Talen pointed at the footprint. "What do you make of these?"
Nettle walked over. He took a wet cloth, wiped his chest, and looked down.
"They"re not mine or yours," Talen said.
"The toes look a little long," Nettle said.
Long toes made Talen think of the woodikin. When the first settlers arrived in these lands, they found a number of small, hairy creatures sitting in a wild apple tree eating fruit. The first settlers had considered the creatures pests, but over time things had turned deadly, for the woodikin were not simple and dumb brutes. There had been much bloodshed between the first people and the tribes of the woodikin.
"Woodikin?" Talen asked.
"No," Nettle said, "this foot is too fat. And the toes aren"t nearly long enough. They"re human."
"The prints are too small for any of us," said Talen.
"So it could be the sleth children or someone else. If it is sleth, you know we"re bound by law to report it to the authorities."
"And have them take all the glory and the reward?"
"I"m just saying we need to think this through."
"What"s there to think? We get my da out here and execute a plan. We"re not talking about some ancient sleth. We"re talking about children."
"I know," said Nettle. "But I also know you don"t give some things enough time. You jump to conclusions. Look at your father"s spoon."
"Are you saying you don"t want to help?"
"No," said Nettle. "I"m in. But we need to have a solid plan. Not some half-baked thing. This one-legged hatchling snare scheme of yours is about as good as your running up the tree to escape Ke and River. This is one print. One hatchling. How many others might there be? We have to take that into account."
Nettle had a point, but sometimes you didn"t have time to reconnoiter and strategize. "If you"d been in my shoes this morning," said Talen, "River and Ke would have had you before the chase began because you"d still be deciding which way to run. Sometimes what"s required is immediate action."
"Yes, just do the first thing that comes to mind. That will win wars and conquer nations."
Nettle heard a lot from his father and his men about battle. But just because his father was a man of battle tactics didn"t elevate Nettle to the same level. "You only get a perfect plan after the fact, Nettle. A good plan, boldly executed now, is far better than a perfect one next week."
"If they"re sleth," said Nettle, "then a hasty plan will get us both killed. I just want to make sure we do this thing in a way that will show everyone what we"re capable of. Not a way that backfires on us."
Nettle was right, but that didn"t make his resistance any less annoying. "Fine. Are you going to help me look for more spoor or are you just going to stand there dripping on the bricks?"
Talen and Nettle found two other sets of prints: one by the privy and the second in the mud by the pig pen. Nettle had just measured the one by the pig pen with his hand and concluded they had found prints that belonged to two different people, not one, when a man spoke from behind them.
"What have you got there, boys?"
Talen jumped. A huge, soldier stood only a few paces away. Two others stood behind him. The one in front had a dark beard that was long and unkempt like the fur of a s.h.a.ggy dog. A blue hand was painted on the right breast of his cuira.s.s. Each of the Nine Clans had many orders; the blue hand was one of the smaller Fir-Noy orders, but it was not made up of common men. This was an armsman, a professional soldier. His military belt with its ornate buckle and honor discs confirmed it. Only an armsman was allowed to wear that belt and the leather ap.r.o.n straps signifying his seniority. The other two men carried the blue hand on their armor as well.
Talen looked at the lead armsman"s wrist. It was marked with a tusk tattoo that extended up his forearm arm-the same design as the tattoo on the Fir-Noy that had sicced the Stag Home villagers on him. Talen had expected some reprisal from the Fir-Noy at Stag Home. But he thought it would come as a fine levied by the Shoka authorities. He didn"t think the Fir-Noy would send his men, and certainly not so quickly.
"Boy," the armsman said, "I asked you a question."
"We don"t have anything, Zu," Talen said. "Just talking about some wildcat tracks we found over the hill today."
The man looked down at the prints Talen and Nettle had been discussing and took a step to get a clearer view.
The dogs began to bark. Moments later a number of soldiers filtered out of the woods on one side of the farm. A few others approached from the fields on the other side.
"Nothing terrible needs to happen here today," said the armsman. "We just need your cooperation. You ought to start by calling your dogs before they get hurt."
Talen didn"t believe a word of it. Somebody was going to get hurt. Something valuable was going to be taken.
