little in relief and the tension
eased.
"Before we talk of the big people and what to
do about them, tell me something," I asked her.
She nodded.
"The ring and the talisman. Where did my
father get them?"
"From his father. He inherited them."
I tried again. "But where did they come
from?"
"Legend tells that they were brought from far
to the south. They were brought by your father's fathers, many
generations ago."
I pondered a moment. "Do the legends say
whether they were won in battle or ... or how the bearer came by
them?"
"They were sent in safe keeping. Or so the
stories run," she said. "I know nothing beyond the stories."
I sighed, though I do not know why. "Now we
must decide what to do about the big people", I said.
The priestess nodded.
We could count only twenty-two men between
ten and thirty-five. Women who were not nursing and not too old
joined the men defending ... Defending what? I don't know. I had
nothing against the big people. I would simply stay out of their
way but I know it's no good. There are too many of them and they're
too hungry for land. They're too hungry for OUR land and in the
past they've killed those who stood up to them. I think they're
afraid of us because they don't often see us and they sometimes
walk right past our villages without seeing them either. It may be
a combination of them not being all that observant and our not
being all that numerous but, whatever it is, when they get the
chance they kill us all. Their stories are of folk who mean malice
and misfortune. I think perhaps the priestesses are right; it is
our existence we're defending.
Anyway, thirty-seven people, not all of them
real fighters, were not enough to meet the big ones in open battle
and I couldn't manage more than that. In council with the
priestesses I decided that all those too old or too young to fight
should go to the village on the high island. I made up my own mind
to abandon the two villages on the main island, but in such a
manner that the big people would think they had won and got rid of
us for good. I didn't think they'd follow us to the high island. I
also made up my mind not to tell anyone, including the priestesses,
that I had decided to abandon the main island. This decision was
unfortunate when you consider what happened.
I thought the location of one of our villages
was more or less known, so we'd use that one. If we attacked the
settlement at Holm and left a clear trail for the big people to
follow, they would have no choice but to come after us. We could
ambush them on the way and make them pay dear for the village I had
already decided to give up. They wouldn't know that; they'd think
it was a hard won victory. I wanted them to think that a few
survivors were running to one of the small islands northwards of
the main island.
Those who were not fighting went to the high
island as planned and some of the boats were brought back and were
hidden a little down the coast. To make abandonment seem more real,
dummies made of straw and heather placed inside them. The rest of
the boats were concealed conveniently, ready for a hasty departure
to the high island. Next some of the tribe hid themselves with bows
at the temple of the sun at Brodgar. The stones stand in a circle
on gently rising moorland, so there's plenty of cover in amongst
the heather. A temple is not really the place for an ambush, but my
people use it, though it was there before us, the big ones are
afraid of it and don't understand it and it makes a good landmark
to make for.
Our attack on their settlement was almost
better and more effective than I had hoped. Several of our tribe
went into the settlement after dark with straw and heather wrapped
around branches and started fires in boats and buildings, then we
used our arrows on those who were lit up by the moonlight or the
glow from fires. I don't suppose we even hit, let alone killed
many, but there was no shortage of confusion. We left a pretty
clear trail but, to make
eased.
"Before we talk of the big people and what to
do about them, tell me something," I asked her.
She nodded.
"The ring and the talisman. Where did my
father get them?"
"From his father. He inherited them."
I tried again. "But where did they come
from?"
"Legend tells that they were brought from far
to the south. They were brought by your father's fathers, many
generations ago."
I pondered a moment. "Do the legends say
whether they were won in battle or ... or how the bearer came by
them?"
"They were sent in safe keeping. Or so the
stories run," she said. "I know nothing beyond the stories."
I sighed, though I do not know why. "Now we
must decide what to do about the big people", I said.
The priestess nodded.
We could count only twenty-two men between
ten and thirty-five. Women who were not nursing and not too old
joined the men defending ... Defending what? I don't know. I had
nothing against the big people. I would simply stay out of their
way but I know it's no good. There are too many of them and they're
too hungry for land. They're too hungry for OUR land and in the
past they've killed those who stood up to them. I think they're
afraid of us because they don't often see us and they sometimes
walk right past our villages without seeing them either. It may be
a combination of them not being all that observant and our not
being all that numerous but, whatever it is, when they get the
chance they kill us all. Their stories are of folk who mean malice
and misfortune. I think perhaps the priestesses are right; it is
our existence we're defending.
Anyway, thirty-seven people, not all of them
real fighters, were not enough to meet the big ones in open battle
and I couldn't manage more than that. In council with the
priestesses I decided that all those too old or too young to fight
should go to the village on the high island. I made up my own mind
to abandon the two villages on the main island, but in such a
manner that the big people would think they had won and got rid of
us for good. I didn't think they'd follow us to the high island. I
also made up my mind not to tell anyone, including the priestesses,
that I had decided to abandon the main island. This decision was
unfortunate when you consider what happened.
I thought the location of one of our villages
was more or less known, so we'd use that one. If we attacked the
settlement at Holm and left a clear trail for the big people to
follow, they would have no choice but to come after us. We could
ambush them on the way and make them pay dear for the village I had
already decided to give up. They wouldn't know that; they'd think
it was a hard won victory. I wanted them to think that a few
survivors were running to one of the small islands northwards of
the main island.
Those who were not fighting went to the high
island as planned and some of the boats were brought back and were
hidden a little down the coast. To make abandonment seem more real,
dummies made of straw and heather placed inside them. The rest of
the boats were concealed conveniently, ready for a hasty departure
to the high island. Next some of the tribe hid themselves with bows
at the temple of the sun at Brodgar. The stones stand in a circle
on gently rising moorland, so there's plenty of cover in amongst
the heather. A temple is not really the place for an ambush, but my
people use it, though it was there before us, the big ones are
afraid of it and don't understand it and it makes a good landmark
to make for.
Our attack on their settlement was almost
better and more effective than I had hoped. Several of our tribe
went into the settlement after dark with straw and heather wrapped
around branches and started fires in boats and buildings, then we
used our arrows on those who were lit up by the moonlight or the
glow from fires. I don't suppose we even hit, let alone killed
many, but there was no shortage of confusion. We left a pretty
clear trail but, to make
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