Dame Corinne Varr is a knight-captain of the Barony of Pelgate's army and commander of Fort Rodric. Fearing that her barony will soon be tested, Dame Varr takes what measures she is able to prepare her soldiers for the foreseen fighting. In her closely held opinion, Baroness Pryor of Pelgate has grown old or tired and has, thus far, ignored the dangers of the Ru Steppes. But despite Dame Varr's misgivings about her Baroness' lack of action, she is a loyal knight who will not turn her back on the barony. In frustration, Varr has begun to enlist aid from sellswords and mercenary mages traveling through Pelgate’s lands to bolster her seemingly forgotten fortress here on the Otrin-Pelgate border.

Recently she has accepted the unasked for aid from Baron Trevalyan, in the form of mercenaries sent to their aid. But, she ascertains, she only did so because she cannot gainsay the nobleman and turning them away would reflect poorly on Pelgate and the Baroness Pryor.