Hunter and Dru found an abandoned house on the western edge of town. Its door hung ajar and the interior had been stripped of valuables of every sort, including whatever furniture had been there. The floor was earth, the walls were stone, and it had a good hearth, a second-story loft, and an outhouse latrine a score of paces beyond the back door. A lean-to next to the house used to hold firewood, but even that had been plundered. Hunter judged the house was big enough to hold a dozen or so recruits, yet small enough to keep warm. It would do until they had a big enough squad to move to something more spacious. If they had to use it as a fort, it had a slate roof that wouldn’t fire, sturdy shutters on the windows, and windows in the loft that offered a decent field of fire.
The day was gro
