Chaos Unleashed by Drew Karpyshyn Page B

farmhouse.”
    “Today?” Scythe asked.
    The bearded man nodded. “Early this morning. One of them was standing watch, and he saw you. Or sensed you. They’re not like normal people.”
    Jerrod’s eyes aren’t white anymore,
Scythe recalled. The soldier didn’t know he used to be with the Order.
    “How come they could see you before you saw them?” she asked the monk.
    “They could have posted a scout. If he was concentrating solely on keeping watch, his Sight would reach farther than normal. He would have sensed me before I sensed him.”
    A reasonable explanation, but Scythe wasn’t wholly convinced.
    Maybe your abilities have become weaker than you want to admit.
    Before she could press him further, however, Keegan took over the interrogation.
    “You were with the Inquisitors at the farmhouse?” Keegan clarified. “You saw them murder that family?”
    “That wasn’t my idea!” the soldier blurted. “I was just following orders!”
    “When did they die?” Jerrod asked.
    “Yesterday. We were passing by when one of the Inquisitors suddenly stopped and said we had to investigate. They made us search the farm. Their daughter was hiding in the barn.
    “I guess she was the one they wanted,” the soldier said, his voice getting low. “After we found her, everything happened so fast. They made us tie them up, and they burned them alive.”
    “And you just sat there and watched?” Keegan demanded, disgusted.
    “There wasn’t anything I could have done to stop it,” the man answered in a grim whisper. “I didn’t help them, though. I didn’t sign up for that.”
    “You serve the Order during a Purge,” Jerrod countered. “What did you expect?”
    “I’m just a soldier,” the man insisted. “One of Lord Carthin’s men.”
    “Carthin?” Scythe asked.
    “The City Lord of Brindomere,” Jerrod answered. “A generous contributor to the Order’s coffers over the years.”
    “He’s the Justice of the Order now,” the soldier added.
    “A poor choice,” Jerrod mumbled. “His devotion is strongest only when it most benefits him.”
    “Brindomere’s a big place,” Scythe noted. “How many troops does he command?” she demanded, pointing the Sword at the prisoner.
    “I don’t know. I really don’t,” he said, before adding, “Thousands. Ten thousand, maybe. But they’re spread out all over the Southlands right now. Looking for heretics and such.”
    “Looks like we’ll have to fight our way through an entire army on our way to Callastan,” Scythe said. She actually found the prospect exhilarating.
    “That’s where we were headed,” the soldier admitted. “Before the Inquisitors made us stop at the farm.”
    “Why were you heading to Callastan?” Jerrod wanted to know.
    “The Pontiff is laying siege to the city. She’s gathering an army outside its walls.”
    “She must have felt the power of the Crown when it was unleashed,” Jerrod said. “Getting to Cassandra might be more difficult than I thought.”
    Keegan glared at the monk and shook his head, clearly uncomfortable with his speaking so openly about their mission in front of the prisoner.
    He thinks we’re going to let the soldier live!
Scythe realized.
    “We’ll need to find a way to sneak inside the city walls,” Jerrod added, either ignoring or unaware of what Keegan was thinking.
    “Callastan’s still a long way from here,” Scythe reminded him. “And we don’t have any supplies.”
    “There’s plenty of food at the camp,” the soldier offered, trying to win the favor of his captors. “Horses, too. I can take you there.”
    “And how many more of you will be waiting there for us?” Scythe asked.
    “None,” he promised. “This is all of us. The whole patrol. The Inquisitors said we’d need everyone for the ambush to work. They were worried you’d try to make a run for it.”
    Scythe barked out a cruel laugh at the irony of their overconfidence.
    “Take us to the camp,” Jerrod said, roughly