The cords of the muscles on the soldier"s arms and neck stood out. Most soldiers were levied from the ranks of the common people for a battle or watch, but it was always temporary; they served, and then went back to their lives. Commoners practiced regularly, it was true, but that could not be compared to the armsmen who did nothing but practice war. And not only was he an armsman, but the dark feathers in the tubes on either side of his untied helmet marked him as someone who held authority. Not a leader of a hundred, but a Hammer, someone marked for his performance in battle, someone who had proved himself and was marked for others to follow. Talen suspected this one had probably killed many men. The armsman had tied a piece of black cloth around his left upper arm. It signified he was a sleth hunter.
"Call your dogs," the man said again.
Talen whistled for the dogs, but they only barked more viciously.
Nettle looked up at the armsman and put his hands on his hips. "You have no authority here. This is Shoka land."
It was rude for Nettle to address the armsman without the formal "Zu" even if Uncle Argoth as a Captain for the Shoka outranked this man.
The man grinned a surprisingly rot-free smile. Then he stepped up to Nettle and backhanded him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Talen turned to help Nettle up, but Nettle only pushed his hand away. When he gained his feet, his face was red, eyes tearing from the pain of the man"s blow.
The armsman drew his sword and pointed it at Nettle. "Argoth"s get, aren"t you? Well, I"d watch what I said. None of daddy"s men are here to keep you from stubbing your toe. And we wouldn"t want any accidents."
Nettle clenched his jaw in anger. He was going to say something, but Talen cut him off. "What do you want, Zu?"
"You"re going to round everyone up. I want them standing by the well."
Suddenly Queen"s and Blue"s barking rose to a pitch by the old sod house, and then one of them screamed.
"I told you to call your dogs," the armsman said.
"Blue!" Talen yelled. "Queen!"
Talen ran toward the old house. Three soldiers stood in the yard between the old house and the new one. One stood with a drawn sword over Blue. Blue cried out in pain, eyes wide, and tried to scrabble away from the man, but the dog"s back legs were injured. Blood ran out a wound in his hind quarters. Queen stood back, cowering. When she saw Talen, her courage rose, and she barked at the soldiers again.
Ke and River rushed out of the house to the yard, looks of concern and alarm on their faces, River still wearing her cooking ap.r.o.n. Da strode out of the barn with the Hog in his hand then saw the soldiers. "What"s going on here?" he asked.
"You"ll put that down," said the big armsman, "and tie your other dog up."
Da turned to the armsman. "Who are you?"
"I"m here in the name of the Council. You will stand and account."
"I"ll do no such thing, not to the likes of you."
The big armsmen grinned. "Oh, I think you will."
The two soldiers with him raised crossbows and pointed them at Da. Then the soldiers by the privy and the others over by Talen fanned out in a wide semi-circle around Da and the others.
Da looked at the soldiers, looked at the lead armsman.
"Drop it," the armsman said.
Da tossed the Hog to the ground then motioned at Talen with his chin. "Put the dogs in the barn."
"Get Queen," Talen said to Nettle then rushed forward to Blue. He knelt next to him. Blood matted the dog"s fur and blackened the dust. "It"s okay," Talen said and stroked him across the brow. Blue tried to lick his leg and let out another cry of pain. "It"s okay," Talen said again then slipped his hands under the dog. Blue cried out and turned to nip at Talen, but Talen murmured gentle words, stood, and carried him to the barn and laid him on a pile of fresh straw. Nettle came in moments later with Queen and tied her to a post.
"Fir-Noy rot," said Nettle.
Talen ignored him and smoothed Blue"s head and neck. "You"re going to be all right, boy. But how are we going to stop the bleeding?"
"Compress it," said Nettle.
One of the other armsmen appeared in the barn doorway. "You two. Get out here."
Blue whined, but these armsmen had violence in their eyes, so Talen stroked Blue"s head once more then got up and followed Nettle outside.
"Over there." The man pointed with his sword at the well. Talen and Nettle moved to the well, the armsman right behind them.
"Zun," Da said to the big armsman. "You cannot come onto my land and threaten me."
