Another squad from the Watch came to remove the body.

  The four adventurers and one undead hound stood back as dawn broke, and with it, the will and the need to continue. Even now, there was no one on the streets besides the patrols, as if the rest of the town’s population knew there were still things they didn’t want to see. With heavy footsteps, the men and women who had been safeguarding Wayfarrow trudged back to their guild or their barracks. It had been a heavy night.

  “Always one,” Dusty said, eyes staring straight ahead, “never this many. Weighted sacks, what happened?”

  Brunalda’s towering figure threw half a dozen adventurers into shadow as the morning sun rose.

  “I had a look afterwards. It was one of the lodges. Someone broke their restraints and ran riot. The Watch will investigate but it seems like he tore a beam and set a bunch of others loose. Kicked down the door and ran amok.”

  They filtered through the huge guild doors and began to collapse into chairs, or to sit on settees, heads in hands, as word spread. Eight. Eight dead bodies: seven allagi and one of the Watch.

  Greeleena and Rudi and even Wilhelmina passed amongst them with snacks and forced smiles, trying and failing to lift spirits after such dark work.

  Marie lowered herself into a chair, holding her ribs with one hand. Napoleon was in no better condition, and even with a quick glance she could see cracks in his bones where he’d been hit and thrown around.

  Thousands of years in a city of the dead, then less than a month with me and he is falling apart.

  She would have felt guilty if she’d had the energy.

  Last in was the [Guildmaster] himself. It was hard to tell compared to his normal taciturn expression, but Marie thought he might be wearing a sombre look. He stared round the room, declined a bacon sandwich from Wilhelmina, then made for the stairs before pausing.

  “The council and the Watch will be here shortly, but I have informed them we will be taking an hour to rest first. Be prepared to give your reports after.”

  The pronouncement did nothing to aid the energy in the room, and as the tabaxi disappeared to the upper levels, Marie looked over to Fila and started to open her mouth in question, but the noble woman was already asleep.

  —

  There was barely enough time to nap and drain a cool glass of water before the adventurers were roused again. Many were simply thanked for their work and given leave to go home, but almost half were required to remain gathered in the common area as Rudi and Wilhelmina set up a room for [Mayor] Atherton, [Lord] Entoll and [Watch Commander] Amit off the main hall.

  Thror was there to greet the town’s representatives, though he did so with typical disinterest, and once the pleasantries were done, he retreated to one side and let the [Mayor] speak.

  The middle-aged man was immaculately done-up despite the early hour, and he cleared his throat as he waved for Greeleena to take a breakfast tray through.

  “Greetings, adventurers. Before anything else, I’d like to thank you for your service this past day. I realise it’s not something anyone relishes but I want you to know that Wayfarrow appreciates your efforts to keep us safe, particularly at this time of the month.”

  In a pause where the man drew breath, Maire could just about make out Quartz murmuring ‘But not enough to pay well for [Bandit] hunting’.

  Clearly [Mayor] Atherton picked up on it as well, and his eye twitched, but he continued on.

  “In the wake of the full moon, it is customary to question adventurers who were present at any loss of life of the afflicted. Normally it’s just a couple of you. This time the scale is…somewhat larger, but don’t worry - it’s just a formality...”

  In the first half of the address, Marie had been presently surprised. At the second, she felt her face harden.

  “... and with [Guildmaster] Thror we have a quorum of officials, so we’re good to get started. One by one, you’ll be called in to give an account of your experience of the night’s events. With any luck, we’ll all be done within the hour and you can return to your homes to get some well-deserved rest.”

  Unlike the allagi.

  Giving an encouraging smile, the mayor gestured to Thror and entered the room. The tabaxi [Guildmaster] scanned the crowd and picked out one of the retired adventurers.

  “Kalminash. You first. We’ll go by seniority. The rest of you - sort yourselves out.”

  With that, he followed the others into the side room, a shaggy-haired man still wearing armour and carrying an axe trudging behind.

  As the door shut, a few of the adventurers began to figure out where they stood in the pecking order. Others went back to the replenished drinks and snacks, but Marie remained staring in shock at the door.

