Like Being Back In School

Every night, Dominic made one improved rifle as he listened to the palace maids gossip about the news of the war. 

The room he was working in was right next to the courtyard where they took their breaks on days with favourable weather, and the main kitchen was on the other side of the courtyard. If he wasn't making too much noise, he could pick up most of the day's gossip, but most of it was hardly considered good news.

While the portion of land where his home had been was recovered, and now under the control of the Cygnia Army, large portions of the border had been lost, with the defenders driven back to the next manor house. 

There were rumours that the Dagos Army had some new super weapon that the Cygnia forces were having trouble dealing with, but palace gossip could only be trusted so far, and the army was not sending any letters back.