Chapter 7As they rode back toward the base camp after nearly nine months in the field and three successive, and successful, campaigns, Troy was feeling very content with life. Markus was riding a little way back in the troop, on the horse he’d tamed a year ago at the very beginning of his time with the Company. Once they were all safely behind the walls of the camp, there’d be the all-Company gathering, decisions about who was taking leave, leaving the Company, or staying in camp to train. He didn’t expect to take another contract for a couple of months at least, and he was looking forward to surprising Markus at the end of the meeting.
The Company knew well enough what to do as they arrived, the travel column peeling apart without orders, Riders heading to the horse lines, and the wagons
