She crossed her arms over her breastplate. “We move with craftiness, unlike you.” A ghost of a smile showed up on her face, displaying the gaps in her teeth. “We followed you and not at a safe distance. No one but Nasu felt our presence, and that was only after the first day.” She shifted the stick to the other side of her mouth. “We left at separate times, disguised as merchants. Traders. Mothers heavy with child.” She barked a laugh at that. “You never saw us, not even once, for our disguises were crafted with great care.”

On the other side of me, Nanaea perked up when she said that. But the hair stood up on my head. If they’d followed in costume and we were unaware, we had a lot to learn from them.

Ummi jerked her head at the Libbu. “Let us take some rest and do some training. You can sneak into the city by dark in two days’ time. I’ll post sentinels around the walls to keep all of you safe. Two of the Koru are walking the perimeter now. No harm will come to you when you are in my care.”

“Our thanks, Ummi. Let’s unpack.” Arwia nodded and we dispersed. Dagan and Nasu grabbed our tents and some rolls of bedding from the back of the cart.

“This is a gift from Selu,” Nanaea breathed into my ear as she passed me by, hauling her basket of sewing and a small cask of what appeared to be face paints. “I’m going to talk to the Koru about what they used to disguise themselves. See if I can sew some of the pieces for us to get into the city.”

“Good idea, Nanaea.”

I joined the others unpacking a few necessities, shaking out quilts, and talking about Alu as we settled in. A nervous, excited energy seemed to zigzag through the warriors as they carried supplies. At last, we gathered around a crackling fire, several birds roasting on sticks, fish nestled on grates over the coals. At my side, Dagan filleted some hot fish into bowls for us both while Nanaea squatted on the other side of the fire, concentrating on a bit of cloth. One of the Koru warriors worked with her, ripping the seam out of a garment. Dagan was relaxed as he smiled at me kindly and handed me the dish, but though my murmured thanks seemed calm, I couldn’t help but worry about what might await us on the other side of Alu’s wall.

In the corners of the Libbu, weapons of every sort—daggers, battle-axes, sickleswords, spears, and shields—were stacked in neat rows. Nasu was sparring with a woman in the far end of the Libbu, and another Koru warrior was teaching Iltani how to attack with a knife, though chances were good she already knew. That girl had a way of surprising me, even though we’d been friends since we were young. Two more warriors were doing drills by torchlight, their weapons clanging, an occasional “Ha!” or “Oh!” slicing the chilled air in two.