“Boss, Syfr see something. Bunch of humies near wagons. Look like... Workers?” Shortfang announced. Sure enough just after you cross the crest of a hill you could see in the distance hundreds of men in chains, carrying stones to lay onto the ground. Overseeing them were a squad of guardsmen, wearing similar uniforms to the ones you saw at the encampment. However these men didn’t look nearly as portly and sloven; they seemed fit and almost intimidating. 

“Prisoners of war working a chain gang.” Ferric called out. “Looks like they’re repaving the road. Good for them, though we’ll need to detour off the road a bit to avoid them.” Sure enough the group would have to go off road a bit, but not too far from the road that you couldn’t see them. Most of the workers looked like rough and unsavory folks, similar to those brigands, though there were quite a few women, children, and elderly in the chain gang as well. Quite a few were missing limbs. When one fell or faltered they were pulled out of line and tossed off to the side.

“That’s life here.” Pylia said quietly. “It’s not kind to those who don’t follow authority. Suppose it’s not suppose to be for criminals but... An eye for an eye, you know? I wonder how many of those people are actual criminals and not simply someone who couldn’t pay a tax or stole some bread.”