“She retired?” Burek asked.

“She died,” Arcolin said. “At Dwarfwatch, along with my junior captain Ferrault. She and Stammel I would place at the top rank. Different personalities, but everything you could want in a sergeant.” And the cohort had survived Dzerdtya’s death; it would survive Stammel’s, if that came to pass.

“My father said I was crazy to become a soldier,” Burek said. “He was content as horsemaster, and thought I should be, but I said you could die of a kick to the head or a bad fall.”

“Crazy or not, I’m glad to have you here,” Arcolin said. “You did well keeping the cohort in order while I was in the city.”

His horse threw up its head; so did Burek’s roan. Arcolin raised his hand and signaled halt; behind him the cohort stamped its halt; far behind, two horses snorted. One of the forward scouts came into view, waving for attention. Arcolin checked his flanking scouts; both had halted, waiting for orders. He waved to the forward scout to come in and report.

“Captain—that village where we took the headman—the brigands must’ve attacked. There’s smoke—looks like two cottages burned—no sign of that herd of cows.”

“They probably attacked the night after we went through,” Arcolin said. “Any sign of the villagers?”

“Could be bodies on the lane, I didn’t go closer to count.”

“They massacred the whole village?” Burek said.

“Probably not,” Arcolin said. “Probably killed a few, took a few prisoner to do work in their camp, and sent the rest away with threats. They want to scare their food supply, not destroy it.” He looked at Devlin. “Devlin, come up the road with me a bit.”

Out of earshot of the cohort, he said, “We may be fighting later today or tonight. Who do you want for sergeant and corporals?”

Devlin shook his head at first. “None of ’em’s ready to be sergeant—but I have been thinking—”

“Well, think faster. They may have set up that village as a trap and it’s less than a glass away.”

“Yes, Captain. In that case … Jenits as sergeant. Kef and Sim as corporals. They’re all young, so they won’t mind being bumped back when we’re back to normal.” His look at Arcolin pled for reassurance Arcolin couldn’t give.

“Or when we have more time to consider,” Arcolin said. “Good point. Go tell ’em; let them know it’s temporary.” So far, he told himself.

Devlin pulled Jenits up to the front, then Kef and Sim, and told them what they’d need to do as they continued on to the village. Arcolin sent additional scouts out.

They all smelled smoke now, wisps of it still rising from ruined cottages. The headman’s cottage—a ruined heap. The one next to it, and the one across the lane, also burned. Heaps of rags that were, as they neared, clearly bodies … three men … four women … two children. The other cottages, still whole, were tight-shuttered in the midday heat. A trampled track across the young grain showed which way someone had come and gone.