...
Apologies, Forename. I was...lost in thought.
Mayhap they have the right of it. Mayhap we are fools for urging them to rise once more. Yet I believe─I have to believe─that in their heart of hearts, they...they still...
...Now is not the time. We must finish what we started.
I have in my possession a powerful medicine that befuddles the mind and memories. We must administer it to the soldiers ere they wake.
The medicine will leave the soldiers confused and unable to clearly recall recent events. They will suspect that they fell asleep at their posts and be reluctant to discuss it with others.
It is naught more than a temporary measure, but we dare not kill them for the sake of the villagers. Tend to the last two I put to sleep─I shall see to the others.