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Halvar the Hireling, Captain of the Town Guard on the island of Manatas, must deal with the deaths of a messenger boy and a respected professor of mathematics, both of which may be linked to a shipment of arms smuggled into the city. To make matters worse, a cougar has been spotted in the hills north of the town. Sectarian disputes and personal rivalries make for a not-so-happy holiday for the ex-mercenary, who finds the number of his country's enemies growing exponentially.