"Indeed – the festival of the winter solstice. That Elder of yours is meant to be conducting a ceremony on the outskirts of the vige to wee winter in. The Vice-Captain and I have been asked to attend. It will be a good opportunity for you, no? I imagine you have not spoken much with your fellow vigers in thest couple of days," Lombard said.


    "That merchant in particr has been asking after you. Though, he is currently bearing the weight of a likely involvement in murder. Three men seem to have been in by his underlings. As soon as the prostitutes were barred from the campgrounds, the ying stopped. Odd, is it not?"


    Lombard said that testingly, as though to evoke a reaction from Beam. Tolsey noted that the Captain was looking towards him carefully as he yed with one of the wooden board pieces in his hand.


    But Beam just shrugged as though it had nothing to do with him. "Greeves isn''t stupid enough to involve himself in such open murder with nothing to gain. But it is unfortunate for him, that all the circumstances point in his direction. It''s just one of the many problems afflicting this vige as ofte.


    Speaking of which, before I meet with N, do you have any information for me, in regard to Stephanie?"


    The Captain paused a moment at that and nced at Tolsey. It seemed he''d put the Vice-Captain in charge of that little endeavour. The man cleared his throat and ran a hand through his beard, ridding himself of the nervousness that had built up.


    "We didn''t find anything in particr that pointed to her – the vigers are reluctant to talk to the soldiers unless forced, after all. But a few days prior, our men found a pair of footprints, leading from the forest, pointing in the direction of the house that you named. Only, these footprints were visible in a single patch of mud, for about three steps.


    It might be entirely unrted," Tolsey said.


    "Ah," Beam''s eyes lit up at that, and he clenched his fist. "So they came from the woods after all. That is good to know."


    The Captain and his Vice-Captain shared a look. "That scrap of information was enough to give you certainty, was it?" Lombard asked.


    "My master mentioned something that made it seem to me like the shadows had something to do with the disappearance of Stephanie. Those footprints seem right to me. n your counterattack, Captain. I need to get back in that forest and get looking again," Beam said.


    "The Yarmdon threat dys my hand there. As do ourcking defences. You will need to wait another few days – or bring me a location. Though it does trouble me that your master would not involve himself directly. Surely this situation you worry so much about would be solved far quicker with his assistance," Lombard said.


    Beam could not disagree there. But Dominus was a strange man. He''d imed that he thought Beam capable of solving this riddle by his lonesome. If things truly did reach a point beyond Beam''s capabilities to handle, he would step in, Beam knew that much at least. He only hoped that by then it would not be toote. It had been too long since Stephanie had disappeared, after all.


    Even though it was still just a few days – each day weighed heavier than thest, on everyone involved. He knew that N and her mother likely would not be able to bear the strain much longer.


    …


    …


    The sky was already the darkest ck by the time the vigers started making their way to the bonfire that had been started on the edge of the vige, just a short distance away from the forest. Because it was so close to the soldier''s defences, they''d need express permission from the Captain in order to set up there.


    There had also needed to be stationed an extra couple of squadrons for the affair – for it was quite possible that some monsters might drift towards them, rather than to the monster lure that had been set up behind the defensive wall.


    Beam arrived with the soldiers, just as the crowd was beginning to thicken. People nced at him, a friendliness in their eyes that they didn''t have before, but there was also a sympathy as well, as though people assumed he was nigh-on a prisoner for the Captain. He returned the greetings of the passersby as best he could, though he was never much of a socialite.


    The fire was built and burning high already, a true bonfire at that, taller than three men, with a wide and stable base to match it. There was the scent of oil in the air, evidence of the firestarter''s cheating ways, as they tried to get the thicker logs to catch fire faster.


    There were quite a fewints from the crowd as more people arrived and noticed that stench.


    "Oh,e on, can''t you light fires without oil anymore? That''szy, that is. The back of my throat is going to be feeling like I''m dying now," one old manined, as others joined in to voice their agreement.


    Hearing theirints, a firestarter – who''d been working on behalf of the vige Elder – rose up a shrill voice in defiance. "It gets the fire hotter faster! The smell will disappear in due time! Stopining!"


    "Aye, by the time we''ve all left it will," came the reply without missing a beat.


    Beam smiled quietly as he listened to the interaction. He''d separated himself from the soldiers by now, as Lombard had told him to. He''d told him to meet up with his vige friends, and ensure them of his well-being. But as Beam stood an awkward distance from the fire, his hand resting on the sword at his hip, and his clothes clean and finer than he was used to – he couldn''t see anyone that he knew.


    There were nearly fifty people there already, with a steady stream of theming down the vige road, lit by torches that every fifth man seemed to carry. It seemed more like a funeral procession than a festival, Beam thought, and the attitudes of everyone in attendance seemed to support that.


    There was a tightness about their face, like people being forced to endure something, as nearly everyoneined about the cold.