From publisher blurb:
For 4–5 Characters Level 5–6
Somervel’s autumn rains lasted longer than usual, and the resulting winter floods impacted more than expected. Some distant pale-forts haven’t been heard from in months, being cut off by the linking of frozen rice paddies, flood meadows, leas usually inhabited by cattle, and rivers that run though Somervel’s territory. Parties are charged with taking supplies to these border posts and bringing anyone severely injured home.
Somervel’s pale-forts are like beaver lodges; earthen mounds on islands in the marshlands. Each covers a wide area, is surrounded by a wooden palisade, has quarters below ground, and has a single central watchtower. Torni’ s tower fell in the recent storms, and the guards missed Akka, who infiltrated the fort and killed them all. Now this is her home, and she is recruiting...