  “No need to be concerned.” Sirrochon patted her on the shoulder, mistaking the look as he wandered over with Dap. “We’ve been here a while - done this a few times. No one’s ever in any danger. It’s just for show.”

  It was like she was moving through treacle as Marie turned to gaze at him, certain the incredulity was written across her face.

  “And that does not strike you as wrong?”

  Both Sirro and Dap’s brows wrinkled, the man momentarily too confused to answer, but the tabaxi spoke up.

  “Why? We didn’t do anything we weren’t supposed to.”

  “People died, Dap!”

  “Yeah, well, the woman in the Watch was out of position. Went for a piss in the middle of her patrol and got lost. It was her own fault, not ours.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “And what about the seven allagi?”

  By now Sirrochon had managed to piece his wits together.

  “What about them? They attacked, we put them down. That’s what we’re meant to do. Sure we weren’t trying to kill them, but it happens.”

  “I am sure that will be of great comfort to their families.” Marie injected all the sarcasm she could muster into the statement, and for the first time since she’d met them she saw less than friendly expressions cross the faces of the Spellswords. The tabaxi was the first to jump in.

  “It was certainly no comfort to us, when a score of them burst out the lodge doorway. How many did you have to face? A single allagi? Between four of you? Try being outnumbered five-to-one until help arrives.”

  “We were there for almost half a minute before the others got to us. Not knowing if one of our wounds was infected - whether we were going to turn into one of those animals. It's a miracle we managed to keep them from spreading out and breaking into other houses!”

  “And given how much carnage they caused, it’s a wonder more of them didn’t die.”

  Marie swallowed as she considered for a moment what it would have been like to be surrounded by so many out-of-control allagi.

  “Well, you could have restrained them.”

  Sirro managed to stifle an almost-hysterical laugh before people started to look their way.

  “Restrain them? When we’re in the middle of fighting for our lives? Next time perhaps I’ll ask the rabid beasts to line up in an orderly fashion and present their wrists, rather than swinging their claws for my head. And it’s not like we executed the ones we knocked out. I know you fought for your life against goblins, Miss [Scout]. Play the pacifist then did you?”

  Marie felt her cheeks burning.

  “No - but that was different. Those greenskins chose to attack; these allagi couldn’t control themselves.”

  “And?” Dusty asked, eyes wide with incredulity. “How does that make them any less lethal to us?”

  “Maybe it does not change how you acted in the moment,” her face still radiated heat, “but to act as though it is not a… a horrific outcome… is wrong, and sweeping it under the rug is an insult to the allagi that died, and to families that have lost people through no fault of their own.”

  As her accusatory tone shifted, her friends calmed, and Sirrochon laid a hand on her shoulder.

  “It can be traumatic, especially the first time, going on the beastwatch, but it has to be done. We’re not out there looking to put them down for good, but occasionally there isn’t an option. It is the same as any other mission. You should be aware of that as an adventurer.”

  “There must be a better way…”

  Marie desperately tried to find what she wanted to say as Dap gave her a sympathetic look. She didn’t miss the undercurrent of condescension in their eyes.

  “It’s just the way things are, Marie.”

  They left her with a consolatory pat on the back and went to get their breakfast, waiting to be called up as Marie stood and stewed.

  —

  Almost all the adventurers had been seen. It was only Marie’s group left, though Fila would no doubt be spared a real questioning.

  When Dorn came out of the room a mere couple of minutes after he’d entered, she knew it was her time.

  Leaving Napoleon to bother a stick that had fallen from the pile by the fireplace, she approached the side-chamber. She did her best to calm her heartbeat, slow her breathing, and walked in to see the four men sitting behind a vast desk.

  “Ah yes, the [Scout]. I remember.” [Mayor] Atherton spared her a quick glance as he picked at some refreshments and drank what looked to be watered-down wine. Next to him, Lord Entoll’s glare was as dismissive as ever, with only the [Watch Captain] and [Guildmaster] Thror seated at the ends adopting a professional air. “Take a seat if you wish; this won’t take long.”

  Jaw clenching tight, she took the one seat opposite them - one large enough for even Brunalda to sit on. She felt like a child taking her father’s favourite spot in the living room.

