The warrior’s camp had grown larger since last they were there. The steady influx of refugees from neighboring settlements seeking solace had forced Kederic to order his own men to sleep beyond the walls, keeping only a small contingent inside at night to man the watchtowers. It had been a difficult choice for the Thegn, but he deigned that no women or children should sleep without, and the fort soon grew overcrowded. Already many of the surviving husbands and fathers had taken to sleeping in the camp with the warriors. The Thegn’s prodigious cattle herds were now swollen with the beasts brought by the dispossessed. Herds of sheep, goats and swine clustered thickly in the fields surrounding the fort and the camp doubled as a means of protecting the animals from predators both four and two legged.

It was near dusk when they rode through the gate and found Kederic waiting on them.

“Red Caps are still out there, Winetongue,” Acwellen reported as he dismounted, handing his reigns over to a ready groom. “But we never saw ‘em. Nor anyone alive. Any that would have made it are here already, reckon. T’other riders?”

“Orvin brought in a few,” the Thegn replied. “And one of Warian’s men found a lad surviving in the bogs. The rest found their own way. They all tell the same tale.”

Padric could imagine. Watchfires in the dark. Torches and cruel laughter. Fire and slaughter. The Red Caps had turned the countryside into an abandoned expanse of burnt homesteads, scattered herds and the footprints of the fled. They were everywhere and yet still unseen by any of Kederic’s men. They came, killed and vanished and everyday saw new survivors find their fearful way to the Thegn’s protection.

“Sleep in the hall tonight. Rest.” Kederic swept the men with a glance and gave Padric a brief nod before turning and heading back to the hall, Acwellen close at his side.

The others followed, cheered by the promise of warmth and ale, but Padric remained in the yard. He had wished a word with the Thegn, away from the others but was not entirely sure what he wanted to say. Informing him that his men were thieving bastards seemed a guarantee of ill favor. Padric was not certain he even cared to please the man any longer. Mayhaps it was better to take his leave.