Chapter 26Derwyn peered into the darkness at the men around him. The sound of the horns had succeeded in extricating most of them from the c*****e of the camp but, dimly lit by the distant glow of the campfires shining through the trees, they were milling about him in considerable disorder. Their behaviour vividly reflected the emotions that were tumbling through him: a numbing mixture of shock, fear, and choking guilt; and an urge to flee from this now terrible fringe of the Forest, back to the safety of his lodge and the ways he knew and had always known. Yet, it was combined with an equally powerful urge to charge back amongst the men who had done such harm, to work some dreadful vengeance on them.
But, despite this turmoil, the qualities that had made him the quiet leader of his peopl
