Chapter 7

Nurm woke in the middle of the night to screams and shouts; the camp was being attacked! Grabbing up his weapons, he dashed out of the tent. In the light of the watch fires he could see a wave of attackers being driven back by his spearmen. The ragged horde charged again!

Watch fires blazed high as dry brush was tossed on them, and now the defenders' arrows began to take their toll. This second attack failed, not even advancing as far as the first. Screamed obscenities and a few poorly aimed spears and clubs were all that the attackers could offer before fading into the brush. Nurm waited for another attack, but the bandits seemed to have fled. He ordered more wood thrown on the fires, and called for a quick count of injuries.

"Two guards have broken arms, and five more were knocked out by thrown clubs. Nobody killed, but three missing." Amy stamped a sandaled foot, seeming on the verge of a screaming rage. "They got Jewel!"

"Who else is missing?"

"The little redhead, Lyssa, and Mak. Jewel and Lyssa were both on sentry duty, and Mak may have been caught outside the defense ring, if he wasn't in league with the attackers." Amy paced nervously, visibly controlling her anger. "Do you think that he could have been in with them."

"No, it doesn't make sense that he would have been. We'll track them as soon as it's light. How many of the bandits did we get?"

They turned their attention to the downed attackers left behind by the abrupt retreat. Five were dead or dying, but one attacker was only pinned to a tree, the iron point of a spear through his shoulder. He passed out when it was jerked free, but came to while his wound was being dressed. He was still shaky, but able to walk unassisted when his captors brought him before Nurm.

"What's your name? What's your village?" demanded the trader harshly.

"Jad." The prisoner hung his head sullenly, not meeting Nurm's gaze. "No village."

"No village? That means you're an outlaw. No Elders to ask what happened to you, are there? No shaman to send your soul on its way when we cut your throat." Nurm grinned nastily, fingering the edge of his dagger, and Jad shrank away as far as the grip on his arms would allow. "Any reason for us not to kill you? What's the name of your band?"

"Kotta's Bunch." Jad muttered the words as though he feared to be overheard.

"Speak up! I want to hear you."

"Kotta's Bunch. Kotta, him lead. Us got some farms, couplethree women. Us maybe make our own village, some day."

"Who tipped you off that we were coming? Come on, talk!"

"Village Rauch. Them send word. Say you got women, got much stuff to steal." He grinned vacantly. "You die, nobody know what happen to you."

"Kotta's Bunch must be real big, to be that brave. How many of you are there?"

"Huh? Don't know how many. Me not tell."

"Why not? They won't know you told. Ten of you? Twenty?"

"More than ten. Me not know. Not know numbers."

"How many more than ten? One more? Five more?"

"Me not know!" Jad was sweating, turning paler under his layers of grease and dirt as the shock from his wound reached him.

"Give him a drink," Nurm ordered, and waited until that had been done. "Now, you talk! How many more than ten?"

"Don't know! Five, maybe six."

"There were more of you than that! Who were the others? Were they from Village Rauch?"

"Not from village." Jad set his retreating jaw. "Not tell more!"

"Search him!"

Two of the guards complied enthusiastically. Jad's tunic and filthy loincloth were ripped away, and he stood shivering in his sandals by the light of the fires. Around his neck on a carefully knotted thong was a tiny leather pouch, carefully stitched shut and sealed with grease and pitch. Jad squirmed and tried to twist away, but the thong snapped easily when Nurm jerked on it.

"No! No, I tell!" Jad winced as though with pain as Nurm's fist closed on the pouch. "It was Krostens! Them tell Kotta to attack. Them take prisoners, us take loot."

"Where do these Krostens live, in a village?"

"No village. Krostens have cave in hills. Them sacrifice animals to Krosten God. Us not do what them say, them call down curses. No more good hunting or fishing. Babies die. Bad storms come. I not tell you more."

"Where's their cave? Come on, talk!"

Jad only shook his head, keeping a sullen silence. Nurm held up the amulet. Holding it up where Jad could see his every move, he began to pick at the seams with the point of his dagger. Jad watched, sweating harder. His eyes widened with fear as the stitches yielded to the point of Nurm's dagger. The amulet was almost ready to fall apart when at last he screeched that he would talk.

"All right! Not steal my soul! What do you want to know?"

"Where is the Krosten cave? How do we get there? How long will it take us?" Nurm's questions were short and to the point.

The prisoner pointed to a low mountain that loomed to the north and east of them, dimly visible in the waning moonlight. "About a half day easy walk to big cave, north side of hill, up near to top. Good trail, easy to find. Leads to big clearing, with cave on upper side." His eyes were riveted on the amulet that dangled from Nurm's hand. "What you do?"

"Go after them!" Nurm snapped out orders, detailing who would go with them and who would stay to guard the camp. "How many Krostens are there at this cave?"

"Not know. Maybe five, maybe ten, maybe more." Jad's face brightened. "I tell true. You let me go? Give back soul?"

"Not a chance! You'll stay here until we get back with our people. If you told the truth, then we'll give you back your soul and let you go." Nurm turned to Amy. "You're in charge until we get back. If we aren't back here by tomorrow noon, head back the way we came. We'll catch up with you, if we're still alive."