Page 124 of Circle of Days
Seft said: “It’s a tiny part of the entire farmer region.”
Troon shook his head. “We need more land, not less. I can’t lose that much precious fertile soil to make a road for cows.”
Ani was frustrated and depressed. She and Seft had felt this must appeal to Troon as a solution to a problem. But Troon was too greedy. No matter how much land they had, the farmers always needed more to feed their growing families.
Scagga was angry. “You’re crazy, Troon,” he said. “You’re the farmers’ worst enemy. Here you have a fair offer that gives you nearly everything you want, and you say no.”
“I rule this land. The herders have the entire Great Plain. This is mine and I decide.”
Scagga waved an arm, indicating the devastated Break. “Don’tyou understand? The cattle decide, not you. If you go ahead and seed the land now, they’ll probably trample it again this time next year.”
Some of the farmers murmured agreement, but Troon was obdurate. “Next year we’ll be prepared. We’ll kill your cattle before they get near our fields. I’m warning you. We’ll slaughter them, and any herder who tries to stop us.”
Ani despaired. This was the opposite of what she had hoped for. Instead of a cooperative way forward, they had an angry standoff.
She could see that some farmers were dissatisfied. They would rather have the security of protected fields. But she could also see that they did not dare to defy their leader.
The conflict continued.
She would have to think of something else.
Ani and Seft were walking through Riverbend. Seft was explaining to Ani the concept of the sled, and how it would enable them to move giant stones much faster. Suddenly Ani put a hand on Seft’s arm to interrupt him. “Look at that,” she said.
She pointed at Cass, the brother of Vee, who was carrying a bundle of new green wood on his shoulder. The pieces were all about the same size, as long as Cass was tall. Some were entire trunks of young saplings, others the split trunks of slightly older trees. Seft said: “That wood is yew.”
“So it is,” said Ani. “Hello, Cass. Those look like staves for bows.”
“Yes,” he said. “They’re for the war.”
Ani suppressed the impulse to sayWhat war?The elders had discussed war against the farmers, and had decided against, at least for now. But something was going on behind her back, and she would find out more from Cass if she pretended she was in the know. “How is that coming along?” she said.
“Very well. There are lots of young people working—more than I can count. I can hardly keep up with their need for wood.”
That was a surprise. Who was going to be killed by these weapons? Intrigued and anxious, she said: “We’ll walk with you and take a look.”
Cass led them to a clearing south of the village. Sure enough, there was a crowd of young men and women busy making weapons. Ani looked around, shocked and angry. Some were twisting together sinews from the legs of cattle to make bowstrings. Others were smoothing hazelwood arrow shafts or sharpening flints into triangular arrowheads. Someone was roasting the bark of a birch tree in an airless covered pit, turning the material into sticky birch tar. Older people were doing the most crucial job: fitting each arrowhead into a slit in the shaft and gluing the two together with tar. There were two piles of finished weapons, one of bows and the other of arrows.
The atmosphere was cheerful, a bunch of people engaged in a collective enterprise and enjoying it. You fools, Ani thought bitterly. War’s not fun. It’s smashed skulls and bloodshed and grieving families.
“Look who’s in charge,” she said to Seft.
“Scagga.”
“Of course.”
“He’s preparing for war.”
“And we have to stop him.”
She picked up a finished arrow. Holding it in her hands, she approached Scagga. “Are you expecting a war?” she said.
He looked guilty and defiant at the same time. “Expecting? No, not expecting it. I’m going to make sure it happens.”
“And who will be your enemy?”
“Troon and the farmers, of course.”
“I recall that you were present at the meeting when the elders decided against war.”
