Page 126 of Circle of Days

And so it was settled.

West Wood covered a large area, and Ani wondered whether she would be able to find the woodlander village. Struggling through the vegetation, she looked for signs of human settlement.

She hoped desperately that Seft’s new scheme could work. The herd needed access to the river, especially now, in the crisis of drought. But the essential first step was the consent of the woodlanders. And that was her task today.

She passed a pond that still had water in it, and she guessedthe woodlanders would have settled near it. Sure enough, a little later she came to the village, just half a dozen houses around a central clearing. She paused at the edge, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Bez welcomed her warmly, as the mother of Han and Joia, but he was also wary. Gida was with him, and they all sat on the ground. Woodlanders gathered nearby, even though they could not understand the language. As always in warm weather, the women and children were naked, the men nearly so.

Ani’s job was delicate. The woodlanders were friendly, but they did not think as herders did, and one could never be sure which way they would jump. She had to tread carefully.

She began by asking whether Bez had seen the stampede. Yes, he said, the whole tribe had watched it from the edge of the wood. “Animals must drink,” he said. “Just like people.”

Ani nodded. “And that’s why I’m here. We need to give our herd a new path to the river.”

“But how could you do that?” said Bez. “Where would the new path lie?”

“It doesn’t have to be as broad as the Break,” Ani said, avoiding the question for the moment. “It would be only about thirty paces wide.” She remembered that the woodlanders could not count. “From here to the pond,” she clarified. “No more.”

Bez persisted with his question. “But where would the path be?”

“Seft is deciding right now.”

“We saw him. He came soon after dawn.” The woodlanders always seemed to know what was happening in every part of the wood.

Ani decided to be candid. “We need to use a strip on the eastern edge of your wood, next to the Break.”

Bez said something in the woodlander language, and the people sitting around made angry noises. Ani guessed he had translated. Reverting to herder language, he said: “There are many hazelnut bushes there. We have pruned and shaped them for years.”

“I know. That’s why I have come to offer you something in return for your sacrifice.”

“What could you possibly give us?”

“Cattle. We could give you cows, which you could slaughter for their meat. You would eat well now and smoke meat for the winter.”

Bez translated again. The woodlanders brightened. For them, beef was a treat.

Gida said something, and Bez said: “How many cows would you give us?”

Ani was encouraged. The fact that they were asking about terms meant they were not going to refuse outright. She said: “What do you think would be fair?”

Bez said: “One cow for every hazelnut bush.”

“There’s a lot more food on a cow than on a bush.”

“Yes, but a hazelnut bush feeds you every year for a lifetime. When you’ve eaten a cow, it’s gone forever.”

He had a point, Ani thought. But she was pleased to be so close to agreement. This was about the survival of the herd. It was worth a few cows. She said: “Let us go and look at the area, and count the hazelnut bushes that will be lost.”

“Yes,” said Bez, and he stood up. He could not count, but perhaps he could make sure none were missed, Ani decided.

Ani and Bez led the way. Looking back, she saw that the entire village was following. This would be a communal decision.

They found Seft and Tem marking the boundary of the area to be cleared. Seft was hammering stakes into the ground and Tem was digging a shallow trench between the stakes to make the line definite. They had worked fast, and had almost reached the river.

As they arrived, Troon appeared coming from the opposite direction, with Shen trailing in his wake. He shouted at Seft: “What do you think you’re doing?”

“None of your concern,” Seft said, and continued his work.