Lorne continues to impress Dain, though whether or not that's a good thing is debatable. He takes in the scene, all but one of the soldiers clearly uninjured, Tuo bleeding freely and staining the snow beneath him (his gaze doesn't linger there, much as the tangle of emotion in his gut might want it to).

"One man claims responsibility," Dain says, "and the other childishly denies all fault. I would have thought soldiers of Cliffside and Duke Galein were disciplined enough to be the first, not the latter."

"Our commander --!" the soldier starts.

"-- is going to be sending you to war soon. He has more important things to worry about, and so do you. Attack an unarmed man again, and the church will be sure to add considerably to the worries of both your commander and the Duke. Go back to your garrison."

The soldiers don't answer. There's fury on more than one face, but even through the haze of drink, excuses like 'he spit at me' will seem to ring hollow in the frigid winter air.