Naudar and Masista say they haven’t, and Walgash turns to me. “You in, Dineas?”

My stomach growls in response.

Walgash keeps up a running monologue on our way to the mess hall. “We have our regular units housed here in the palace. There’s battalions one through ten, then the various pet units of the commanders. We share the training fields and whatnot. Division of resources is usually equitable, unless some commander’s out of favor, which happens more often than you’d think. It’s all politics in here. You’d think men of war wouldn’t be so petty, but you’d be wrong.” Walgash continues with a rundown of all the commanders, though I’m lost in the pile of names after the first two.

Masista smirks. “That’s why you’re so excited to find a man with no memory, Walgash,” he says. “An empty head to fill with your talk.”

“I’m in favor of anything that spares the rest of us from Walgash’s ramblings,” says Naudar.

To be honest, my head is spinning. But I suppose they’re right about one thing: I’ll gladly listen to anything that will fill in the gaps in my mind.

The smell of spices drifts out of a large stone hall. There’s a line of soldiers out the door, and we take our place at the end. It’s loud with conversation inside. Once we reach the serving line, a cook passes me a bowl of greenish stew over rice and we continue to the tables and benches in the back. Walgash waves at someone I can’t see.

“Kosru has some room down there,” he says, directing us back.

Kosru turns out to be a man even bigger than Walgash, with a thick black beard and hair.

“This is Kosru, my other half,” says Walgash, clasping the man’s shoulder.

“His quieter half,” says Masista. “The adage about lovers becoming more alike over time doesn’t seem to apply to those two.”

Walgash continues without missing a beat. “Kosru, this is Dineas, the soldier I told you about.” Kosru gives me a firm handshake and a one-word greeting.

The stew is decent, though surprisingly spicy, and I start to relax. The men seem friendly. Masista has a wife and son in the city, though he lives in the palace when training is heavy. Walgash, Kosru, and Masista have been in the army for several years now, while Naudar joined just a few months ago.

“So, Dineas,” says Masista. “Where are you serving?”

“Third battalion, I believe.”

Walgash snorts. “Third battalion? No, where you want to be is Neju’s Guard.”

“Your unit?”

“Arxa’s elite unit,” he says. “Masista’s in it too. Kosru is in Commander Vaumitha’s elite unit, but we don’t hold it against him.”

Kosru lets out a long-suffering sigh. Walgash pats his hand fondly and continues speaking.