Chapter 31: Pain, Part 4

Telmé raked a hand through his hair, a rare show of agitation—well, rare in the past decade or so. Alrin well-remembered the days when Prince Telmé had been far from the stoic, capable leader everyone knew. "We need to get ahead of whoever is behind this, whatever the cost. Håkon is working on it now. I fear if we do not manage it this time we will not get another chance. Raffé, how many dead-walkers did we kill today?"

"Four thousand, two hundred and seventy-three," Raffé replied promptly. "I cannot count the number that Captain Alrin and his men obliterated before our arrival, but I would put the total number at approximately five thousand."

"Many of them were far gone," Dalibor said, folding his arms across his chest. "There were some fresh ones in there, but most of those dead-walkers had been dead for some time."