Tristan sheathed his sword and unbuckled his shield.<br/><br/>"They were wrong," he answered her, "We'd have been slaughtered to a man without Lauralana today.  And if that thing had been left unchecked..."<br/><br/>"It'd have raised an army of lesser spawn," Garreth interjected as he swung back over the railing to join them, "Every ogress in the place, almost a dozen captives, and nearly a score of orcish bitches.  All carrying spawn."<br/><br/>Tristan's face went pale.  "What do we do about that?"<br/><br/>"Do?" Garreth answered with a hard growl as he jutted his thumb towards a thick stream of smoke rising from the village, "It's done.  First bodies into the fire to be sure the taint is destroyed."<br/><br/>Tristan staggered back a step and gasped, speechless with shock.