Garinor and Dodger awoke the next morning and continued making their way to the north. Some of the prince’s men were in the area, which Dodger pointed out in hushed whispers and hand gestures. Apparently the battle had gone well, and they seemed to be looking for people. Perhaps some of the other Daggerfists had escaped.
Because of the enemies in the area, they weren’t able to make much progress at various times through the day. Dodger found hiding places that Garinor couldn’t believe. His favorite disguise was when they were almost discovered near a tree and Dodger threw dirt and grass over Garinor and himself and their legs looked like tree roots in the ground. The sentries walked right past them, none the wiser.
Finding food and shelter that night proved to be the greatest challenge. Dodger left Garinor hiding up in a tree while he snuck into the sentries’ camp and swiped a few tidbits of meat and bread. They had to do with little water, but Garinor marveled at Dodger’s skill and couldn’t complain.
The following day was an easier trek and they made better progress. Dodger decided to save time, so they cut northwest instead of taking a more circuitous route. It took them closer to the prince’s army, but he was careful not to be spotted, and with his finely-honed senses he kept Garinor safe along the way.
It was with great relief that Garinor greeted the new Daggerfist camp. He could see that they were a large force of men and women, all of whom had clearly experienced numerous battles in their lives. Dodger brought Garinor to a small tent inside the border of the camp and he charged the woman inside to keep him there at all costs. “I have to report to the General.” He turned to Garinor and pleaded, “Stay here and don’t go wandering about.”
“But I thought we were going to report in together.”
“Sorry. Stay put and I’ll be back for you soon.”
Dodger left and the woman offered Garinor some food and drink. “You look a bit pale. I understand you want to go with him, but you’re new to this camp and there are ways we operate to keep each other safe. Eat up. Let’s toss down some cards while we wait, and when it’s time for you to go out there, you’ll be invited to.”
Garinor grumbled but he agreed in the end. “I’m Garinor.”
“Giving me your name like that shows me you aren’t truly one of us,” she warned him. “But no matter. I’m not about to harm you when our purpose all along has been to protect boys like you. You can call me Brush.” She pulled a deck of cards from a nearby table, shuffled them, and then dealt a hand, explaining the rules of the game.
The goal of the card game was to create sets of three cards of any suit or number and to lay them down, then the opponent would add additional matching cards to the piles if possible. When neither player could lay down a new pile or play to one already showing, they had to draw two cards from the rest of the deck as their turn. The first one to place all their cards down was the winner. It took the first game for Garinor to understand the rules, but he played the second game well, nearly defeating Brush.
Dodger appeared during their fourth game and he bowed low in apology. “The whole camp is toiling about, making preparations for the prince’s arrival.”
Garinor stood up, determined to help, but Dodger shook his head and held out his hand to stop him.
“Sorry, but you have to stay here. I may trust you, but until the General speaks with you, you can’t roam about the camp.”
“So I’m a prisoner?”
Brush sighed. “Don’t think of it that way, Garinor. Keep in mind that we need to be protected, too. Besides, in how many prisons would you be playing card games against the guards? Come along, you’re getting the hang of this game. When things settle down, the General will meet with you and you’ll be fine.” When he didn’t sit down, she added, “If you cooperate with me and don’t argue, that’ll help your chances of being free to walk about on your own.”
Grumbling, Garinor sat back down. Dodger left to help with the preparations while he and Brush played cards deep into the night.