They placed Narvi's body in a stone sarcophagus, to protect it from the scavengers that would otherwise nibble on it during the remaining days of the clan meeting. When the meeting was over the Robin Hood clan would take his body back to Gunnlod village, wrapped in a fleethide burial gown, so that the rest of his family, and the clan in general, could say goodbye to him. Then he would be cremated, and his ashes scattered across the grass that surrounded the village, as was the custom. Then preparations would begin in earnest for the clan's departure from the cluster of villages it occupied near the equator, and the beginning of the long journey north.
First, though, there was still much for the six tribes to discuss. They would have to pool their resources, so that they all had everything they needed to begin again in the summer lands. Some tribes had an excess of feed stock for the crops they would have to plant in the north. They would share them with those tribes that didn't have enough. Others had an abundance of high quality plethin, essential for the making of wheels capable of surviving the long journey. Steel, fleethide, obsidian and diamond was also shared equally.
Then they would have to discuss the routes they would be taking. They would be largely living off the land as they travelled, so they would take widely different routes to ensure that the first clan to pass that way didn't leave a bare land, stripped of fruit and prey, for the next to pass through. And finally, upon arrival, those tribes that had grown in population would temporarily house some of their people in villages belonging to tribes whose population had fallen or remained much the same. The establishment of a new village from scratch was an arduous and time consuming undertaking, and until the perimeter dyke and fence was complete the occupants were vulnerable to attack from bandits and predators. Fortunately the earthen dykes and stone buildings of both summer and winter villages tended to survive the fifty years of neglect pretty well, and would only need the minimum of repair to get them back to as good as new.
The heads of the six clans spend all of the next day in the Great Hall, therefore, as they would the next day and, if necessary, the day after that, negotiating who would give what to who. Around them, meanwhile, the normal life of the city carried on as it always did. Warriors of all six tribes rubbed shoulders as they patrolled the fence and walked the narrow alleyways between the mud-brick huts. Smoke rose from half a hundred chimneys as food was cooked, water boiled and oil heated, and the women gossiped about who was flirting with who. Gooths honked to each other as they wandered here and there, nibbling on the bales of straw that had been left out for them, and welkies cautiously poked their furry heads out of their burrows to see if it was safe to emerge and search for scraps.
At around midday six hunters of the Merlin Clan left the city to go hunting. The gates opened for them and they walked out into the shoulder-high grass. Skoll, crouching down a couple of hundred yards away, watched as they strolled towards the river where the lankyflanks were most likely to be found. He waited until they had passed, and then followed behind them, keeping his head down to avoid being seen.
Reaching the river, the six hunters spread out to cover a greater area, each one taking his sling from around his neck and fitting a fist-sized rock to it. Skoll moved around to get close to each of them in turn, looking for the man that most resembled him in size, build and general appearance. Most of them were too small, a full half head shorter than him and of a more slender build, but there was one that he thought he could pass himself off as. Skoll waited until his chosen victim was a good distance from the others, out of sight of them, and then he took his own sling from around his neck.
He searched the riverbank for a stone, found one and fitted it to the sling. Then he stood and began whirling the sling around his neck, hoping the other man wouldn't choose that moment to turn around. His aim was perfect, and the stone hit the other man on the back of the head. He fell and lay still.
He was dead, Skoll saw as he approached. He didn't care. He was already exiled. They couldn't exile him twice. He dragged the body into the grass where it wouldn't be found unless one of the others came very close. Then he swapped clothes with him. The Merlin Clan wore fleethorn-leather clothes of a slightly different design to those of the Hercules clan. Then he cut a finger from the corpse with his knife. The first finger bone for his new trophy necklace.
Finally he took the man's trophy necklace and hung it around his own neck, feeling uncomfortable with the breach of civilised conduct. Wearing another man's trophy necklace was strictly forbidden. Stolen valour. There were some who considered it almost as bad as murder. Skoll wasn't one of them, but wearing his victim's necklace was still something he would rather not have done. It was necessary, though. An essential part of his disguise.
Now he would pass as the other man, so long as he was only seen from a distance. He walked a distance away and waited. It took the other hunters a couple of hours to kill a few lankyfkanks, and then they gathered together to return to the city. "Hati!" they shouted, the small animals slung over their shoulders. "Where are you? We're going back."
Skoll rise to his full height and made a waving gesture for them to go back without waiting for him. He was five hundred yards away. Hopefully that was enough to hide the details of his face. To his relief they turned and headed back to the city, completely unaware that anything was wrong. Skoll followed them, being careful to keep his distance.
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As they approached, the city gates opened again to let them in. The five Merlin clansman passed through, and a couple of them turned their heads to see if their sixth member was still there. Just go inside, though Skoll anxiously. Just go into the city. Don't wait for me. If they did wait, he would have no choice but to run off and try to lose himself in the grasslands. The city would then be on its guard and he wouldn't have another chance to sneak in. His plans would have received a considerable setback.
