Caius had been thoroughly enjoying his first proper lie-in since his arrival when the morning quiet was disturbed by an ear-splitting, masculine bellow of "OPEN UP IN THE NAME OF KING FELIX!" It startled him so severely he tumbled out of bed and hit his head.

  Naturally this occurred the one time he had removed his imitation Crux Terminatus amulet, which was hanging from the bedpost where he had left it the night before. Because it had been digging into him as he lay on the wonderfully soft bed.

  Groaning, Caius managed to remember how his limbs worked and made his way to his feet. Before he did anything else, he put the amulet back on. Naturally, Idunnir had sprung awake with the grace of a cat. She had gone from sleeping to standing with her sword drawn in seconds.

  Like the day before, she seemed alert and ready for action. Leading the way to the front door, she opened it a crack and peered out. From her posture, Caius could tell that she was ready to spring aside if a threat lay behind the door.

  None materialized.

  Idunnir closed the door and sheathed her sword, provisionally. "Not here for us, just some loudmouth at the gate."

  With his brain finally waking up, Caius asked "Probably here about the zombies."

  "You're the only person around who has any idea what those things are. Something from your world?"

  "They exist only in stories, but yes." Caius had made that distinction clear to Frida when the formidable woman had debriefed him the day before.

  "Still better than nothing. They might want to talk to you about it. Get dressed before they come knocking." Idunnir was all business, but there was something... different... about her tone of voice.

  No time to wash, Caius had to settle for washing his face and hands. An inauspicious start to the day, in his opinion. But he was dressed in short order and peeking between the shutters of a window as the new arrivals passed by outside. No glass in the window, of course, but the draftiness of the house probably saved its occupants from asphyxiation when sleeping with a fire burning.

  He counted a dozen soldiers and there were definitely more that he had missed.

  "I don't think you like surprises?" Idunnir started speaking, then paused. The sentence was a slightly garbled mix of question and statement. Caius turned to her and nodded for her to continue, which she did. "I was in training to be one of King Felix's chosen warriors, but it was years ago. Before..."

  "It that where you got your sword? I noticed that no one else had one." He asked, getting a nod in return. After some thought he continued with "Should we try to avoid them?" The statement was carefully constructed to confirm that he was on her side, should it come down to it.

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  "No, but thank you. I just didn't want you to be surprised if someone recognizes me." Idunnir was perfectly matter-of-fact about it.

  "Thank you for telling me. I don't like surprises." Caius tried to express his sincerity as best as he could, and received a nod in return.

  Watching Idunnir get into her armor was impressive. Her motions were so practiced that she looked like she was moving in fast-forward. Soon she was leading the way to the fort. Somewhat oddly, she left her shield behind and wore her sword at her side. Caius would have thought the other way around would make more sense if you wanted to look non-threatening.

  But she was the native guide and he was smart enough to let her take the lead. He could hear one half of the conversation already taking place at the fort, that same voice from earlier loud and clear. Actually... from the sound of it, the man was being polite and friendly. Just at an excessive volume.

  "Cavalry" would be an excessively generous description of the men. Caius guessed they were actually mounted infantry. For one thing, stirrups clearly hadn't been invented yet and that would probably make fighting from horseback awkward. No lances either, though they were all armed with spears.

  Frida noticed the approaching pair and clearly pointed them out to whoever she was talking to. Probably someone important, they had a metal breastplate and a red cloak. The figure turned to look at them, then back to Frida.

  Idunnir spoke in an undertone: "I think that's Helvus. Which means the King is taking this seriously, Helvus was one of his top men back then. Probably still is." Caius kept his own voice low as he responded. "You can tell? I can't even tell if it's a man under all that armor."

  That earned him a look. Well, it wouldn't be the first time he got that wrong.

  Loudmouth, or whoever he was supposed to be, nodded at something the leader said and responded with "Yes sir!" at an unnecessarily high volume. Getting off his horse, he made his way around his comrades towards Caius and Idunnir.

  "Commander Helvus wants to talk to you two!"

  Caius very much did not want to speak to someone important, especially this early and before breakfast. But he didn't have a choice, so he followed Loudmouth. Trying to get his talking-to-people face on was a challenge. Friendly just wasn't going to happen, but he thought he could manage polite.

  By the time they got to where Frida was talking to the commander, Helvus had his helmet under his arm. Hair all white and face stern, the very picture of an experienced leader. "Frida says you know what these things are?"

  Suddenly, Caius had a premonition that lying to this man would be a bad idea. But using the truth selectively was a different matter. He spoke a bit louder than usual and picked his words with exquisite care. "I know some things you would find useful, but not where they come from."

  Helvus nodded, so hopefully he appreciated how precise Caius was being. Not entirely surprising for a military leader. Caius continued: "Idunnir here fought several. They were wolves. They seemed to feel no pain and ignored injuries that should have killed them. But a solid blow to the head or spine put them down. They kept trying to bite us, even when none of their teeth remained. I would suggest avoiding that at all costs."

  The commander spent some time thinking about that. "That will be all." He dismissed them, and Caius was turning to leave when Helvus threw in a parting remark. "Glad to see you still alive, Idunnir."

  Fortunately, that was the only contact they had with the soldiers that day. The mounted men set off again soon after.