He was.  A few steps from the tunnel, a path veered left and up, ending at last in a rounded opening overlooking the passage they’d just left.  Tucked into carved hollows of the rock wall were half a dozen bows, little tight-tied packets of oiled leather that must have contained the strings, and a larger packet, closely wrapped but not tied, that probably held arrows.    

     Murrow picked up a bow and tested the tensile strength, then unwrapped the larger packet enough to glance inside.  It did indeed contain arrows, at least three dozen.  He loosened the leather a bit more and took one out, testing the tip on a finger.  “Ow!”  He held up the finger, showing the drop. 

     “Why do men — I mean, we — do that?”

     “What?”

     “See if an edge is sharp by using our skin.”

     “Hmm.”  He was still admiring the arrows.  “I never really thought about it. 

     “It’s stupid.”

     “Hmm.  Maybe.  But what else would you check it on?  You don’t want to dull the edge.”

     She sniffed her disapprobation.

     “Just another way we risk our bodies to serve our lords, Elmar.”  He returned the arrow to its fellows.  “Which, by the way, I am going to do as soon as I get home, by telling the High King that we ought really to keep Elbany as an ally, not get into a war with her.”

     “Oh,” she let the sound lengthen meaningfully.  “I see.  Good to know.”  She gave him a melodramatically sympathetic nod.  “Afraid you’ll lose, huh?”

     “No.  Bruster would prevail.  Eventually.”  He closed the oiled leather again over the arrows.  “No country in the Three Lands fights harder or nastier than Bruster.  But it’d been lots more difficult than some of our lords believe.”

     Interesting.  So there were Brusterian lords who’d thought seriously through the possibility of attacking Elbany, who’d been their ally as long as anyone could remember and was still their only ally on the mainland.  But the idea was not as worrisome as it might have been.  “It’d never happen,” she said.  “Brusterians would never manage to work together long enough to pull it off.”

     He returned the arrow packet to the niche in the stone.  “You’re probably right.  Still, they should know that Elbany has more tricks up her sleeve than she seems.  The conquest would be costly.” 

Convinced as she was that Brusterians were incapable of cooperating sufficiently to invade anyone, it was disturbing to think of another potential danger to her home, particularly with the Marlone threat hanging over them already.  Nor did she much care for his offhand assumption that Elbany would fall to Bruster, casual as if discussing oat bread or rye with supper.  They’d resisted Otto himself.  Who did the Brusterians think they were?  She was silent as they went back down the side passage to the new, main path. 

Retrieving their packs, they started following it.  Elsbeth set a pace less brisk than she had before, wanting to watch more closely for the next marker.  She thought it might be coming soon; this passage seemed to be heading too sharply eastward.