Chapter 17

Mark, a big, short elderly man with a large belly bulging out of his shirt, was the head of the night-watchers whose work was to safeguard the lives and properties of the denizens when everyone was asleep. He had also been amongst the first soldiers the Townhead had sent to guard the new plantations. Stories of his youthful strength and his lust for sex were part of his legend, and even in old age, he found it hard to resist strutting about like a champion warrior.

The tight-fitting, thick, army-green peak cap he wore hardened his appearance and made his head look like a cannonball. He glowered at everyone and strode the streets with shoulders pushed back and belly thrust forward, swinging his arms like a soldier, hilariously unaware of how comic a figure he cut.

He boasted of how he fought demons and witches every night while everyone was asleep. He told the young men willing to join his team how terrifying the nocturnal chores were, how they tortured his nerves and dis