Negotiations

Sarten looked at the opposite hill where the Glade army camped, then he scanned the valley for a neutral place where they could set up the bargaining tents for the women of both peoples. The spot had to be vulnerable to both sides and defensible in case of trickery. Each tribe would need access to the river that ran through the valley. Each day the course of the water grew wider as the snows melted near the glacier. Sarten pointed to an untreed area that was visible from each warrior camp. "We will begin tomorrow when the sun throws no shadows."

Fallon turned to the Fae warrior and gave her the instructions. She nodded, then placed the egg in her satchel and retreated up the hill toward the Glade camp.

Sarten said, "You have not eaten energy. Tend to Drindl. We will build a bargaining camp for the women." Fallon knew how quickly that would happen. They would be as one carpenter with 300 hands.

Fallon bent next to Drindl's relaxed body. His head was turned to the side, his cheek against the ground. Fallon saw that his eyes were glazed but nictating. He tried unsuccessfully to rouse the young warrior.

"He saw one of the Sprints up on the hill," Alpen said as he walked up the hill. "Some childhood nightmare? Maybe his first time consuming energy."

Fallon recognized Alpen's coat and unwound it from Drindl's feet. He used his arm to keep Drindl's hooves from making contact with the ground and gave the coat to Alpen.

"Have you ever seen this before?" Alpen asked. 

Fallon shook his head no, then looked up at Alpen, hoping he might confide his fear. "Do you think the Glades will keep their word?"

"Trust but verify," Alpen joked and walked up the hill.

Fallon removed his shirt and laid it under Drindl's feet. His face looked uncreased, like the smooth eggshell he broke out of when he came into the world. He leaned close to Drindl's ear and sang him the birth song that he had sung to his own children when they were ready to come out of their eggs. After a few minutes, he saw the first sign of response at the corner of Drindl's mouth.
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As Drindl awakened, Fallon waited patiently. He let the young warrior's hooves down to the ground. The others were far enough away. When Drindl could stand, Fallon gave him some water that Alpen had left. "Alpen and I are worried about you," Fallon said.

"I saw the Sprints on the hill," the words rushed a bit fast and Fallon urged him to drink. Drindl continued at a slower pace. "I was young when the Fae attacked us at Caphis." A bloody battle, Fallon remembered. It was only his second and he had fought the fear as the Sprints slashed their way through the Jade village.

"I had fallen as I ran from the Sprints," Drindl continued. "My mother tried to protect me. I watched as the raspy hairs from the legs of those beasts whipped her body. I tended to her but the wounds festered and she grew feverish. I helped my father bury her. She was with egg. My father never forgave me. He said I should have been more careful when I ran. My mother and the son or daughter of her egg would be alive."
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