30
A stream of people was emerging from the forest to the left of the path that led to the inn. Their stature, which was all that could be seen in the half-light, suggested they were woodfolk.
Tarkyn’s woodfolk ranged themselves around the arc of the dome of his shield, facing the oncoming woodfolk. Tarkyn stood behind them. The other non-woodfolk people seated themselves around the fire in the middle of the dome but Stefan was unsure where he should place himself.
After a moment, he mindmessaged Waterstone. “Where do you want me?”
“Back with your parents for now. We’ll call you forward when the time is right.”
The number of woodfolk outside the dome was already larger than the group that Tarkyn’s woodfolk had previously encountered and still more were flowing out of the forest to joi
