‘Stay where you are!’ The command froze the children, but the speaker still chose to emphasize it by purposefully smacking his staff into the palm of his hand.
‘There’s no need to frighten the children, Fiarn,’ Ellyn said, a hint of anger creeping through her sullen manner.
‘It’s as well they don’t disturb your menfolk at their work, isn’t it, Ellyn?’ the man replied. He walked unhurriedly towards the woman. The others followed. ‘You know how... concerned... they become when they have to pay the Landgeld.’
The woman bared her teeth as if to say something, but thought better of it. Instead she lowered her head to avoid looking at him. ‘We’ve nothing for you. It’s been bad lately — poor quality crystals and few of them at that.’
Fiarn nodded, full of mocking concern. ‘Normally there’s no
