Spindle, who had been the soldier accompanying Paran, was the first to speak. ‘Medium infantry on station,’ he whispered. ‘Two small companies by the pair of standards—’

‘Two hundred,’ Trotts agreed. ‘More in the tents. Sick and wounded.’

‘Mostly sick, I’d say,’ Spindle replied. ‘Dysentery, I’d guess, by the smell. These Pannion officers ain’t worth dung. Them sick ones won’t be in the fighting no matter what we do. Guess everyone else is in the city.’

‘The gates beyond,’ Trotts growled.

Paran nodded. ‘Lots of bodies before it. A thousand corpses, maybe more. No barricades at the gates themselves, nor could I see any guard. The overconfidence of victors.’

‘We gotta punch through them medium infantry,’ Sergeant Antsy muttered. ‘Spindle, how are you and the rest of the sappers for Moranth munitions?’

The small man grinned. ‘Found your nerve again, eh, Antsy?’

The sergeant scowled. ‘This is fightin’, ain’t it? Now answer my question, soldier.’

‘We got plenty. Wish we had a few of them lobbers Fiddler makes, though.’

Paran blinked, then recalled the oversized crossbows Fiddler and Hedge used to extend the range of cussers. ‘Doesn’t Hedge have one?’ he asked.

‘He broke it, the idiot. No, we’ll prime some cussers but that’ll be just for sowing. Sharpers, tonight. Burners would make too much light – let the enemy see how few of us there really are. Sharpers. I’ll gather the lads and lasses.’

‘I thought you were a mage,’ Paran muttered as the man turned towards the waiting squads.

Spindle glanced back. ‘I am, Captain. And I’m a sapper, too. Deadly combination, eh?’

‘Deadly for us,’ Antsy retorted. ‘That and your damned hairshirt—’

‘Hey, the burnt patches are growing back – see?’

‘Get to it,’ Trotts growled.

Spindle started tagging off squad sappers.

‘So we just punch right through,’ Paran said. ‘With the sharpers that should be no problem, but then the ones on the outside flanks will sweep in behind us—’

Spindle rejoined them in time to grunt and say, ‘That’s why we’ll sow cussers, Captain. Two drops on the wax. Ten heartbeats. The word’s “run”, and when we shout it that’s what you’d better do, and fast. If you’re less than thirty paces away when they go up, you’re diced liver.’

‘You ready?’ Trotts asked Spindle.

‘Aye. Nine of us, so expect just under thirty paces wide, the path we carve.’

‘Weapons out,’ the Barghast said. Then he reached out and gripped Spindle’s hairshirt and dragged him close. Trotts grinned. ‘No mistakes.’

‘No mistakes,’ the man agreed, eyes widening as Trotts clacked his sharpened teeth inches from his face.

A moment later, Spindle and his eight fellow sappers were moving towards the enemy lines, hooded and shapeless in their rain-capes.