Harren had been a guardsman in Lothian City for eight years, long enough to have served under Marquis Bors and to have fought demons twice in the foothills beyond the city walls. He wasn't a coward. But the city had changed in the weeks since Bors died and his son claimed the throne, and Harren had learned very quickly that the rules he'd lived by for the better part of a decade no longer applied.
Under Lord Bors, a guardsman who did his job and kept his head down could expect a fair wage, a warm meal at the end of his shift, and the occasional gold sovereign if he distinguished himself during a demon raid.
Meanwhile, Lord Owain spoke of even greater rewards for men who could prove their might against the demon hordes, but the punishments he meted out to keep discipline were worse, and a man could find himself on the wrong side of Lord Owain's temper without even knowing how he'd stepped out of line.
