More silence. And this time Camlin could not stop the grin spilling across his face. Edana scowled at the young warrior, while Roisin looked surprised.

‘Isn’t it best if we work together?’ Lorcan continued, finding everyone looking at him. ‘Perhaps there is a better way of finding our allies than wandering aimlessly around.’

‘Agreed,’ Vonn said, who was sitting against a thick-trunked willow. ‘Arguing won’t help us find them, and we’re here now, so no point regretting it. At least we know that they are definitely here, somewhere – else why is Morcant here? He’s hunting them – we all heard what he said to those village elders.’

‘They are in these marshes somewhere,’ Edana said, her eyes hovering over Camlin.

She wants me to say something.

‘That they are,’ Camlin said. ‘It’s just the finding them we have to master now.’ He looked carefully at everyone in their group, finally settling upon Meg, the girl from the village.

‘Meg, can you help us?’ Camlin said. ‘You know who we are searching for?’

‘Aye,’ Meg said, chewing her lip. ‘The people my kin were slaughtered over.’

‘That’s right,’ Camlin said. ‘I’m not promising anything will happen quickly, but those warriors back at the village – Morcant and the others, that did . . .’ His words failed, the image of a child swinging from a gallows filling his mind. ‘They’re our enemies. We are here to fight them. We’d see some justice done for your kin, but we can’t do it alone.’

She looked at all the faces staring at her, finally settled back on Camlin.

‘They used to come to the village, trade for goods. And news. They had coin – some gold. Never seen gold before.’

‘Can you find them, child, in these marshes?’ Roisin asked her. Meg wouldn’t look at her, instead sidled closer to Camlin.

‘Do you know where they’re based, girlie?’ Camlin asked her.

‘Maybe.’

‘And what does that mean?’ Roisin said, throwing her hands in the air.

‘Mother,’ Lorcan muttered.

‘Can you help us, Meg?’ Camlin said, crouching down to look her in the eyes. ‘It’d mean a great deal to us.’

‘I can’t take you to Dun Crin, don’t know where it is. But I know roughly where they came from, the direction they took when they left my village – followed them for a while once, for the fun of it.’

Camlin nodded. It wasn’t much. But it was better than nothing.