The ground beyond the stakes was covered with bodies. None of them moved.
Smoke drifted low across the earthworks where the guns had fired, thick with the stink of powder, blood, and churned earth. Cedd's line wasn't waiting for new orders. The men had already fallen into the work that came after a volley, tearing open fresh cartridges, checking the rifles beside them, and hauling the wounded back toward the surgeons before anyone needed to tell them.
Varo crouched two places down the line, easing a round into his breech while studying the carnage ahead.
"Reckon that's the polite version. Wonder what the rude one looks like."
Brek kept his attention on loading.
"Give it an hour."
Cedd let the exchange pass. The men needed something ordinary to hold onto after watching so many die at once. More important, neither of them had stopped working while they talked.
Movement appeared at the mouth of the pass before the smoke had fully lifted.