Fortunately they didn't wait. They waved at him, he waved back and then they carried on into the city, soon passing out of sight among the round clay-brick huts. Skoll eyed the gate guards carefully as he approached. If any of then were of the Hercules clan they would be sure to recognise him, and again he would have to choice but to run before he was caught. To his relief, though, they were all of other clans. They waved to him, he waved back and then he was in. He turned left, to lose himself among the residential huts, and the gates closed behind him.
Now he had to wait until nightfall while hoping that Hati, the man he'd killed and replaced, wasn't missed in the meantime. Hopefully his friends would just think he was renewing acquaintances from other tribes. He crept carefully to the part of city where the guest huts were located. Most of them were occupied by warriors of the visiting chiefs, but some of them were still unoccupied, a status signified by the fact that the door flap had been left open, the sheet of fleethide draped over a hook above the opening. Skoll looked this way and that, making sure there were no townspeople close enough to see, and then he went in and pulled the doorflap down, trying it in place at the bottom.
Then he settled down to sleep, lying down on the straw bedding and the thick furs that covered it. Soon he was dozing off, half listening to the voices of gossiping townspeople as they strolled past and occasionally opening his eyes to see if sunlight was still shining under the bottom of the door flap.
Gradually the light faded. The sounds of the city fell silent and the temperature dropped. When it was full dark he cautiously emerged from the hut and looked around. There was nobody in sight, but there would be guards patrolling the city, looking for bandits who might have somehow found a way to creep in. Fortunately there wouldn't be many. Most of the guards would be walking the tops of the dykes, behind the fences, but all the patrolman would have to do was give a shout and the whole city would be awake in an instant.
He crept cautiously from the hut and made his way to the leatherworker's hut. The leatherworkker was asleep, snoring gently in the back room. The night was full of the sounds of night creatures chirping, rustling and hooting. It was enough to cover any small sounds he might make, but he still moved slowly as he crept to where the thin strips of leather were stored. He picked a few, and also took a length of gooth-hair cloth before creeping back out into the night. By the light of one of the oil lamps that hung on poles at intervals, he tied a knot in the strip of cloth, and then another in the same place. He stared at it thoughtfully for a moment, then tied a third knot, again in the same place. He now had a round ball of knotted cloth with two strips of cloth running from it. He tucked it inside his tunic along with the strips of leather and crept cautiously away.
He watched carefully as he made his way to the part of city where the visitors from the William Tell clan would be sleeping. He picked a spot a few dozen yards away, settled down and waited. The air was full of tiny flying creatures that he ignored as they settled on his skin to drink his oily sweat. Welkies, emboldened by the absence of human activity, were scurrying around searching for scraps. Every so often a patrolman would pass by. Skoll hunkered down in the darkness until he'd passed by. Then he carried on waiting.
Eventually the door flap opened and a naked man emerged. Geirrod, son of Agaemon, the chief of the William Tell clan. Skoll watched as be hurried to the hut alongside, the hut that contained the entrance to the cess pit. Geirrod did his business, then emerged and returned to his own tent, careful to be as silent as he could to avoid waking up the others.
More time passed and Skoll began to worry. Would Daphnis, daughter of Agaemon, go the whole night without having to answer the call of nature? He wanted to leave the city while it was still dark. When dawn approached he would have no choice but to leave whether he'd accomplished his purpose or not. He wouldn't get another chance. Hati would be missed. His body would be found down by the river. They would know that an enemy had killed him to gain entrance to the city and they would be on guard to ensure that it didn't happen again. He had this one chance...
Another figure emerged from the hut. A slender, feminine figure heading for the sanitary hut. As she passed an oil lamp hanging from a pole, the yellow light fell onto her face and he saw that it was Daphnis. He watched as she entered the hut and then he stood, slowly and silently. He looked this way and that to make sure there were no guards in sight, then crept to the sanitary hut. He took the knotted length of cloth from his tunic and entered.
Daphnis saw him, recognised him and opened her mouth to scream. Skoll took the opportunity to thrust the knotted ball of cloth into her mouth. She struggled madly and Skoll threw her to the ground, pulling her arms behind her back. Then he placed his mouth close for her ear and whispered quietly. "Resist and I'll kill you. I need a wife to be accepted among the outlaws, but it doesn't have to be you. Any woman will do. Make any sound and I'll snap your neck and choose someone else."
She was shivering with terror, but she stopped struggling and he felt her nodding her head. He released her arms and knotted the gag behind her head. Then he tied her hands behind her back with one of the thin strips of leather. "Remember," he whispered as he pulled her to her feet. "One sound and I'll kill you, and I'll kill anyone who tries to help you." She nodded again, her eyes wide with fear. He opened the door of the sanitary hut and led her out into the might.
When the light from the oil lamp fell upon her unclothed body, Skoll stared at it and felt lust rising up inside him. He controlled himself with an effort. Plenty of time for that later. First he had to get the two of them out of the city. He led her towards the nearest section of the inner dyke that ringed the city.
