Ganly was drilling the Sunderers hard. Neri could hear his voice over the raucous din of their training. Arrows thumped into targets, sparring swords rang off each other, and men shouted fearsome battle cries. It was a fine morning.

"They're sluggish!" Ganly had stepped aside when he saw Neri. He was less than happy with his men's efforts. Neri's own Owl Guard were on fire after the centaur hunt. He'd only brought eleven of them, and those that survived instilled pride in their fellows. The Owl Guard were in top form in the yard, rigorously putting each other through the paces. Neri leaned back against the parapet at the edge of the yard and watched his men while Ganly sputtered complaints about his. A light dusting of snow fell on them, and the wind coming down from the upper climbs of the mountain was cold and hard. It was a fine morning.

Neri had stopped by the infirmary on his way to his own quarters. He had been invited to the prince’s wedding, and needed to find something fitting to wear, but first he wanted to visit his hurt men. Most were asleep, being treated with herbs and potent dressings for their infections. The centaur’s claws were either venomous or some how covered in filth. Every man who’d been stuck by them was severely sick, and some had lost portions of flesh to ensuing corruption.

“Captain,” said a voice. Neri turned and saw Jem, the young soldier who’d been wounded during the first centaur battle. “I heard you took a wound. I’m glad you’re not faring as these poor fellows.”

“Thank you, Jem. I was stabbed by one's claw, but Dathenyn dressed my wound instantly. How’s your arm, by the by?”

“Better. The bonesmiths say I’ll be fighting fit in three days. I’d agree if not for the fatigue I’ve been feeling. They say it’s shock from fighting such an unnatural creature. What are the centaurs, Captain? They’re like no other beast I’ve ever seen, and we’ve seen some strange creatures out there. Wolf scarabs and the like, but centaurs seem worse even than the monsters fought by the Underguard.”

“I don’t know, Jem. When we fought the Umbra, the one that spawned the others, it was like fighting something from a terrible dream. You mention the Underguard. The creatures they fight are deadly and monstrous, but they are of this world. The centaurs don’t fit the order of life, they just exist to torture and end things. But enough of them. We have happier things to discuss. Prince Balvor is to be wed, and I look forward to seeing the anguish on Prince Lobuhl’s face. He was hoping to avoid the whole ceremony.”

Jem laughed. Neri thought for a moment how little he knew of Jem. He was vibrant and skilled, and came from a family that had produced many noteworthy fighters, but Neri could not think of the man’s favorite food, song, or if he had any interests outside the Owl Guard. He thought back to how protective the Grim Whimsey was of Ridzak. He remembered too how angered Ridzak was over Piichi’s death, and that Piichi was the one who found the Umbra. Ridzak knew Piichi’s worth. Did Neri know Jem’s? For all he knew, Jem could have any number of hidden traits that had gone unutilized.

“How’d you find yourself in the Owl Guard, Jem? I’ve never asked."

“Well, this may sound like mud sniffing, but since I was a child I’ve wanted to follow in your foot steps. You’re a hero to a lot of people, Captain. No one ever made the first tier of service at as young an age as you, and when you were made Captain, you inspired an entire generation to work harder, to push themselves, and to give more to Thrond. So to answer your question, Captain, I did not find myself here. I put myself here.”

Neri was speechless. “I’m honored,” he said at length. “I had no idea, of any of the things you just said.”

“That’s why you inspire us, Captain. You don’t fret over the thoughts of others. You look down the shaft of an arrow every moment of your life, never turning away from your mark. May I ask you what drives you so?”

Neri drew a sharp breath. Dare I tell? He thought. Jem had spoken truthfully to him, and deserved a response. All his men did. They put their lives in his hands without question, so he felt bound to tell Jem his truth.

“I watched my whole family have their throats ripped open by gnolls.”

Jem’s eyes opened wide. “Captain…”

“It’s all right. It’s been a long time. I was very small, and don’t remember much before that day. It broke me, though. The day after the attack I was sitting on a spur of rock that overlooked the Sholai glacier, and almost let myself fall. A patrol found me and took me to see the Chieftain. Chief Yormun had blamed himself for the gnolls making it so far up the slopes, and convinced me to keep living so I could protect others from such suffering.”

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“What were the gnolls doing on Obrus?”

“What gnolls always do when they come to Konistra. They were searching for a home. I heard so from one of their own just recently. They come here to find a kinder place than Noth, but instead they find arrows, axes and spears. My family bred Obaki sheep and battle goats, a perfect meal for a pack of wounded and hungry gnolls. I saw them feasting on our stock and shouted. My father and brothers came and slew almost a dozen of them without any warning. They ended lives to protect a source of coin.”

