“Chief!” Clover jumped up, slapping dirt from the seat of his trousers. He knew he was on thin ice with Calder, so he was being specially

accommodating. “Good to see you!”

Calder frowned up from under wrinkled brows. “Don’t spoon it on too thick. I’ve come to tell you we’re moving out.”

“Moving out where?”

“Carleon.”

“High time,” grunted Downside with an approving nod, and you know you’ve a reckless notion on your hands when you win Downside’s approval.

“You’re marching now?” Clover waved at the valleyful of filth, mostly black mud with some sad streaks o’ white snow clinging to the hollows, sprinkled with rubbish and the wreckage of tents, crawling with unhappy men like a rotten log with woodlice, the keen wind snatching ash from dead fires and blowing it in folks’ faces. “In this?”

“Better weather’s on the way.”

“Aye, but that’ll make things even wetter. Every river’ll be swollen, every ford neck high, every road a bloody mire. That’s ’fore we even set foot on it. We’ll be drowning in mud by the time we get to Carleon!”

Calder narrowed his eyes. “Might be we’ll lose a couple of the weak ones, but I’ll see the rest there. Aren’t you always carping on how a man has to seize his moment? The moment’s come, whatever the weather. Rikke’s weak. The Nail’s swinging his prick down south and she’s had to send Hardbread to deal with him.” He gave a snort. “When bloody Hardbread’s your answer you know you’re short on choices.” And some of his Named Men dug out a chuckle. “She’s hardly got enough warriors to hold on to Carleon, let alone to hold it against us. I mean to get there before she can find any more. And Stand-i’-the-Barrows is growing restless. If we don’t find him some folk to kill, he’ll find ’em here.”

Clover frowned up towards the bone and hide standards planted on the high ground. “You can tell the best allies ’cause they’re so fixed on taking men’s bones they’ll skin friends if they run out of enemies.”

“Allies all have their shortcomings.”

“Some more’n others.”

“Like lazy fucks whose first preference is sitting under a tree and whose second is betraying you? Don’t try my patience, Clover, I’ve none to spare these days. We march today.”

Clover took a long breath, then forced the smile onto his face. “Whatever you say, Chief.” He made sure he kept grinning as Calder and his men strode off towards the hall, spreading the bad news to each fire they passed.

Flick doused theirs with a hiss and Clover turned about to stare at him. “What are you doing?”

“Well… we’re marching, ain’t we? Don’t want to leave it burning.”

“What? You’re afraid this fucking morass will catch fire? There’s a whole valley to empty and only one road. We’ll be lucky if we’re off the spot by nightfall. Now we’ll be cold into the bargain.”

“Hold on,” whispered Sholla. “Hold on.” She was wincing with the effort as she teased at her knife, a shaving coming off the cheese so fine the light shone through it. “Nobody… fucking… move.” Like a scrap of paper, it was, as she held up the blade, so pale and perfect, fluttering a little with the breeze. “I’ve done it.”