The Campsite in the woods

[The Flint]

Jeor dragged the boy back to where his men were watching the child's camp. He waited for his other trackers to return and see where their trails had gone. He kept a close clamp on his little captive.

[The Smith]

The captive puts his lips together, and blew a trilling birdcall.

[The Flint]

Jeor drilled the boy in the head with a blow. "Gather them up!" He shouted, motioning for his men to move in and stop the children from fleeing.

[The Smith]

The children were not fleeing, but they were crying now. They all stood up and two ran. Those two were easily caught. The rest gathered together afraid.

[The Flint]

The men surrounded the children and rounded them up in the circle cautiously. Jeor grabbed the older boy by the arm, into the center.

"Alright, Everyone stop crying and shut up?" He examined the children closer. Were the truly Umber children, or did they have all the hallmarks of the wildlings?

[The Smith]

If he had to guess he would have said wildlings, but they were cleaner then wildlings usually were, and they had a patchwork of tailored clothing. Yet no shirt and pants matched.

The boy stood among all the children, and said, "Now remember, it was I who stole you, and murdered your parents. So do not hesitate to testify to that." He looked around, and all the children began to quiet as if reassured by his presences.

That boy was pure wildling.

[The Flint]

"I will round you up and keep you all safe," he said. "And then I will send a message to my northern friends, and if they are NOT missing any children in a raid, I will personally slit every one of your throats, and feed you to the shadowcats" He said calmly. "So if you are wildlings it would be better for you to say so now."

[The Smith]

There was a murmur of fear among the children, but the boy from the tree raised his hand, "I am the only wildling here, man. Slit my throat, and let these children of the north go." He took a deep breath, and added, "Please."

[The Flint]

Jeor slit the boy's throat in a single draw of his wrist. He dropped the boy's corpse to the ground.

"Round these children up. We'll send a message to the clans, and to the Umbers, if they are missing any. If not we will divide up the children among any families that lost children this year. Any girls who are of age we can find husbands for."