'You had best go down there and take a look,' murmured Longfoot.

'I best?' Logen glanced sideways at him. 'You're staying here then, eh?'

'I have no talent for fights. You are well aware of that.'

'Huh,' muttered Logen. 'No talent for the sorting of fights, plenty for the finding of 'em though.'

'Finding things is what I do. I'm here to Navigate.'

'Maybe you could find me a decent meal and a bed to sleep in,' snapped Luthar, in his whining Union accent.

Ferro sucked her teeth with disgust. 'Someone's got to go,' she growled, sliding over the lip of the slope on her belly. 'I'll take the left.'

No one else moved. 'Us too,' Logen grunted at Luthar.

'Me?'

'Who else? Three's a good number. Let's go, and let's keep it stealthy.'

Luthar peered through the grass into the valley, licked his lips, rubbed his palms together. Nervous, Logen could tell, nervous but proud at the same time, like an untried boy before a battle, trying to show he's not scared by sticking his chin out. Logen wasn't fooled. He'd seen it all a hundred times before.

'You planning to wait for the morning?' he grunted.

'Just keep your mind on your own shortcomings, Northman,' hissed Luthar as he started to wriggle forward down the slope. 'You've enough of them!' The rowels of his big, shiny spurs rattled loud as he dragged himself over the edge, clumsy and unpractised, his arse sticking up in the air.

Logen grabbed hold of his coat before he got more than a stride. 'You're not leaving those on are you?'

'What?'

'Those fucking spurs! Stealthy I said! You might as well hang a bell off your cock!'

Luthar scowled as he sat up to pull them off.

'Stay down!' hissed Logen, pushing him back into the grass on his back. 'You want to get us killed?'

'Get off me!'

Logen shoved him down again, then stabbed at him with his finger to make sure he got the point. 'I'm not dying over your fucking spurs and that's a fact! If you can't keep quiet you can stay here with the Navigator.' He glowered over at Longfoot. 'Maybe you both can navigate your way into the village once we've made sure it's safe.' He shook his head and crawled down the slope after Ferro.

She was already halfway to the brook, rolling and slithering over the crumbled walls, sneaking across the spaces in between them, keeping low, hand on the grip of her curved sword, quick and silent as the wind over the plain.