we’d had a row with two of the governor’s men, so we’d found ourselves a spot off to the side. Once everyone was properly drunk and snoring all over the place, we heard a banging on the barricade. It was dark, and since the others were completely out cold, the three of us went to check it out.’ The lad nervously scratched his head. ‘I know we shouldn’t have, that it was dangerous, but our heads were already spinning, so there was no point in thinking.’ He paused for a long moment, during which he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath. ‘There were four of them, waiting for someone to open the door.’ He shook his head as if, with hindsight, he was berating himself for his stupidity. ‘Abdul shouted at them to get lost, that they should come back in the morning. He said it was late and the outpost was closed. And they said they had to come in and that we could work something out.’ He snorted in disgust. ‘It was...’ For the first time, the soldier looked up and gazed at Bleist with a clear-eyed expression. ‘Before, we’d sometimes earn a bit on the side… We didn’t do it often, but the governor’s men were always getting their hands dirty. Either something’d go missing from the cart, or a purse would jingle where it shouldn’t. All sorts of things.’ He sighed and hid his face again. ‘Then we thought we’d get a share too. When we took down the barricade and opened it, all four of them squeezed in. Abdul drank the least, so he was the one who talked to them. It went quickly, they didn’t argue, and they handed over the silver without a fuss. Only afterwards did they start asking how to get into the enclave without anyone checking them. But we’re not that stupid.’ He said the last sentence with clear irony. ‘Abdul said the money would be enough for entry, but they’d have to sort out the rest themselves, unless they chipped in. And then one of them took out the vials, going on about what they weren’t, and how good and expensive they were.’ The young man bit his lip in frustration. ‘He said everyone would get one if we showed them how to get into the enclave.’ He clenched his fists in a gesture of helplessness. ‘With the lads… well, sometimes we’d grab more than just beer and booze… So we got tempted.’
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