Alena nodded, wondering where to start.
“I used to live in a town called Landow, far to the north. Are you familiar with it?”
Rotger gave a hand sign. Sooni smiled. “By name only. I have done most of my trading at Tonno.”
Alena shrugged, realizing it didn’t matter much. “In Landow I learned that the governor of the region, a man named Kye, was a bandit in search of a particular stone.”
Sooni gestured for a stop. Her entire expression changed. “Can you describe the stone?”
“An uncut diamond, about so large.” She traced the shape with her hands.
Sooni gestured for her to continue. Alena suspected Sooni knew something, though.
Alena spoke about the battles she had observed, about the murder of the wolfblades and the battle with Brandt out in the forest. Sooni and Rotger were an attentive audience, and Alena walked through the entire journey that led to their meeting.
When she finished, a combination of words and hand signs passed between the two leaders.
Rotger turned to her. “How are you involved?”
Alena hadn’t said. Some part of her suspected her past could come back to haunt her here. The empire was strict about thieving, but they were considered gentle compared to the Etari. She took a deep breath. They had protected her thus far. “I was a thief.”
“Was?” Sooni asked.
Alena shrugged again. “I’m trying to stop.”
Rotger asked. “Thief?”
Sooni turned to the other clan leader, explaining. Rotger laughed.
“What’s funny?”
Sooni replied. “All possessions within the Etari are communal. You couldn’t steal anything from this home until you took it over the border. He finds the idea of individual property absurd.”
Alena searched her memory. Had they ever taught her that about the Etari in the academy? She supposed even if someone had told her, she didn’t remember. She would have laughed at communal ownership the way Rotger laughed at her imperial customs.
“How does that work?” Alena’s curiosity overwhelmed any sense of propriety she possessed.
Sooni waved the question away. “There are more important matters to discuss. Do you know why Kye values this secret so much?”
“No. I don’t know why he needed to adopt the disguise of a bandit in the first place. He’s been hiding his affinity from the world, but he could have just asked for the stone. The wolfblades would have given it to him.”
Rotger’s deep voice rumbled.
Sooni translated. “He wanted the stone, but he didn’t want anyone to know he has it.”
That was as far as Alena’s logic had taken her, too.
Rotger looked around the house, as though he might find answers written upon its blank walls. When he spoke again, his words were slow and soft. Sooni nodded, but didn’t translate.
She looked to Alena. “The time has come for you to make a choice. Rotger is the head of this family, part of a clan that stretches for dozens of leagues both to the north and to the south. His people roam closest to the border of the empire. He has given his permission, so if you would like to settle with them, you may. If you wish or think that you might someday return to the empire, they will be closest.”
Alena was surprised. Even though they’d done nothing but travel for many days, she had worked hard at not thinking about her future. She hadn’t thought Sooni would just leave her behind, especially after all she had risked to save her. “You’re leaving me?”
Sooni didn’t respond right away, studying Alena’s face. “I had planned to offer you a place within my family. Your past, though, concerns me.”
Alena bowed her head, properly chastised. How would Sooni’s family react if they all knew the truth? “I understand.”
Sooni made a hand gesture. “I don’t think that you do. It is difficult to steal among our people, but your actions reflect a lack of respect for others. I have seen you fight, and you have a spirit we admire. Others share my opinion. But if you wish to join us, you must confess your crimes to the whole family. There are no secrets among us.”
Alena didn’t understand. “You would take me with you, if I wished?”
“The choice is yours. But it is a hard road we travel. From here we head toward the center of our land, and after that our destination is unknown. Trade with the empire is our purpose, but we will not be able to safely return for some time. I do not know where the winds will take us. Either way, our bargain is now complete. You have given us the information you possess, and Rotger will make sure the word spreads. You may remain with Rotger’s family, join us, or go your own way.”
The idea of living on these plains alone frightened Alena. That option, at least, was out. Sooni’s family still confused her, but they were the closest she came to familiarity these days. Her decision, then, was easy enough to make. “I would stay with you.”
Sooni signed her acknowledgement, then stood up. A flash of hand signs passed between her and Rotger. She motioned for Alena to leave the tent.
Alena glanced between the two of them, but saved her question until she and Sooni left the tent. “You know something about Kye, or about that stone, don’t you?”
Sooni’s sharp intake of breath was answer enough. “No knowledge. Just guesses, but they are most likely accurate.”
“Why is that stone so important?”
“I believe it is a gatestone stolen from one of our clans almost a year ago.”
“A what?”
Sooni made the negative gesture, cutting off Alena’s line of questioning. “You will learn more soon enough. There is much I must do, now that I know more.”
“What do you mean?” Alena was tired of always being confused, of not knowing what was going on.
Sooni stopped. She was clearly eager to be rid of Alena, but also unwilling to abandon her without an explanation. “If it is what I believe it is, your story affects all Etari. We must make haste so that this story may spread, and
