Suze peered down from her perch at the gathering of huts in the middle of the woods. Chancy had never been a problem for their village, none of them were wealthy enough to attract his attention. She'd been a fool. Someone else's problem too long ignored had come home to roost.
Marriette was nowhere in sight. Not surprising, Chancy wouldn't want to risk his prize to running away, or a***e by men too long away from society. Those men scuttled about the clearing bringing in what they'd scrounged from the forest. Popular perception had bandits feasting on deer and boar, but their presence pushed game animals away. Nuts and mushrooms were clearly the staple diet, with a few berries for flavour. Some women carried tubers or greens. The presence of more than a couple of women shouldn't have been
