But what?
Fern?
She must find Fern.
She sensed danger but whether it was to Karne or to Fern she could not make out.
She was sure neither of them were in the same hut as herself.
She must crawl out of it somehow.
She must have air.
She almost choked on the staleness of the smell.
It seemed to her as her senses gradually became used to her surroundings and the dark that the hut contained far more people in a more confined space than ever would have been allowed in her home village. The roof was low and as far as she could make out the only opening was a small hole to one side, through which she would have to crawl. No one could go in or out of this noisome hut except on hands and knees.
The task of reaching the hole (she refused to call it a ‘doorway’) was not an easy one. She was
