Eamon lifted his chin at the man. The man,noticing the daggers currently shooting his way, smothered a smilebefore heading back to the small campfire.
Shea grumbled, turning back to her map. Shelifted her head and peered into the distance. It was lateafternoon, and they had decided to make camp while they got theirbearings.
Two days had passed since the encounter withthe shadow beetles, and the group was beginning to appreciateShea’s insights into the world around them. Saving someone’s lifehad a tendency to do that.
Try as she might, she couldn’t get the map’sfeatures to line up with the terrain. She sat back and pinched thebridge of her nose, finding new respect for Vale’s navigatingskills. It was no wonder they had gotten so lost if this was whathe’d had to work with.
She sighed and pulled out a pen beforebending to make notes, crossing off features that were wrong andwriting in the correct ones. She didn’t like drawing all oversomeone else’s work, but she needed a way to keep track of thelandmarks they passed.
At least she knew they were heading southwith a western slant.
The light faded as Shea continued to work. Bythe time the map was illegible, she had a general idea of thedirection they should take tomorrow.
Finished, she folded the map up and stuffedit into a pouch in her jacket before climbing off her boulder andjoining the rest at the campfire. They had chosen a rock overhangfor shelter, one to partially block the light of the fire and twofor protection from the wind. Though the days were warm, nighttimetemperatures dropped significantly out here.
She plopped down next to Buck and acceptedthe plate of warm food he handed her. One of the boys had shot ahare that afternoon, and they made stew with some wild potatoesShea dug up. It was the first warm meal they’d enjoyed sinceleaving the encampment.
At the first taste, Shea shoveled two moremouthfuls in, swallowing without really chewing. Somehow foodalways tasted doubly good on the trail, probably because there wasso little of it.
The meat was tender, and they had found sometype of herb to dump in the pot, too. Shea tried to identify theinteresting taste but gave up. Cooking wasn’t exactly her strongsuit. She knew enough about plants not to kill herself but hadabsolutely no idea how to combine ingredients to make somethingtasty. She was just grateful one of the men did.
“What do you think, Shane?”
Shea gulped her latest mouthful down and wasalready lifting another spoonful to her lips when it dawned thatthey were talking to her.
She should be used to her new name by now,but the men called her Daisy more often than not. It made itdifficult to get used to a name she was so rarely called by. Shedidn’t always react immediately.
She looked up to find all eyes on her.
“About what?”
Sam snorted and handed her a piece of hardbread. She took it gratefully.
Eamon said, “I know the food’s good, lad, butI promise it won’t disappear if you slow down a bit.”
Shea stuck her bread in the stew and spoonedsome of the liquid over it, hoping that by the time she ate therest, it would be soft enough not to break teeth.
“Do you think Hawkvale’s right? That theLowlands can be conquered and united under one banner?”
Shea paused with her mouth open beforesetting her spoon back in her bowl. “I don’t know enough about thesituation to comment.”
Buck scoffed. “Never known a Daisy to be shyabout shooting off at the mouth about things they don’t understand.You must havesomeopinion. Everybody does. Go ahead boy,don’t be shy. We won’t clap you in irons if we don’t like what youhave to say.”
Shea shifted, uncomfortable to be the centerof attention. Up until now she had tried to stay mainly on thefringes of the group, not joining conversations, just doing her joband observing.
“It’s just campfire chatter,” Eamon informedher softly. “A time to bitch and groan about what the higher upsare doing. Nothing ever comes of it.”
They said that now, but they were Trateri.Shea was not. They could get away with saying a lot more than anoutsider.
“What about you?” Shea challenged.
“Ah, but we know what we think,” Buckreturned. “And you would too if you’d been paying attention overthe last few days. We’re interested in what you, a nativeLowlander, have to say. You’d know more about this land than us. Doyou think it’s possible to conquer this place and hold it?”
That would be true if Shea had been aLowlander. She did know a lot about the country as it paid forpathfinders to know everything about the different places theymight visit. Still, there was a wide gap of knowledge betweensomeone born and raised here and someone making short forays intothe area.
Still, it couldn’t hurt to share a fewinsights with them. Just a few, though. Nothing that might make herstand out.
She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe some ofit.”
