Katja wanted to say something but could think of nothing clever. Serdra couldn’t know any more than she about what had happened. Vajan’s band could hardly have been large enough to take a fort, even a small one. Had the invasion begun? Had Valdimar’s army surprised everyone with some brilliant scheme? They walked in silence, with a significantly different mindset than before. They could very well be heading towards an entire army and Katja could only turn to her imagination for the answers the flames called for. Perhaps someone was careless with a candle, she thought without really believing it and managed a slight smile. That one would certainly get an earful. They climbed a short distance up a rocky slope to be able to walk across a forested hill and the fort would clearly be waiting for them on the other side of it. Katja heard no screams or sounds of firefighting, no panicking animals or the marching of an army.
