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After they’d disappeared, Blend grunted ’What night thankfully hides …’
’Not well enough, alas,’ Pickerat the fire with a splintered spear-shaft
’Well, she’ll probably be gagging hi off his-’
’All right all right, I take your point’
’Poor Hedge’
’Poor Hedge nothing, Blend If it didn’t get hiht’
’Then again, we’re soldiers one and all’
’And what’s thatorders is the best way of staying alive’
’So Hedge had better stand to attention if he wants to keep breathing? Is that what you’re saying? I’d have thought terror’d leave it li’
’Detoran used to be a eant, remember I once saw a recruit stay at attention for a bell and a half after the poor lad’s heart had burst to one of her tirades A bell and a half, Picker, standing there dead and cold-’
’Rubbish I was there It was about a tenth of a bell and you know it’
’My point still stands, and I’d betthe same’
Picker stabbed at the fire ’Funny, that,’ she murmured after a while
’What is?’
’Oh, what you were saying Not the dead recruit, but Detoran having been a eburners Alht up top with Whiskeyjack hih healers and the Ee And didn’t Spindle captain a company of sappers once?’
’For three days, then one of ’em stumbled onto his own cusser-’
’And then they all went up, yeah We were a thousand paces up the road andfor days’
’That was the end of companies made up of sappers Dasse that Spindle had no specialist corps to captain any more So, Picker, what about it?’
’Nothing Just that none of us is e once was’
’I’ve never been promoted’
’Well, surprise! You’venoticed!’
’Even so And Antsy was born a sergeant-’
’And it’s stunted his growth, aye He’s never been busted down, granted, but that’s because he’s the worst sergeant there ever was Keeping hi with Antsy hi e’re all of us losers’
’Oh, that’s a welcoht, Picker’