking action than sitting and drinking themselves into a stupor in this inn for however long it took for the nebulous danger to manifest. She just wished it didn’t feel so much like Hendrick was inadvertently giving Captain Morthan precisely what she had wanted all along.

‘Our fee is naught but bed and board in this inn, on the city’s tab. And Eleanora wants access to an Ironweld workshop.’

Helena blanched slightly. Eleanora looked up with sudden delight.

‘You wouldn’t require payment?’