He was too heavy for her to move, so she left him there and stepped inside, straightening her rumpled smock and retying her hair. She could still get the food if she acted quickly enough.
But the morning mess was over and she did not dare pester the cook directly.
'Kol has been attacked!' someone shouted, back at the entrance. 'Search the grounds!'
Oh oh. She hadn't gotten out in time. But her hunger still drove her. She would have to make up for her vulnerability by sheer audacity, as Sosa put it. Sosa knew how to make the best of bad situations.
She retreated to just shy of the entrance, knowing what must happen there.
Warriors rushed up, hauled the unconscious Kol to his feet, exclaimed. 'Didn't see it happen.' 'Clubbed in the throat.' 'Spread a net he can't have gotten far.'
Then a huge man came. Soil recognized him at once: the Nameless One, master of the enemy empire. He moved like a rolling machine, shaking the ground with the force of his tread, and he was ugly. His voice was almost as bad as Var's:
'That was a weaponless attack. The mountain has sent a spy.'
Soil didn't wait for more. She ran out of the tent and threw herself at the monster, hands outstretched.
Surprised, he caught her by the shoulder and lifted her high, his strength appalling. 'What have we here?'
'Sir!' she cried. 'Help me! A man is chasing me!'
'A child!' he said. 'A girl-child. What family?'
'No family. Im an orphan. I came here for food.'
The Master set her down, but one hand gripped her thin shoulder with vicelike power. 'The hand that struck Kol's neck would have been about the size of your hand, child. I saw the mark. You are a stranger, and I know the ways of the-mountain. You'
She reacted even before she fully comprehended his import. Her pointed knuckles rammed into his cloak, aiming for the solar plexus as she twisted away.
It was like hitting a wall. His belly was made of steel. 'Try again, little spy,' he said, laughing.
She tried again. Her knee came up to ram hard into his crotch, and one hand struck at his neck.
The Nameless One just stood there chuckling. His grip on her shoulder never loosened. With his free hand be tore open his own cloak.
His torso was a grotesque mass of muscle that did not flex properly with his breathing. His neck was solid gristle.
'Child, I know your leader's tricks. What are you doing here? Our contest was supposed to be settled by combat of champions on the plateau.
'Sir, I-I thought he was attacking me. He moved his shaft' She searched for a suitable story. 'I'm from Tribe Pan.' That was Sosa's tribe, before she came to the mountain, that trained its women in weaponless combat. 'I ran away. All I wanted was food.'
'Tribe Pan.' He pondered. Something strangely soft crossed his brutal face. 'Come with me.' He let go of her and marched out of the crowd.
No other warrior spoke. She knew better than to attempt any break now. Docilely, she followed the Weaponless.
He entered a large private tent. There was food there; her empty stomach yeained to its aroma.
'You are hungry eat,' he said, setting the bowl of porridge before her, and a cup of milk.
Eagerly she reached for both then fathomed the trap. Nomad table manners differed from underworld practice. Her every mannerism would betray her origin. In fact, she wasn't sure the nomads used utensils at all.
She plunged one fist into the porridge and brought up a dripping gob. She smeared this into her mouth, wincing at its heat. She ignored the milk.