  Is this how Quartz feels all the time? That might explain some things.

  As she settled herself, she missed the silent communication between the questioners and only looked up when [Watch Commander] Amit addressed her, his voice terse.

  “You were present for the last confrontation with the allagi - just before dawn. Is that correct?”

  She nodded, but said nothing, and the man continued.

  “A number of my people were hurt in that skirmish - did you witness their injury?”

  “Only one. I arrived with the others and saw a woman hit a wall. After that I was too focussed on the allagi to see anything else.”

  The commander made a note in a slim book before asking his next question.

  “One of your group determined that another of my people was not infected from a cut, but had received the injury when thrown to the floor in the fight. Are you aware if the gnoll in question can be relied on for this kind of analysis or not?”

  “I have no idea. I had not worked with her before tonight.”

  “One final question on that; how long did it take you to reinforce the squad when the cry for help was given?”

  “I am not really certain. It all happened so fast.”

  “Then it could have been maybe a minute or more?”

  Thunderous Roar stirred, but Marie answered.

  “No. It was not that long. Perhaps fifteen or twenty seconds from when we heard it to seeing them, and then another few seconds to reach the allagi and fight.”

  But the commander didn’t want to seem to let it go.

  “Given your inexperience with the beastwatch and your level, which I believe is Bronze-rank, how certain a-”

  “Marie has answered your question, Amit. If you want to question her honesty you need to get my approval to use a Skill. Otherwise, we could always verify it with Miss Entoll’s account when we call her up.”

  Nobody spoke for a moment as the dark-furred [Guildmaster] stared down the [Watch Commander], but the tension was diverted by Lord Entoll.

  “I don’t see any need to drag my daughter into this; she would take nothing but the most appropriate course of action. How about we move on to what this girl can tell us about the big breakout? That tabaxi man from the Spellswords said my daughter’s group helped them round up a runner.”

  She could see the toll maintaining a polite demeanour was taking on the man, just as she could see his gaze glancing towards the [Guildmaster].

  “We did not apprehend anybody at that time, we merely provided the restraints they needed to secure the ones they had subdued.” Her voice wavered. “Perhaps it would be possible in the future to send more manacles and chains with each group, or even to have a separate person take them around so the allagi can be restrained more quickly and safely? It would not even have to be an adv-”

  “Thank you, Miss.” The mayor said, waving hand cutting her off as he regarded his notes. “If we can get back to the matter of the mass breakout. Is there anything you can tell us about the unfortunate fatality that occurred?”

  Any weakness in her voice disappeared as it was subsumed in ice.

  “Which one are you referring to?”

  For the second time that morning she was greeted with looks of confusion, then anger from the councillors and the [Watch Commander].

  “Of all the distastef-”

  “-ind of sick joke. Wh-”

  “-rds lays down their life and you treat it like i-?”

  They went on for a full minute before Thror stepped in.

  “Enough. Marie, do you have anything to add to the conversation?

  “Yes. First of all, I wish to propose changing the name from ‘beastwatch’ to something that does not dehumanise an entire species for something beyond their control.”

  “They aren’t human.” Lord Entoll sneered as [Watch Commander] Amit grew steadily more red. “That’s why we have this mess in the first place.”

  “They are a part of your society and should be treated with respect.”

  “Respect is for those that deserve it.”

  “Well that rules you out then.”

  This time, it took the guildmaster’s [Silence] to halt the outburst.

  “I think we’ve exhausted all positive discourse on this subject for the moment, gentlemen, Marie. I also expect that my guildmember is herself exhausted after leading a patrol and subduing an allagi - accompanied by the young Miss Entoll who made it through her first watch safely.” He paused for a second as he stared the so-called [Lord] Entoll down. “Unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, I’ll be dismissing Marie and we can move on to the next to be questioned.”

  When nobody objected, she got up and left, still fuming. As she did, a message came into her mind.

  ‘Have a rest Marie, and meet me this afternoon. We will discuss things further.’

  She didn’t react as she entered the main hall, whistling for Napoleon and giving Fila a nod to take her place. She walked through to her office, grabbed her backpack and left Wayfarrow by the southern gate.

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