Log-a-log took a sip of shrewbeer from his tankard. “Because I need you to do something for me. Listen and I will tell you. I am leader of the Guosssom because I am the strongest; that is the only thing that keeps our tribe together without the Blackstone. The Guosssom will follow the shrew who holds the Blackstone—it is sacred to us shrews. I held the Blackstone from the time it was passed to me by my father, who got it from his father before him. It makes the holder undisputed leader of all shrews. Well, one day when my son Nordo was little he took it from around my neck as I slept. I did not worry too much because Nordo was a baby who liked to play with the Blackstone. I let him, thinking that one day it would be his by right. However, Nordo lost the stone. I took the blame on myself, not wanting him to be shunned by the Guosssom, and since then I have been leader only by my authority and fighting skills.”

“Where did Nordo lose the Blackstone?” Mara could not help interrupting. “And how does it concern me?”