“Women aren’t so free,” said Tohon. “If you were my daughter, or my wife, I’d have to whip you for such behavior.”

“The hells you would!”

Tohon had a sweet smile. “We are not in my country. Now we are Hundred folk.”

“I’m going to sleep,” said Edard.

Rain spattered the rocks. On the outcropping above, where he was keeping watch, Veras swore as he scrambled for shelter.

“This smoke is getting to me,” said Ladon. “I’ll go over where we—eh—anyway, it’s dry there.” He walked out, hunched under his short cloak as if he was still embarrassed. Edard followed him. Zubaidit strolled to the mouth of the overhang, where she leaned against the rock and stared into the night, her head tilted at a pensive angle.

Tohon hooked the pot’s handle and lifted it off the fire, setting it on the dirt nearby and covering the mouth with a lid. “If I may say so, lass,” he said to Eridit in a pleasant voice, “you do yourself no honor by teasing the men so they are set against each other. You may get attention, but you do not get respect.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t intimidate me, Tohon. I get masses of respect, flowers and gifts heaped at my feet.”

“Have you ever killed a man?”

“I’ve slain many! They fell at my feet. And wept with pleasure.” She looked Shai up and down with such a pressure of sensuality that he wished he had the courage to beg her to stop. Her dark eyes and thick lashes were beacons. Her hips slid sideways as she leaned toward him.

“Shai’s a good boy, but he’s young and untested and likewise raised in a town where a lad like him hasn’t much chance to meet a woman like you. Anyone can kill a man who is unarmed and unprepared.”

She shifted away from Shai, her gaze fixed on the scout. “Aui! Are you saying I can’t seduce you, Tohon?”

“You can’t. Marry me, maybe. But I don’t think we’d suit.”

She laughed so hard that Zubaidit turned from her contemplation of the rain and walked back to the fire. “I’ll win this duel. I’ll wager you on it.”

“When I scout, I don’t play games.” Despite the even tenor of his voice, the words were a warning that cracked her so hard she got to her feet and stamped outside into the rain, pouting.

He studied his palms in the light of the fire, unaffected by her outburst. “What think you, Zubaidit? Split up Ladon and Veras, and they will get smarter. Together, they goad each other. If one is reckless, the other must be, also. Edard is strong, but he is no leader.”

“He’s well connected. Branches of his clan run river transport all over the Hundred. If anyone can haul soldiers by boat or move oil of naya in bulk to combat the northern army, they can.”

“I see his value. But he needs a guiding hand, and he will not take one. As for her, she should be at home birthing healthy children.”