The general mood was little changed when they reached the end of the village and began to spread out into a well-worn patch of land much used by the children.
A variety of indignant and defiant noises had reached Gryss’s ears from the menfolk as they came to terms with the prospect of losing Dalmas bargains, but he let them pass without comment. Better spat out now and into the ears of friends than when the gatherers were here.
Jeorg was the last defender of this position. Scowling, he planted himself firmly in front of Gryss. ‘They’d better be here by sunset,’ he said. ‘Or the tithe’s ours.’
Gryss stared at him. ‘You’ll be telling them then, will you?’ he said. ‘All one hundred of them? All one hundred soldiers and officials?’
The women were quieter, infected, Gryss suspected, by the
