Reedwake Ford

Pyrrhus begins as the captain of a small escort company that takes honest work when it can afford to. He uses his mother's family name in ordinary dealings. The opening contract is deliberately modest: bring seed grain and medicine to Cinderford before the roads become impassable. Mira is accompanying the medicine after spending several years training as a field surgeon. She and Pyrrhus grew up together, but they have not remained inseparable. Their first conversation includes affection, irritation, and the discovery that each has become someone the other does not quite know.

At Reedwake Ford, deserters block the road. Their leader, Dain, served in the border war and carries a pay certificate worth nothing at local markets. He claims the wagons belong to the army by right of unpaid wages. Halven recognizes the unit markings and quietly confirms the men were genuinely abandoned by the treasury. That does not make surrendering the village's seed acceptable.

The battle teaches elevation, facing, cover, and objectives beyond killing everyone. Pyrrhus can break the blockade, capture Dain, or reach a negotiation position after protecting the wagon team. Surrendered enemies remain people in the scene instead of disappearing when the victory banner appears. Recruiting Dain gives the company a capable veteran and another mouth to feed; delivering him to the nearest magistrate earns payment but leaves his fate uncertain.

Afterward, Pyrrhus discovers one deserter has a royal collection notice for the same grain shipment. The notice is genuine. Someone has sold or assigned the cargo twice. This is the first clue, and it arrives through the practical problem of who gets to eat.