"Actually, Koramite," the armsman said, flinging that word at Da instead of returning the proper t.i.tle. "It"s not your land."
"You can"t hunt here."
"The Council has opened up the restrictions. Hunters are allowed free rein."
Da paused. "Then I"ll need to see your token."
The big man pointed to his armband. "Are you blind?"
"Any fool can put on a band," said Da. "That means nothing. You need a token, even when restrictions are eased. In these lands it"s the Bailiff that determines who will hunt. I"ve already spoken to him about it."
"Listen to this clever Koramite," said the man.
"It"s Shoka business. Not yours. If you want to search us, you"ll come back with the Bailiff"s token."
The man grinned and dropped his gaze like Da had made some joke. He glanced at his men. "I believe this woman is begging me to plow her field." He turned back to Da. "Are you begging me to plow your field?"
"Would you allow just any band of men who came along free access to your home? Especially when they demand it at sword point? You need to move on," said Da.
"No," said the man. He rolled his shoulders to loosen them. "Actually we don"t. Now I"ve given you an opportunity, but it seems you insist." He walked forward. "I know who you are, Zun." He used the t.i.tle in obvious mockery. "You think you"re something-a master archer. But you"re nothing more than a high and mighty camp lady."
Among some soldiers, bowmen were considered lesser warriors because they fought from a distance and sometimes included women and boys in their ranks. To these soldiers, real warriors stood their ground and faced the men they would kill. Of course, others didn"t share that opinion, and Da had proven himself many times in battle. Besides, bowmen played a vital role, which this armsman"s crossbow men were demonstrating at this very moment. But he obviously wasn"t smart enough to see that.
The armsman stopped two paces from Da and raised his sword point to Da"s chest.
"A camp lady, commanding his handful of cowards. Except, oops, you forgot your bow." He paused. "You know, all this resistance just makes me wonder what you"re hiding."
Fear rose in Talen. This wasn"t going to end well. He didn"t know what to do. If he said something about the footprints and sighting earlier, he could get the whole family in trouble. If he did nothing, who knew what this Fir-Noy would do?
Da looked the man levelly in the eye. "This has nothing to do with hiding. It has everything to do with order. You come back with a token, and you can pry into every cranny. That"s the law. And you know it."
"Don"t lecture me, Koramite. These are the facts. One of your own was practicing the Dark Arts. And one of you is harboring-"
"Ridiculous," said Da.
The man raised his sword to Da"s neck. "Don"t interrupt me again. We"re going to search this place. Then maybe you"ll make us some dinner. Afterward, if we feel like it, your tasty daughter there will entertain us."
Talen"s heart began to beat in his throat. What was Da doing talking to the armsman like that?
"This is why hunts are regulated," Da said. "Now, you goat lover, you"re going to move on."
No, Talen thought.
The armsman narrowed his eyes in anger. "I"m done with that mouth," he said and lunged to skewer Da in the throat.
But Da moved. One moment he was standing heron still, the next he dodged to the side and, as the armsman lunged past, delivered a kick to the man"s sword hand with such violence that the sword leapt from the man and flew to the dust a number of yards away.
The big armsman gasped, clutched his hand.
Da delivered another kick to the side of the man"s leg that sent him to one knee.
"Shoot him!" one of the other armsmen cried.
One of the crossbow men pulled his trigger. The bow thunked. The dart sped out.
Da dove over the armsman"s back, rolled away, and came up in a crouch.
The dart struck the side of the house.
The other armsman aimed and pulled his trigger. The dart flew, but Da lunged back to the big fallen armsman and the dart flew past and into the wood.
"Get him," one of the armsmen shouted.
But Da took the big armsman"s knife from his sheath, ripped off his helmet, and then held him by a fistful of his s.h.a.ggy long hair with a knife at the side of his neck where one deep cut would slice the artery. "Back up!" Da commanded. "You-"
The armsman Talen had forgotten was behind him took Talen by the hair and pressed a knife to his back.
"Two can play that!" the armsman yelled. "Throw down that knife, you b.u.g.g.e.red Koramite, or I skewer this boy."
Da turned to look at him.
"I"ll poke him!" the armsman said. "I"ll poke him!"