you know something important, you can’t keep it to yourself,” Keegan told him.
“Okay,” Vaaler relented, clearly relieved to finally be able to share his news with someone else. “But you can’t tell Jerrod or Scythe. They tend to overreact. That could make things worse.”
“Worse? You mean they’re already bad?”
“The Ice Fangs didn’t exactly rescue us,” Vaaler confessed. “We’re not guests of the clan; we’re prisoners.”
“What do they plan to do with us?” Keegan asked.
“I think they’re planning to turn us over to another clan in exchange for supplies and weapons. Ransom us off, basically.
They’ve sent envoys to the Rock Spirit clan. Or maybe Stone Heart is more accurate. Names are difficult to translate properly.”
“Let’s go with Stone Spirit,” Keegan suggested.
“Fair enough,” Vaaler conceded. “But whatever we call them, I think they’re Norr’s former people.”
“I can understand why he wouldn’t want to tell us,” Keegan admitted. “Jerrod wouldn’t like the idea of our being prisoners.”
“There’s more,” Vaaler said after a brief pause. “Most of theEastern clans are nomadic. They don’t normally take prisoners—they just use up food and resources the clan has been storing up for the winter. If they don’t kill you in battle, they’ll usually just strip your weapons and supplies and set you off to fend for yourself.”
“Sounds like a death sentence to me,” Keegan muttered.
“Depends on the weather and how close the rest of your own clan is,” Vaaler countered with a shrug. “It’s just the way things are done out here. But if they capture someone special, they might make an exception.”
“What do you mean by special?”
“Somebody important. Somebody so valuable that another clan would be willing to pay a heavy ransom to get them back. Maybe a famous warrior or champion. Or, more likely, someone closely related to the clan leader’s family.”
“You think Norr is some kind of barbarian royalty?”
“The clans only take prisoners if the payoff is going to be worth the cost of keeping someone around until the exchange can be made,” Vaaler noted. “The Ice Fangs figured Norr was valuable enough to keep all five of us around.”
“So this is a good thing,” Keegan said. “If Norr’s that important, then the Stone Spirits will make the exchange. Then he can get them to help us.”
“Just because you’re royalty doesn’t mean your people want you back,” Vaaler cautioned bitterly. “We don’t know why Norr left in the first place. Maybe he was sent into exile. Maybe he fled because he lost some kind of power struggle.
“The Stone Spirits might not want him back. If they refuse to pay the ransom, the best case is that we get set loose on the tundra with no food or weapons.”
Keegan didn’t want to ask about the worst case.
I bet the dogs are always hungry
.
“And even if they pay the ransom,” Vaaler continued, “it mightbe because Norr fled some kind of clan justice. They could want him back just to finish him off.”
“No wonder Norr is upset,” Keegan muttered. “Any more good news?”
Vaaler shook his head.
“So what do you think we should do?”
“We don’t have a lot of options. We can’t fight our way out of here, and if we try to run, the dogs will hunt us down.”
“So we just sit and wait to find out if the Stone Spirits will pay the ransom?”
“The Ice Fangs are expecting an answer in the next day or so,” Vaaler told him.
Instead of replying, Keegan popped the last bit of jerky into his mouth, grimly chewing the leathery meat until he could force it down his throat.
“I’m going to wander around the camp and see if I can learn anything else,” Vaaler said to break the silence.
Keegan watched his friend go, his thoughts bleak. Once the Danaan was gone, he shoved his boots in the corner and crawled back under the hides. For some reason, he no longer felt up to leaving the
“Okay,” Vaaler relented, clearly relieved to finally be able to share his news with someone else. “But you can’t tell Jerrod or Scythe. They tend to overreact. That could make things worse.”
“Worse? You mean they’re already bad?”
“The Ice Fangs didn’t exactly rescue us,” Vaaler confessed. “We’re not guests of the clan; we’re prisoners.”
“What do they plan to do with us?” Keegan asked.
“I think they’re planning to turn us over to another clan in exchange for supplies and weapons. Ransom us off, basically.
They’ve sent envoys to the Rock Spirit clan. Or maybe Stone Heart is more accurate. Names are difficult to translate properly.”
“Let’s go with Stone Spirit,” Keegan suggested.
“Fair enough,” Vaaler conceded. “But whatever we call them, I think they’re Norr’s former people.”
“I can understand why he wouldn’t want to tell us,” Keegan admitted. “Jerrod wouldn’t like the idea of our being prisoners.”
“There’s more,” Vaaler said after a brief pause. “Most of theEastern clans are nomadic. They don’t normally take prisoners—they just use up food and resources the clan has been storing up for the winter. If they don’t kill you in battle, they’ll usually just strip your weapons and supplies and set you off to fend for yourself.”
“Sounds like a death sentence to me,” Keegan muttered.
“Depends on the weather and how close the rest of your own clan is,” Vaaler countered with a shrug. “It’s just the way things are done out here. But if they capture someone special, they might make an exception.”
“What do you mean by special?”
“Somebody important. Somebody so valuable that another clan would be willing to pay a heavy ransom to get them back. Maybe a famous warrior or champion. Or, more likely, someone closely related to the clan leader’s family.”
“You think Norr is some kind of barbarian royalty?”
“The clans only take prisoners if the payoff is going to be worth the cost of keeping someone around until the exchange can be made,” Vaaler noted. “The Ice Fangs figured Norr was valuable enough to keep all five of us around.”
“So this is a good thing,” Keegan said. “If Norr’s that important, then the Stone Spirits will make the exchange. Then he can get them to help us.”
“Just because you’re royalty doesn’t mean your people want you back,” Vaaler cautioned bitterly. “We don’t know why Norr left in the first place. Maybe he was sent into exile. Maybe he fled because he lost some kind of power struggle.
“The Stone Spirits might not want him back. If they refuse to pay the ransom, the best case is that we get set loose on the tundra with no food or weapons.”
Keegan didn’t want to ask about the worst case.
I bet the dogs are always hungry
.
“And even if they pay the ransom,” Vaaler continued, “it mightbe because Norr fled some kind of clan justice. They could want him back just to finish him off.”
“No wonder Norr is upset,” Keegan muttered. “Any more good news?”
Vaaler shook his head.
“So what do you think we should do?”
“We don’t have a lot of options. We can’t fight our way out of here, and if we try to run, the dogs will hunt us down.”
“So we just sit and wait to find out if the Stone Spirits will pay the ransom?”
“The Ice Fangs are expecting an answer in the next day or so,” Vaaler told him.
Instead of replying, Keegan popped the last bit of jerky into his mouth, grimly chewing the leathery meat until he could force it down his throat.
“I’m going to wander around the camp and see if I can learn anything else,” Vaaler said to break the silence.
Keegan watched his friend go, his thoughts bleak. Once the Danaan was gone, he shoved his boots in the corner and crawled back under the hides. For some reason, he no longer felt up to leaving the
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