“How many brothers did you have?”

“Four, and a sister. Her and my mother came running from the feed house when they heard my father’s screams. He was the first the gnolls killed.”

“How did you get away?”

“I didn’t. The gnolls spared me. The first one my eldest brother killed was a mother, and he killed her two pups next. They were attacking him, but they were children trying to protect their mother, and he beat each of them down with his staff. That’s when the pack attacked.”

“The gnolls still let you live? Even though your brother killed two of their children?”

“They did more than let me live. When the fighting was done, they wept over the dead, theirs and mine, and one of them stayed behind after the rest of them had left. He howled until other dwarves came. He wanted to make sure I was cared for.”

“Captain, I never knew.”

“It’s not common knowledge. Anyhaps, the Owl Guard was formed in response to those types of incursions, to better protect the surface of the realm, so joining its ranks was the only purpose I had left.”

Jem pressed his hand against his brow. “Thank you, sir, thank you for… telling…” The young man’s blue eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backward. Neri rushed to him and caught him, then slowly set him on the ground with his back against the wall. When Jem opened his eyes, his face was red with shame.

“I’m sorry, Captain. I blame the food. Army physicians aren’t known for their cooking, but it's been worse than usual. Personally, I think they make us eat wretched fare to mask the pain from our injuries.”

Neri laughed, and was about to recant one of his own experiences with the nightmarish food given by the bonesmiths, when Jem went into a fit of convulsions. Blood and phlegm fountained out of his mouth as Neri tried to hold him still.

“Besir!” Neri shouted, “Besir! Ephraim! Someone!”

Boson, Ephraim, and half a dozen other bonesmiths came running to Neri’s call. They hoisted Jem off the ground and carried him into a treatment chamber. Neri stayed by the young soldier’s side. He hated seeing men suffer after a battle. On the field, he could protect them, and if they died under his command then they died nobly. Here they suffered from enemies he had no skill to fight or strategise against.

Hours later Jem had stabilized, but was very weak. “We’ll look after the lad,” Ephraim had said.

“What’s happening to him?” Neri asked.

The old bonesmith tugged thoughtfully at his long silver beard. “Hard to say. It’s strange. He’s been complaining of the food we’ve served him, but that’s normal. Still, I’ll have the stores inspected. My best guess though is the centaur wound is to blame.”

Neri felt a tide of melancholy rise as he bathed and dressed. He was glad for the moment he’d shared with Jem, but having bonded with the man, he felt even more worried for him. Perhaps he was mistaken to seek friendship with his soldiers. When he entered the Great Hall, he found Prince Lobuhl and told him what had happened. Ganly and Wulden were there as well and mentioned some of their soldiers also taking ill, but none to the extent of Jem.

“You’re lucky your elf maid was there to nurse you,” said the Prince. “You got on the spot field care. Otherwise you too may have been coughing up Besir’s gristle pie.”

“Take some of my Sunderers with you,” Ganly said, “next time you hunt those monsters. They’re getting soft patrolling the foothills and playing with training dummies.”

“You’ll need them all for the goblins,” Neri replied, “and I don’t need them for anything.”

“Hahaaa!” Wulden shouted gleefully. “Hear that, Ganly? The Owls don’t need your club swingers.”

Ganly threw a few riposte japes at Neri and Wulden, and Lobuhl made a few comments of his own. All the while Neri thought of Jem, and the gore spouting from his mouth. “Jem’s arm was broken!” he blurted. The other three dwarves looked at him. “He was thrown against a tree and his arm was broken. He wasn’t pierced by the centaur’s claws or teeth. And the men that were suffered from gangrene and fevers, not stomach fits.”

Lobuhl looked hard at Neri, while the other two Captains shrugged and conversed about the wedding. The prince looked about the hall as the guests kept pouring in. Among them were the Stars of Casimir. It was rumored that they were to put on their best show to date. Lobuhl stared at them as they set up their stage and readied their props. After the players came line after line of human servants carrying baskets and platters of food.

Lobuhl turned to face Neri. “Come with me,” he said. The two men turned to leave. As they neared the door Neri saw a child run past him and he almost fell over the boy. It was no wonder, he was a drow, black as the Worm, and with his brilliant white hair shaved clean off was almost invisible. He scurried away before Neri could scold him, darting between the other players and disappearing among their shadows.