Killers. There weren't any. Not natural ones. A demon, more likely, escaped from some secret ritual, a conjuration gone awry. The fools killed themselves, and that was the way of it. The man had been some defrocked priest from another temple, probably a sorceror. Once he figured out what had happened, he'd hightailed it out of there, leaving her with the mess.
Not fair, but what did fairness have to do with anything?
Urb lowered his massive bulk in front of her. 'We're almost ready, Sergeant.'
'You should've strangled him.'
'I wanted to. Really.'
'Did you? Truth?'
'Truth.'
'But then he slipped away,' Hellian said. 'Like a worm.'
'Captain wants us to join the rest of the squads in her company. They' re up the road some. We should get going before the march begins.'
She looked over at the other two soldiers. The twins, Brethless and Touchy. Young, lost – well, maybe not young in years, but young anyway. She doubted they could fight their way out of a midwives' picnic – though, granted, she'd heard those could be rough events, especially if some fool pregnant woman wandered in. Oh, well, that was Kartool, city of spiders, city that crunched underfoot, city of webs and worse. They were a long way from any midwives' picnic.
Out here, spiders floated in the air, but at least they were tiny, easily destroyed with a medium-sized stone. 'Abyss below,' she groaned. 'Find me something to drink.'
Urb handed her a waterskin.
'Not that, idiot.'
'Maybe in the company we're joining…'
She looked up, squinted at him. 'Good idea. All right, help me up – no, don't help me up.' She staggered upright.
'You all right, Sergeant?'
'I will be,' she said, 'after you take my skull in your hands and crush it flat.'
He frowned. 'I'd get in trouble if I did that.'
'Not with me you wouldn't. Never mind. Touchy, take point.'
'We're on a road, Sergeant.'
'Just do it. Practice.'
'I won't be able to see anything,' the man said. 'Too many people and things in the way.'
Oh, gods crawling in the Abyss, just let me live long enough to kill that man. 'You got any problem with taking point, Brethless?'
'No, Sergeant. Not me.'