"Are you going to give up then?" asked one of them. "You"ll soon run out of food and arrows, then you"ll have to give up or die."
Natas laughed. "You need food as much as we do. Where"s yours coming from?"
The man smiled. "We have our hunters. They can catch our food. You can"t even leave your town to get some."
"How much have your hunters caught in the last few days?" Pettic asked.
"Not much in the last couple of days," replied the man, "but that"s how hunting goes, so the hunters say."
"What if I tell you this will continue. You won"t find any game in these woods. We have allies that have seen to it."
"The beasts we"ve seen flying over here?" exclaimed the woman Pettic had brought in. "They"re helping you, aren"t they?"
Pettic nodded.
She turned to her companion who had just been
