'So they're holed up somewhere dose and watching the road.' Darni was not convinced. 'We'd better get out of here before they come back. Let's get working.'

Now Geris had got me wondering. As I went round searching for my darts, I looked more closely at the nearest body and shoving aside my revulsion, pulled apart the remnants of the clothing.

'This is odd.'

'How so?' Geris came over and Shiv looked at me with interest.

'Well, these clothes are certainly old and worn but he's all clean underneath.' I bent closer. 'Look, there's old blood here on the linen, I'd say from lice or fleas.' I ran a finger over the marble-cold flesh below. 'He's spotless, not a bite anywhere. He's clean too, scrubbed.' I moved to the next roughly intact corpse. 'This one's the same.'

'So they've got rid of their vermin. Where's the mystery? Have you ever had lice? Believe me, you don't want to keep them.' Darni concentrated on his work.

I sat back on my heels. Darni was probably right, but I didn't think we had read the runes right here. What was I missing? I searched further.

'None of them have any coin on them.' I rummaged in a few belt-pouches and pockets, brushing aside the flies and trying to ignore the smell of blood. 'None of them are carrying anything personal at all. No rings, jewellery, nothing. What's this?'

I showed Geris a patch of raw skin on an arm. He looked on the others but could not find anything similar.

'A stray shot from Shiv?'

'They're all dead, that's all I need to know. Come on, I want to get out of here as fast as we can.' There was an edge to Darni's tone that forbade further investigation or speculation. Geris muttered something and returned to cleaning his sword and Shiv started to get slowly to his feet.

We were soon packed up and ready to return to the road.

'Are we going to do anything about all this?' I paused on our way out of the ring and looked back at the pile of dead.

Darni shook his head. 'It'll take too long to get fuel to burn them.' He gestured to the far side of the rampart. 'They'll take care of it.'

I looked at the waiting ravens and swallowed hard. Thirty or more bodies should see the birds well fed for half a season. * # *

Back on the road the clean air blew the scent of death out of my nostrils, and I felt better. We paused at the next ford and all stripped to wash the last of the blood from ourselves and our gear. Geris tried to get me to use a pool further down the river for modesty's sake, but I was having none of it; not with Drianon knew what bandits lurking in the area.

'I still think that was all a bit strange,' I murmured to Shiv as I dried my hair, one eye on Darni whose ears where muffled in soap as he scrubbed at his beard.

'I agree.' Shiv pulled his shirt over his head. 'I can't think why I didn't pick them up when I did that scrying. If they weren't on horseback, they should have been in the area I covered.'

'Maybe they rode in so far and then came in on foot,' I said dubiously.

'Why would they do that?'

'I've no idea.'

We rode on in dissatisfied silence.

Friern Lodge,

40th of For-Autumn

Casuel grimaced as he stepped carefully out of the coach, alert for muck; it was going to be important to make a good impression. He tugged at the skirts of his coat to pull out some of the creases and frowned at the scuffs on his boot where some overladen yeoman had trodden on his foot.

'Is this it?' Allin looked round at the huddle of little brick houses.

'Well, I don't think we need to ask directions,' he replied tartly.

They stared at the broad brick frontage of the manor standing four-square and imperious behind the tall iron gates on the far side of the road

'That's a lodge?' Casuel couldn't blame Allin for sounding incredulous. Lord Armile's dwelling might have started life as a hunting residence but he doubted if any of the original building was left by now. He looked thoughtfully at a straggle of cottagers waiting by a door in the paling where hard-faced men in grey livery rested on halberds and periodically let a few through, palms brushing briefly.

A horn sounded behind them. 'Make way!'

Casuel stepped into a handy doorway before a coach rattled past, wheels spraying Allin's skirts with mud from the rutted road. The horses' hooves crunched briskly up the gravelled driveway and Casuel watched with a qualm of regret. He would have made a far more imposing arrival if he'd hired a vehicle, he realised belatedly. Still, the expense could not have been justified, could it?

'Come on, Allin.'

He picked his way across the road and approached the guards, head high and back straight, ignoring the curious glances of the peasantry. Allin copied him, Casuel pleased to see she was finally managing something that approached fitting dignity.

'Good afternoon. I wish to see Lord Annile's chamberlain.' Casuel made a carefully calculated half-bow and looked expectantly at the man with a ribbon sewn around the stag badge on his jerkin.

'Expecting you, is he?' the gate-guard asked cautiously.

'I do not have an appointment, no.' Casuel smiled politely.

'Then wait your turn.' Arrogance clearly came more easily to this militia than courtesy.

Casuel's smile did not waver as he reached into his pocket for a letter prepared earlier.

'Please present this with my compliments. He will see me.'

The guard looked uncertainly at the letter, at Casuel and then back up at the house.

'Here.' He gestured to a nervous-looking lad whose grey livery had been cut for a man at least a hand's-width taller. 'Take this to Armin.'

The lad ran off up the drive, slipping on the gravel in his haste.

'Is it the custom here to remain seated while ladies stand?' Casuel raised his eyebrows at two guards lounging on a bench.

'Get up!'

The two scowled at their leader but obeyed. Allin bobbed a curtsey and sat down, tucking in her skirts nervously. Casuel broadened his smile somewhat and took a note-tablet from his pocket, making a few jottings which he was pleased to see substantially increased the air of awe around him.

'He'm to come.' The lad soon reappeared breathless and sweaty despite the cool day.

'Thank you.' Casuel took his time, acknowledging the militiaman on the gate with a gracious nod of the head and a silver penny.

'You see, Allin, you have to know how to deal with these people,' he murmured.

He stifled a smile at the buzz of speculation behind them as the gate closed but his satisfaction soon evaporated as they walked towards the manor. Curbing underlings with their petty abuses of power was one thing; the man who lived here was going to be a horse of quite a different mettle.

'Why does this look like a Lescar noble's house?' Allin enquired tensely.

The ground-level windows had been recently reduced to narrow embrasures and they could see men working on the roof to add crenellations and a watch tower. A line of pinkly dusted peasants were stacking bricks to one side of the main gateway and logs lay ready for scaffolding. The ringing of hammer and chisel rose from somewhere over the back.

'Oh, these petty lordlings like to impress their neighbours with their fortifications,' Casuel said airily.

'This way.' They followed the nervous lad around a dry ditch where a gang of burly men in grey were fixing sharpened stakes. A side door stood open and a flat-faced man in dark blue was waiting expectantly with a maid who dipped a curtsey and took their cloaks.

'Good day.' Casuel was pleased to receive a practised bow in reply to his own and followed the man, his spirits rising as they were led through a panelled and polished hallway, steps ringing on the spotless flagstones. Allin looked around uncertainly, clutching her shawl.