Missing Marquis Burton

The early morning light dawned over thick black smoke as the cremation piles smouldered, darkening the sky to the point that it was nearly impossible to tell night from day.

For the residents of Burton, this was a day that they would never forget. Not just the thick smoke, but the smell that came with it, as the bodies had been doused in thick tar oil to help them burn.

The remnants of the Dagos army were in full retreat, not attempting to hold formation, and Dominic wondered how much banditry was going to increase between here and the border. 

Many would not want to go home and face the results of a lost war, but they couldn't stay in Cygnia. Even their accent would give them away as foreign soldiers, if their face didn't do it first.

But that wasn't Dominic's first concern. 

"What do you mean, 'The Marquis is missing'?" He asked in an even tone that made the Guard Commander's spine shiver.