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.Master Tharman was nominally in charge, but the large contingent of sellswords who guarded the Veruna holdings did not answer to the Veruna master merchants.Small groups and bands of mercenaries in green and white came and went from the Hulburg yards and the other Veruna holdings constantly, sometimes escorting wagonloads of provisions bound for the camps, or timber, fur, and precious metals bound back to the merchant yards, but sometimes heading off on patrols or errands of their own.On the evening of the last day, just as they finished manhandling a load of hardwood planks into the Hulburg storehouse, half a dozen Veruna mercenaries rode into the merchant yard.At their head rode a lean, hawk-faced man who wore his red hair shaved down to angry orange stubble over his scalp.He wore enameled black half-plate armor under his Veruna surcoat, and he had a gold crest atop his helmet, which hung from the saddlehorn.The red-haired man rode up to the master merchant's residence, swung down from the saddle, and handed the reins to a valet, while the rest of his men dismounted.Geran watched the sellsword over his mule team, idly patting the neck of the nearer animal.The mercenary stretched briefly and rolled his head from side to side, working out the kinks of a long trip in the saddle."Who is that?" Hamil asked quietly from the wagon's bench.The halfling was careful not to look directly at the mercenaries."I don't know," Geran answered.He glanced to his left, where one of the Veruna teamsters they'd driven with was unhitching his own team, and called over."Say, Barthold— who's the captain over there?"The other driver looked over."Him? That's Urdinger.He's in charge of the armsmen.You'll want to be careful around him, he's got a short temper.I heard that he beat anotherdriver senseless when the fellow spilled a load into a ravine out near Troll Hill.Why d'you want to know?"Geran was too far away to see whether the Veruna captain was wearing an elven dagger at his belt.He peered closer, trying to get a better look, and realized that he was staring at the Veruna captain with far too much interest.He quickly looked back to the other driver and forced a lopsided grimace onto his face."I think I heard the same story out by Sterritt Lake.I was just wondering if that was the man."Urdinger went inside the master merchant's house, and the rest of the guards dispersed.Geran and Hamil finished their work, collected their silvers from the paymaster, and drove slowly out of the Veruna yard.The swordmage scowled, caught up in thought.He'd marked Urdinger well enough to recognize the man when he saw him again, but that begged the question of what to do next.None of the Veruna men seemed to have noticed his spying so far, but if he confronted the captain of their mercenaries it would be difficult to conceal his identity, to say the least.He could try to figure out where Urdinger preferred to drink and eavesdrop on the fellow or perhaps try to confront him away from the rest of the armsmen.but if the Veruna captain simply denied any involvement in the tomb-breakings or the murder of Jarad Erstenwold, it would be difficult to compel him to speak the truth.Assume that Urdinger is involved in both, Geran decided.What did the Verunas want with the barrows, anyway? Was it simply a matter of mercenaries looking for some easy riches that could be had from plundering the tombs of the forgotten dead, ignoring the danger that might attend? Or was it something that Urdinger had ordered his men to do for some reason of his own?"Well, what now?" Hamil asked, interrupting Geran's musings."A good night's sleep so that we can get an early start on tomorrow's provisioning? If we get to the tradeyard at sunrise, I believe we could get in two round-trips before dark and double our daily pittance.""I think we're done playing at mule drivers.""I thought I'd never hear you say that.Well, good.What do you propose next? Lie in wait for this fellow Urdinger and ambush him? Trail the Veruna blades and see where they go when they leave the camps?""Some of them are likely patrolling the wildlands near the camps, watching for monsters or marauders," Geran answered.He clicked his tongue at the mules and lightly flicked the reins to urge them onto the Lower Bridge."There's little point in following them.And even if we were confident that we were following the right group of armsmen at the right time to catch them in some mischief, well, it's damned difficult to trail mounted men out on the Highfells without being spotted yourself.No, I think we're going to have to lay a trap for them.""We could start a rumor that someone else opened a barrow and found something," Hamil said, thinking aloud."With sufficient riches in the tale, they'd have to investigate.We could set watch over the barrow in our story and wait for them.""Not a bad idea, but half of Hulburg might show up on our doorstep." Geran smiled grimly at the notion.Few native Hulburgans would open a tomb in defiance of the harmach's law, but the town was full of poor and desperate outlanders these days.And no laws pertained to looting burial mounds that were already standing open."We might waylay dozens of men before the ones we're looking for show up.We'd have to stack them up like cordwood behind the mound so that we didn't scare away the rest."Hamil laughed and shook his head."I see your point.Never mind.""We'll talk with my uncle tomorrow," Geran decided."He'll know which barrows have been broken into.Maybe we can discern some pattern to it all if we see more of the burial mounds the Veruna men have visited."To finish out their ruse, Geran and Hamil picked up a few barrels of salted meat and sacks of flour and drove back to the castle.Drivers delivered provisions to the garrison oftenenough that one more wagon wouldn't seem unusual.No one seemed to pay any special attention to them, so they left the the wagon with the Shieldsworn stables and returned to their rooms for much-needed baths, changes of clothing, and a good night's sleep in warm beds.In the morning, Geran rose, exercised, and dressed, then met Hamil in the great room.After breakfast, they made their way across the small court in front of Harmach's Tower to the library.A steady, cold drizzle was falling, a mix of rain and sleet.As before, they found a pair of Shieldsworn standing watch by the harmach's door.A small handful of clerks and chamberlains hurried in and out, carrying out the business of the castle.Geran and Hamil waited only a moment before they were shown in to see his uncle.Grigor Hulmaster sat at his writing desk, studying a stack of parchment as they entered."Ah, Geran! Master Hamil!" the old lord said warmly."You have certainly made yourselves scarce lately
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