Tarashana by Rachel Neumeier (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📕

ask for mercy from the warriors who discovered you? Did you think you could get away from them? They would follow you if you crossed into inSorako or inGeiro lands.”

He answered in a low voice, not looking up, “I hoped to cross the river, warrior, if I could come there, and go west through the summer country, and then north again once the lands of my people lay across the river.”

By this time I was looking at him in astonishment. “Do you speak darau?” I asked him. When he admitted he did not, I said, “That plan was completely stupid. There are many villages and farms and towns all along the river, and you would have had to go a long way. The Lau would have caught you. They would have assumed you came there to raid them and you could not have told them otherwise. Many Lau still have bitter feelings toward Ugaro, even now. They would have killed you, which would be bad, or they would have brought you to their lord and thrown you at his feet and then the lord would have had to decide what to do. That would have complicated everything between Lau and Ugaro in that whole region, especially as Lord Aras would not have been there to settle the matter properly. You would have done far better to accept a beating from these inGara warriors.”

“Yes,” he said humbly, bowing low.

By this time the hunters had come up. They were men I knew, who sometimes stayed in my mother’s camp and sometimes in other inGara camps. They were all respected warriors, older than I was. The oldest was the age of my brother Gayata, twenty and twelve winters. I said to him, “Tanoya, I think you have been to some trouble to punish this trespassing inRasiko boy.”

“He set traps,” Tanoya said grimly, looking with disdain at the young man. “The first embarrassed Lakosa and the second left Gyo with a bruise he will remember until the snows begin. But perhaps you may say that an inGara warrior who falls into a trap set by an inRasiko deserves to be embarrassed or bruised.”

“I would not say such a thing of a respected warrior,” I answered. “But I think that does not sound like a very serious offense.” I meant to go on to say that they should beat him for trespassing and let him go.

But another of the men, Hara, was looking with close attention at the young inRasiko who knelt between us. Hara said, “Did he say he was inRasiko? How many winters did he claim?” Stepping forward, he grabbed the boy’s hair, pulled his head back, and looked into his face. Then he let him go with a gesture of disgust. “He lied to you, Ryo. He is not a boy; he has at least sixteen winters. Nor is he inRasiko. His name is Tano inTasiyo. His father’s is Yaro inTasiyo. I saw them together at the Convocation two winters past; this young warrior was already a man then.”

There was a long silence. I had not expected anything like that; no one could have expected it. The young man, Tano inTasiyo, bowed to the ground and stayed there. He did not say anything. There was nothing he could say.

I did not know what to say either. Yaro inTasiyo’s was a name I knew; he was the warleader of the inTasiyo. The inTasiyo were not merely rivals. The bitterness between our peoples was so great that a complete ban had been laid down between our tribes; we did not raid each other or trade with each other. Our warriors never met except at the Convocation, where drawing knives is forbidden and enemies look away from one another. Even during the Convocation, our women would not speak to inTasiyo women. We had nothing to do with each other at all.

I did not know the full tale behind the enmity, which went back a long way—not Koro, but his uncle, who had been our king before him, had set the ban. But I knew very well that no inTasiyo should have dared set foot on inGara lands. Even a boy of that tribe would not have been safe trespassing on inGara lands—even a woman would not have been safe. An inTasiyo warrior should certainly be put to death for that. I looked at Rakasa, who raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Bara said, “No inGeiro can possibly have an opinion regarding this matter, Ryo.”

That was true as well. Finally I said to the inGara hunters, “I would prefer to take this decision on myself. Do any of you object?”

They glanced at each other. They had been angry, but now that they knew this young man’s name, they were worried. These men had been perfectly ready to punish a trespasser, but they were not the kind of men who would take pleasure in putting anyone to death in the way prescribed by the terms of the ban. Tanoya said, “I have no objection if you wish to take the decision. I think none of us object to that.”

I waited a moment, but none of the others protested. Finally I nodded and said, “I take this decision.” Then I said to Aras, “I know you will not wish to delay. Perhaps we may take this young inTasiyo warrior with us now, and I will decide what to do with him tonight.”

“That’s entirely up to you, Ryo,” Aras told me. “We can rearrange the packs easily enough.” I could tell nothing from his expression.

I said to the young man, “Stay there until a horse is ready for you. Then mount and ride with us. Do not offend any of the Lau. Do not offend me, either.” I added in darau, “This young warrior is a problem. Suyet may ask Rakasa to explain the matter. I do not want to talk to anyone.” Then I