'Children might have died through your neglect,' he said. 'A tent might have been torn unnoticed, or the shrews might have come after all by night. Until we have security from these dangers, I can not allow one man's laziness to endanger the group.'
'What danger? How come none of us have seen this terrible horde of itty-bitty critters?' Nar exclaimed, laughing. There were a few smiles around the group. Sos saw that Sav was not smiling; he had predicted this.
'I'm granting you a trial, however,' Sos said evenly. 'By combat.'
Nar drew his two daggers, still laughing. 'I'm gonna carve me a big bird!'
'Take care of the matter, Tyl,' Sos said, turning away. He forced his muscles to relax so that he would not show his tension, knowing that he would be branded a coward.
Tyl stepped forward, drawing his sword. 'Make a circle,' he said.
'Now just a minute!' Nar protested, alarmed. 'It's him I got the fight with. Bird-brain, there.'
Stupid perched on Sos's shoulder, and for once he wished the bird's loyalty lay elsewhere.
'You owe service to Sol,' Tyl said, 'and the forfeit is your life, as it is for all of us. He appointed Sos leader of this party, and Sos has appointed me to settle matters of discipline.'
'All right!' Nar shouted, brazen through his fear. 'Try one of these in your gut!'
Sos continued to face away as the sounds of battle commenced. He was not proud of himself or of what he had to do, but he had seen no alternative. If this action served to prevent recurrences, it was worth it. It had to be.
There was a scream and a gurgle, followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground. Tyl came up to stand beside him, wiping the bright life blood from his sword. 'He was found guilty,' he said gently.
Why, then, was it Sos who felt guilty?
In a week the trench was complete, and the crews were working on the ramp just inside it. Sos insisted that the bottom of the trench be level and that the water be diverted to flow through it steadily. 'Little dribble like that won't stop the beasties,' Say remarked dubiously. 'Anyhow, didn't you say they could swim?'
'Right.' Sos went on to supervise the installation of mounted fire-strikers, set in the inner edge of the trench and spaced every hundred yards.
Meanwhile the bearers were hauling drums of alcohol from all cabins in range-but not for drinking. They were stored at intervals along the ramp.
Another week passed, and still the shrews did not come. A row of battle circles was set up, and a huge central tent fashioned of sewn family-tent sheets-but the group continued to camp at night in the tight little tents across the river. The hunting parties reported that game was moving into the area: deer and wild goats, followed by wolves and large cats and a few fierce pigs, as well as more numerous rodents. There was fresh meat for all.
Tyl went on enforcing discipline, usually with the sticks; one execution, though of doubtful validity, had been enough. But the seeming pointlessness of the labor made the men surly; they were accustomed to honorable fighting, not menial construction, and they did not like taking orders from a coward who bore no weapon.
'It would be better if you did it yourself,' Sav said, commenting on one of Tyl's measures. 'It needs to be done-we all know that-but when he does it it makes him the leader. No one respects you-and that bird doesn't help much, either.'
Sav was such a harmless, easygoing sort that it was impossible to take offense at what he said. It was true: Sos was accomplishing his purpose at the expense of his reputation, which had not been good to begin with. None of these people knew the circumstances of his deprivation of weapons or his bond to Sol, and he did not care to publishize it.
Tyl was the de facto leader of the valley group-and if Sol did not return, Tyl would surely take over. He had had aspirations for a tribe of his own, and he was a highly skilled warrior. Like Sol, he had spurned inept opponents, and so hid accumulated only one tribesman in his travels; but also like Sol, he was quick enough to appreciate what could be,done with ordinary men once the way was shown. Was he being genuinely helpful-or was he biding his time while he consolidated the group around himself?
