‘Thank you, thank you…’ the woman’s voice trailed off as it became choked with tears.
‘It’s alright. We serve the Dazscor’s Army of the North; we mean you no harm,’ Shenesra said quietly. ‘What happened here?’
‘They came yesterday afternoon,’ the man said hoarsely, avoiding making eye contact. ‘Lupine scum swept through here like wildfire. I was feeding the pigs across the way when it happened. One minute all was quiet, the next you couldn’t see for the ravaging savages. I ran round the back of the house to get the weens indoors, and I found…’
The man choked back a sob and pointed with a shaky hand to his wife. A wide-eyed, frightened little girl was staring out from the hiding place, half-hidden by her mother’s torso and the object that Torben noticed clutched in her arms. A boy, no ol
