Murphy took his time flying back to Scarlet Castle. By the time he arrived, it was already afternoon. He was about to follow his usual routine and take a "secret inspection" tour of his territory, but before he'd even finished changing, someone knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
The vampire lord took off his cloak, leaving only his leather armor, and called out. The door opened, and Mirian walked in, looking exhausted and carrying a stack of documents.
She dropped them onto Murphy's desk with a thump and said in a thoroughly businesslike tone:
"So far, your warriors have found and registered 5,784 refugees for us."
"How many? Did you add an extra five?"
The number took Murphy by surprise. He exclaimed:
"It hasn't even been five days since this started! That's more than a thousand people a day. Where did they find so many refugees? I know the years of war in Transia have left a lot of people displaced, but that number is ridiculous!"
"The situation may be somewhat different from what you imagine, Governor."
Mirian looked deeply troubled.
She pulled out a chair and sat down across from Murphy, then opened the information she'd collected on the refugees and handed it to him. He glanced over it and immediately spotted the problem.
Of the nearly six thousand people found and registered so far, only a third were from Transia. The other two-thirds were "outsiders."
The unusual figures made Murphy frown.
"I know the Silvermoon Pride has been using its connections with merchant guilds in Batasin to recruit exiles and help them return home, and I have to commend them for making good use of their advantages. But where did all these refugees from the Cato region and East Prussia come from?
"I don't remember ordering the