Free Stone Rising by Gareth K Pengelly Page B

without arousing suspicion, but an army of us? We’d be cut down by bowfire before we reached a hundred yards of town walls.”
                  “Then what do you suggest?”
                  Iain looked up at the larger man, obviously weighing up the possible outcomes of his next words.
                  “They made their bed. They should lie in it.”
                  A snarl twitched across John’s face as he rounded on the Forester.
                  “Just like that, eh? Who was it that spoke to me of family? You want that we should leave our kin to die for no other reason than the folly of youth?”
                  If Iain was scared of the hulk before him, he gave no sign, his back stiff and legs sure as he retorted.
                  “If we go in to rescue them, more might die. Many more, that will be needed in days ahead to protect the people that live here. We cannot risk more lives simply for the stupidity of two! Tell him, Alann.”
                  John opened his mouth to shout the Forester down, but a word cut through the tension in the air, defusing the situation as ably as a bucket of water upon a fire.
                  “Enough.” The Woodsman rose from his chair as the two turned to listen. “I have made my decision.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five:
     
    Darkness was falling as they rounded the corner and came upon the village. There, on the road, a solitary figure standing, bright orange lantern held aloft in the encroaching dusk. Virginie left the pack, rushing forward to meet the stranger. Pol darted forwards, ready to protect her, but was stayed by Gwenna’s raised hand. She didn’t need her shaman senses to see the familiarity in Virginie’s movement.
                  “Felice? You got my message?”
                  The woman with the lamp nodded, the two embracing, before parting.
                  “The letter arrived a few days ago, ma cousine,” she replied. “But tell me, what is all this about? Who are these people that you wish me to hide?”
                  “Friends. Good people, but who’ve fallen into trouble.” She turned, waving back to the troupe which followed, calling them near.
                  “So, you are Felice?” Gwenna smiled as she drew near. “Many thanks to you for agreeing to put us up.”
                  A curt nod was her only response, a cold look, a mixture of suspicion and fear written across the woman’s face. How much had Virginie told her cousin, thought Gwenna? All of a sudden, suspicion was aroused briefly within her own breast; how close was Virginie to her cousin? Could Felice have betrayed them for the reward offered by l’eglise? Once upon a time, in a world far from here, Gwenna could have called upon the spirits of water to divine the truth she needed. But here, now, she had no such power to fall back on. There was no time to think things through now, not here on the road.
                  The woman turned, gesturing them to follow her into the darkening village. The shaman gave a quick look to Virginie, who nodded in encouragement. No choice but to continue as they had; trusting in the kindness of strangers and hoping against hope that they could find eventual safety. It had worked thus far.
                  She only hoped it would not fail them now.
     
    ***
     
    The fire crackled warm and welcoming in the hearth of the inn, the smell of roasted meats and boiling vegetables filling the air with pleasing aromas, disarming with ease the suspicions which had beset her before. Looking about the low-beamed bar, Gwenna could see that the other shamans all appeared to feel more at ease too, sprawled out as they were wherever there happened to be room; the chairs, the floor, the rug before the blazing fire. They all