Counter Measures - Part 6

The merchants were no better. They looked as worn down as Beam had seen Greeves, fighting with the constant threat of soldiers trying to work them over for better prices.

The villagers kept a clear distance from the soldiers. The soldiers, for their part, tended to group together. Though there were only a handful in the square – since Lombard couldn't afford to put too many on break at the same time – they usually stook together in groups of threes. Though there were still some that were confident enough to stay by themselves.

One such stood right in front of them, leaning out of over the wooden counter of a butcher's stall, a brazen look on his face as he flashed a slimy smile and attempted to wheedle all he could out of the butcher.

"C'mon, what's the harm? Just let me put it on the tab. Or better yet, we can consider it a gift, just between you and me," the soldier said.