Feather by Susan Page Davis Page B

Karsh. “Summon the elder, boy, then hasten to tell the others they may return.
    Karsh hurried into the dark, cold lodge. Alomar waited just inside the door with Gia at his side.
    “Who is it?” Gia hissed, but Karsh addressed Alomar.
    “It is a lone stranger, sir. He says he comes alone and will not harm us. He wants to be a hermit for the winter and asks where he can live and not be bothered. Rand says he can take supper with us and sleep here tonight.”
    “ Hmf. ” Alomar blinked and stroked his snowy beard. “It is early days to trust a stranger. We do not begrudge anyone our hospitality, but we are vulnerable with most of our men away. Gia, you run to the platforms. Tell your mother and the others that the women can return and prepare supper, but you or one of the adult women stay out there with the children tonight. They can sleep in the tree platforms and eat from the food stockpiled out there. When the stranger is gone tomorrow, we will summon them.”
    Karsh nodded gravely. No sense revealing their strength or their weakness to the stranger. Let him draw his own conclusions.
    “One of us must stand watch all night,” Shea said, frowning, when Karsh had climbed the ridge again to tell him of the situation.
    “Rand says he will relieve you before moonrise,” Karsh told him.
    Shea nodded. “You had best go down and get supper and sleep. I will wake you early to come up here again.”
    “I want to keep the night watch too.”
    Shea laughed. “You’d be curled up in the bracken and snoring away before midnight. Go on, boy. Probably Alomar himself will come up here tonight.”
    “You don’t think the stranger has friends waiting to do us harm, do you?” The fear Karsh had felt when Feather was snatched returned, and it was difficult to breathe.
    “No, lad. I expect the traveler has had a bad time of it wherever he came from, and now he wants to get off by himself and make sense of it.”
    “Of what?”
    “Whatever brought him here. Not many travel alone these days.”
    “Why not?”
    “It’s not safe. You know that.”
    “The trader travels alone.”
    “He is a different sort.”
    Karsh stayed on the ridge until well after the women returned to the village. Tansy, Rose, and Zee moved about the cooking area, and soon the smells of roasting meat and baking bread rose to entice him back to camp.
    When he went down and took his plate from Rose, Sam was sitting at the table with Rand and Alomar, deep in conversation. Kim and Gia were helping the women, but they stayed away from where the men sat.
    Rose smiled at Karsh and nodded toward the table. “Go take your place with them. You’ve done a man’s work these two weeks.”
    With pride and a bit of trepidation, Karsh slid onto the bench beside Alomar. Sam sat across from him, and he seemed to be enjoying his food.
    “Have you been to the village of the Leeds?” Rand asked, and Sam shook his head.
    “Nay, I don’t know of these people.”
    “Do you know Friend, the trader?” Alomar asked.
    “Yes, he has been to my people many times.”
    “Have you seen him recently? He is late in coming to us this fall.” Alomar’s voice revealed his concern for the jolly trader, and Karsh listened avidly for the stranger’s answer. They had all been anxious for Friend’s arrival, but especially Karsh. He was ready to convey the message Hunter had suggested he give to Friend to be spread through all the tribes the trader encountered.
    “I saw him a fortnight ago at a village to the south. I admit, sir, it was he who told me this area was generally peaceful, and that I might find a welcome here.”
    “But you do not wish to live here?” Alomar probed gently.
    Sam sighed and looked down at his plate. “I have lost my closest loved ones. I am not sure I’m ready to live with strangers and make new friendships. Forgive me, but I . . . feel I need some time away from others.”
    Alomar nodded. “We understand. The place I mentioned should meet your