We were fleeing from them, but they were already upon us.  We were scattered.  I tried to help keep people together to follow me, but panic overwhelmed us.  Those that were still with Arlen and me were routed in the forest.  Dreg’num pike men circled us from the shadows.  We were trapped.

A female Dreg’num wearing feather fetishes and marked with red and yellow paint on her shoulders stepped forward into the circle.  ‘Surrender your weapons, Unmarked,’ she uttered in surprisingly crisp Tethan.

Behind me, Arlen gave a growl of discontent.  I knew him well enough to know he was gripping his halberd and generally unhappy.  However, given the circumstances, I could not allow any show of force from our side.

‘Do as she says,’ I commanded, already unshouldering my bow and quiver to throw ahead of me at the feathered one’s feet.  ‘Now, Arlen.’  Others followed my lead, coming forward and tossing their blades into a clattering heap.

‘You are wise to cooperate.  We would not want to harm you.’

Sensing Arlen’s restrained rage about to become unrestrained, I said, ‘Why do you take humans?  We have never threatened your kind and now you raid our settlements, kidnap our people.  To what end is this?’

‘Silence Unmarked!’ hissed a pikeman to the lady leader’s left.  He appeared about to say more, but the leader raised a claw.  Immediately he bowed his head and appeared apologetic.  Apparently she had her own version of Arlen to restrain in the name of diplomacy.

‘We have our reasons,’ she said.  ‘For now they will not be made known to you.  In time, perhaps…but not now.’  She turned abruptly and gestured to her warriors, screeching a series of commands to them in their cawing, bird-like language of theirs.

Soon we were assembled one by one in a line, flanked by warriors.  At least Arlen was behind me, but unfortunately this mean he had someone to talk to, and at the moment I did not think it was a good idea.

‘What the bugger do they keep calling us “Unmarked” for?’ he asked under his breath.

‘I don’t know but I’d rather we didn’t discuss it at this moment in time,’ I replied, trying to not make it obvious that we were talking.  The angry pikeman twitched his stumpy tail back and forth in front of me.  It’s never a good thing to be between two bad tempers, especially when both of them are bigger than you.

‘I don’t like this Kaia.  We should be putting up more of a fight.’  Out of the corner of my eye I saw him give our flanking escort a poisonous glare.  Thankfully he didn’t seem to take notice – or at least didn’t care.

Inwardly I rolled my eyes.  Although Arlen could be as sweet as summer plums, he also had a pig-headed sensibility to act impulsively.  While I personally doubted the Dreg’num seriously wanted to harm us, I was not willing to test my hypothesis on the chance that they would respond violently if provoked.

‘There are larger matters to consider than mending your bruised warrior’s pride.  Cooperation minimizes the chance of injuring any of our companions.’

‘Not that we haven’t already lost half of the refugees that were following us,’ he remarked with minimal effort to conceal his anger.

‘And we would lose more if there were another struggle.’  In front of me the haughty Dreg’num was glowering about, scouring the forest for any sign of threats – human or Wild.  I caught a glimpse of his profile, for the first time noticing a vine-like scar scraping from the jawbone across the neck like someone had tried to cut his throat and missed.  Such an injury would have severed significant musculature in the neck, making the head difficult to turn or raise.  And judging by the way he moved, whoever mended it must have done a fair enough job.  All it seemed to have left was that woody remainder.

Worried that scouting amber eye would turn itself on me, I looked away and shook my head, flipping my hair.  I continued my awkward whispering.  ‘Look, I know you don’t like it but I don’t either.  And provoking them now would only result in further restriction on our person.’

‘You would be wise to listen to your mistress, Unmarked,’ rolled the scarred one.  It startled me that he had been listening, but it shocked me more that he had been pretending not to be.  Perhaps he was not so hot-headed after all.

‘She’s my friend, not my mistress,’ Arlen rumbled back, clearly irritated at this (somewhat awkward) intrusion.  ‘And what is this “Unmarked” codswallop?’

Abruptly the scarred one stepped out of line and stopped, the rest of us flowing on by him.  He came up by us next to Arlen’s usher, a blue-eyed mallard visibly tense from his uncouth position between these two.  I felt bad for him.

‘Sarthung’ the blue-eyed escort muttered, ‘we aren’t supposed to break the line-‘

‘I know that, Thottle-‘ the one called Sarthung said through clenched teeth.  ‘Go up and take my position.  I will stay with this one awhile.’

It was going to be a long hike.  Wherever it was we were going.

Without further hesitation, Thottle shrunk in momentary acknowledgement and hurried up in front of me in the line.  He threw a purposeful glance over his shoulder and looked away.  I, however, had a vested interest in the scene behind me and made no attempt to shroud my involvement.  Torso pivoted to the side, I marched somewhat stiffly, glancing forward and backward to watch my footing.

Sarthung sneered, his crocodile lip curving upward to reveal a row of sharp ivory teeth.  I couldn’t see Arlen’s reaction, but I’d bet a days wages that he was just glaring back with eyes of spikes.  ‘You like to ask questions,’ Sarthung said, ‘make noise so all the hungry ones of the Wild will come.’

I felt a tension drop from Arlen behind me.

‘Yes, do not forget where we are.  And as for more questions to our ways, my mistress has already indicated they will not be answered.  If you persist in struggling I will muzzle you myself.’

‘I’d like to see you try-‘

‘Arlen!’ I said, ‘shut up!’

‘Friend indeed,’ said Sarthung, ‘you should listen to her.  Thottle!  Resume this place!’

As the two Dreg’num swapped positions again, I twisted to face Arlen.  His face was dark.  I mouthed the words Bide our time.  Everywhere, the caliginous confusion of the Fringe woods, where vicious things eyed us from hidden places, lurking under bramble, flitting from branch to branch, tree to tree, tracking our winding way.  So long as we remained a large impenetrable group we would not be attacked.  Lone predators from the Wild disliked mobs of people.  Of course that didn’t stop them from watching, clicking, shuffling among the shadows, watchful for that elusive moment of upheaval when someone could be snatched away…

They were all around us.