While we slept, Dawn apparently sneaked away from our camp to follow Kar and Tezar. She returned with them this morning while it was still dark. Kar had a gaping wound across his belly, and Tezar had several bad cuts on his arms. Dawn had the wounds already bandaged as best she could, but they needed additional help. Niahla’Sen and Tora’Sor worked to patch them up while Dawn sat sulking by the horses. We considered staying the day so the two villagers could rest, but they refused to rest. We continued traveling by midmorning.
The barbarism common to lawless lands long forgotten to history abounds in the jungle, and the villagers we met yesterday were a raiding party, not a hunting party. We learned this when we encountered a gruesome sight. The severed heads of five Huvudets leered down at the trail from atop spikes. The lifeless bodies were scattered on the ground below, stripped of all belongings. Kar said it was a grand victory during the night. Dawn called it barbaric, and said she should have left the two men to die of their wounds. I guess the other raiders didn’t want to help their wounded comrades after their victory. Kellon looked away, and said it was the most horrid sight he’d ever seen. He is fortunate he did not see the horrors preserved in the ice at Nazada.
With the two villagers rejoicing, and the rest of us condemning the act, only Tora’Sor considered the circumstances and ramifications. What were the Huvudets doing in the jungle so far from their village? If the Huvudets were a serious threat, why wouldn’t the villagers permit us to assist in their battle? Her questions made me begin to wonder if the problem is a cultural issue. Rar too disliked Huvudets, and mentioned in his songs a desire to defeat them. There must be a long-standing rivalry between the two powers, the Huvudets and Razhinoch. We learned of the terse peace between them the last time we were in Puv’l Ewoy, but if acts of aggression like this prevail, there will be no real peace. War will easily sweep through the region if no one takes action to avert it. The only questions left---what can we do about it, and when?