“How is Sergeant Stammel?” Burek asked. “Did he—can he see?”

Arcolin shook his head. “No, he’s still blind. And there is another long tale. I have several. Have you heard of the war in the north?”

“War!”

“Over now. Pargun attacked Lyonya in the winter, following some dispute between their king and his brother. It’s a long story, but Achrya helped the traitors find and hatch dragon eggs—”

“Dragon eggs! But—but that’s just a legend,” Selfer said. “Dragons haven’t been seen since—well—Camwyn Dragonmaster drove them all into exile.”

Arcolin almost laughed. “That’s what we thought. But I’ve now seen a dragon myself, talked to one. Dragonspawn burned out an entire town in Lyonya before they were stopped, and the dragon—” He shook his head. “You will not believe this, but Burek, you remember Stammel as the Blind Archer.”

“Yes…” Burek let his voice trail away.

“Stammel could see the dragon as a shape of fire. And he could see dragonspawn.” Arcolin told the rest as briefly as he could. “He asked me to release him from his oath of fealty,” he said finally.

“You couldn’t talk him out of it?” Burek asked. “Surely he’ll grieve—”

“He was already grieving,” Arcolin said. “He sent his uniform and a letter, written by a scribe to his dictation. The letter made some sense of his decision, and the dragon’s report made more. I could not do other than release him. He deserved that.”

“Well,” Selfer said, “I lost Vossik to Dorrin.”

“And he died,” Arcolin said, “saving Dorrin’s squire, the Mahieran boy.”

“Vossik dead!”

“Yes. And that’s another long story for an afternoon on the march. For now—what’s this about your arrangement with Arvid Semminson … or Burin? I’ve heard a lot about that fellow.”

Selfer and Burek told of their meeting with Arvid and why they’d commissioned him to make some purchases on the Company’s behalf. “It’s not so bad now,” Selfer said. “What with the longer days and milder weather, the Thieves’ Guild master having been killed, and the city watch waking up, there’ve been fewer attacks.”

“I’m not sure I like having a Thieves’ Guild enforcer practically on our payroll,” Arcolin said. “At the least I’ll need to meet him.”

They had eaten supper sent in from the mess hall when finally Burek said, “Excuse me, sir, but it’s time for my watch.”

“Of course,” Arcolin said. “And I’m for bed. I can hear the rest of your winter in the morning, Selfer.”