Devek scraped his boots clear of mud on the edge of the steps before he entered the tavern proper, oiled coat still repelling water, thankfully. As strained as the supply trains had been for the 62nd, his old coat still worked better than the one he'd been issued here – it was mended and patched, but still waterproof. There was something to be said for carefully tending to your own gear.

Hanging his coat to drip dry near the fire, he took an out of the way seat and ordered a rabbit pie and ale; it was his night on the town, barracks for his new unit, the 35th Lancers, close enough that actually going into town on leave-nights was feasible.

If there was one thing he didn't miss about the 62nd, it was the degree of isolation. It had resulted in greater camaraderie, but it had also been a mess to deal with in the poor-weather falls and winters when going outside to get some space wasn't always an option. The number of times he'd had to break up fights over the stupidest things didn't bear considering!

This particular tavern had become a favorite of his; the lighting was warm but just dim enough that give it a bit of time and no one would remember an officer was here, plenty of Sunsguard enlisted men came in to warm up and enjoy the company of the serving girls and the place was popular amongst travelers and locals too – making it the perfect spot to lurk in a corner and listen for news.

"- Firestarter," he heard from the table a few down from him. They were keeping their voices low, but the table they'd chosen had a weakness – it couldn't see the door easily; meaning they didn't know he was here, so they weren't being as careful as they should have.

But their carelessness was Devek's triumph, so he leaned back in his chair and tilted his head slightly to catch as much of their exchange as possible.

"A Firestarter, put out a fire? Now I know you've been drinking," that sounded like one of the junior cooks – the one from the southern reaches of Ruby Lake.

"Got it straight from my cousin! The whole town was evacuated because of that fire, and the foresters had sent for help but all that showed up in time was this Firestarter and some Enforcers – everyone made it out! And you know those forest fires are bad, no way would they have made it out if the fire hadn't been stopped. Put the whole blasted thing out!" that was definitely one of their hostlers, from up by the Comb – if he'd needed any more confirmation, there it was. The Comb was near enough the 62nd for Father Kir to have headed out for a forest fire.

"Huh," another voice this time, at least three of them then, he couldn't quite put his finger on this one, "You know… that reminds me of that story from the 40th, remember that one?"

"That was the… the witch-power, right?" the damning term was barely murmured, Devek only just able to hear the consonants and filling in the rest while he was served his dinner. Murmuring thanks to the girl and paying her for his meal, he left half-an-ear open for the all too interesting conversation, but he could miss some of this story. He'd been there after all.

"That one was a Firestarter too? I thought it was an exorcist," the hostler asked, Devek grimacing at the reminder of Loshern. Misunderstanding or not, that man had definitely left a very strong and sour impression, no matter his truly holy calling.

"Definitely a Firestarter when I heard it," the cook confirmed, "Now what about that business with Hardorn, you think the Senior Lieutenant is right, we're going to get pulled into a full war against them?"

"I think he spent too long in the northwest – no way will we be sent against Hardorn when they're warring with the White Demons," the tantalizingly familiar voice said – wait a minute, that was one of his scouts! Well, not his, not anymore – he was full second in command now, but the scouts were still his.

Well if that was what they thought, they'd be in for a rude awakening when the Rising Son came around. He'd have to figure out more subtle ways to get them ready for true war conditions. Sergeant Greich had given him some excellent ideas.

And he'd have to tease the twins in his next letter – because he doubted they had been instated as Enforcers.