The next morning they awoke with the dawn, its tendrils of light easily finding enough purchase on their closed eyes to drag them from sleep. Even if they had been sleeping in a tent, it would have been impossible to slumber for much longer as the army camp was awash with the noise of so many bodies rousing themselves and getting ready to move out.
When Shenesra approached the smouldering remains of the campfire where Torben, Gwilym, Egberht and Antauros had spent the night, she already looked alert and ready, as if she had been up for several hours already.
‘Good morning Antauros!’ she said, slightly too loudly for Torben’s liking, the words pounding through his head like a mallet.
‘Morning,’ the minotaur said groggily, hauling himself to his feet and swaying slightly before Shenesra a
