There are ten others besides Ruaidri and me, all of us well armed and ready to prowl tonight. I tap my spear on a tree stump to get everybody's attention.

"Today more of the yellow stones were taken from outside the mine, all of them this time! A day's work for nothing. Someone is coming from over the hill to the north of us and stealing what our good diggers bring out. This has to stop!"

Some of the warriors spit and curse. Others bang their shields.

"For several days there has been the smoke of somebody's fire up there. They are making no attempt to hide their presence. This might mean there are enough of them that they aren't afraid of anybody knowing they're in our territory, or it could mean they are just careless and stupid."

A little bit of laughter lifts some of the tension.

"Now, tonight we are not setting out to attack. We are only going to take a look and see who is there and how many there are. Then we'll come back and talk to Gartan about what to do next."

A few of the men are disappointed that we're not looking for a fight - yet.

"Where is Gartan?" someone calls out. "He should be here!"

"The Mormaer is a busy man," I shrug, wondering the same question myself. Quickly I wave the spear over my head before too many people start grumbling. "Let's go! I know where their tracks went so I'll lead the way. When we get close to the camp, we'll spread out two by two and circle them to take a good look. Be sure to be quiet so that no one will ever know we were there. When the moon is highest, we'll meet back here and tell what we saw."

Ruaidri and I team up. The others pair off and we trot silently up the hill, none of us knowing what we'll find.