Clean up and decide whether to press on.

Rosella stood over the body of the fallen bandit leader, clutching her precious harp and looking warily back at Janno, whose sword still dripped blood.

"What are we going to do now? Celebrate?" Elektra broke in. The young wizard-woman, elated with her part in the victory, practically skipped around the scene of the bloody skirmish.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Janno said. "Let's clean up this bandit trash, and then Rosella can play us a few magic tunes to reward us for risking our lives."

Rosella coughed and gave Janno an uneasy look, but didn't protest.

Janno asked Elektra to keep watch. Then he, together with Silos the monk and amazon-tall veteran Caroline, gathered the bodies of the nine fallen bandits. Though Caroline's chest was bandaged, she showed no sign of being bothered by the injury. "Gloria is a good healer," she told Janno, when he asked.

"What of the two who fled?" Janno asked her.

"Got clean away," she said. "Eleven is large for a bandit group so close to town, so I have little fear they will call on their friends to make trouble."

Janno grunted. "Good," he said. "Silos, have you known Rosella long?" he asked. "Is she a good companion?"

The martial monk weighed his reply. He rubbed a broad palm across his shaven head and looked up at the big fighting man. "Not long," he said. "But I am under terms in which I pledge my life to her protection."

Janno was not sure from the monk's expression whether he actually approved of this arrangement, but it seemed like he was resolved to it. "Mphm," Janno said, and nodded his head. He rubbed his own chin.

As they finished gathering the bodies, taking coins and weapons, Elektra looked over. "What of the lair?" she asked. "Wasn't there supposed to be a tower nearby?"

"But it is late in the day already," her sister Gloria said. "Do we want to keep bashing about?"

"If we do not press on, we may lose the true reward our risk has earned," Caroline said. "By tomorrow, those two runaways will have picked the choicest from the lair and fled. Horses, no doubt, weapons, coin, and fine fabrics. Perhaps some special item we can turn in for a reward."

Gloria and Rosella looked doubtful. Silos offered no point of view. Caroline and Elektra were eager to press on to the abandoned tower the bandits were rumored to use as their lair.

"Janno," Rosella asked. "You're the leader. Should we press on to the tower?" She still had a worried look on her face.