Donovan had hardly been gone a month when another stranger came through town. He was somewhat tall, but then everyone from outside the village tended to look tall, he would have been only average in most places. His face was unremarkable, his clothing was unremarkable, and everything was unremarkable about him except that he rode a horse, which there were very few of in the village. Most people had oxen and donkeys, which were more practical for farm work than horses were.

He stayed at the inn, but he said nothing about his business, though everyone in the village was curious. There were few things to bring a stranger to Land's End. But he left again only a few days later, having done nothing, as far as anyone could see, and having said nothing about why he had come.

He returned a week after that, and his reasons for the earlier visit instantly became clear.

He had been scouting.

He had come alone the first time, but now he was accompanied by a score of men, all on horseback, and all heavily armed. They rode into the center of town, not hesitating to ride right over anyone who didn't get out of their way. One elderly man who wasn't fast enough was trampled beneath their horses' feet, but they didn't seen to care. They came to the town square and stopped there, but they didn't dismount. The stranger who had visited already rode to the front, in front of the inn, which was the largest building in town, and shouted, "I am Jack Red-eyes. I am taking over this town. My men and I need a base of operations, and as the guard never comes this far, we've decided this town will suit us quite nicely. Where is your mayor?"

Many of the villagers had fled into their houses, but Serai's father had come to the inn's door, and Serali hovered behind him, wide-eyed with startled fear. Neither he nor any of the other villagers still outside answered Jack's question. They were all afraid, but they were stubborn people. Serali knew that very well. That same stubborn nature that kept them from accepting her and the other outlanders was keeping them from answering this bandit now.

"Answer me or I kill one of you now," he said. More people ran out of the town square at that, and Serali's father stepped back and shut the inn door.

Marilla was in the doorway from the kitchen. The inn was empty, it being too early yet for the usual customers to come in for their nightly drinks. "What are we going to do?" she said in quiet, fearful tones.

Falio shook his head. "I don't know. We can't fight them, we hardly have any weapons and nobody knows how to use then if we did. But we can't just roll over either."

Suddenly there was a heavy blow to the door. An instant later there was a second, and then the door flew inward, ripped off its hinges. Serali dashed into the kitchen with her mother, but her father stayed put in the center of the room. "The door wasn't locked, sir," he said mildly to Jack, who stepped through the splintered door frame.

"Well you'll just have to buy a new one. And you'll have to buy a new inn too," he added, "because I will burn this one to the ground if I don't get what I want. I want to know who the mayor here is. And I want my men housed and fed."

"I'm sorry sir," said Falio with a quiet dignity. "The mayor isn't here. I will be happy to serve your men. It's two copper a meal, and ale a copper extra."

Jack glared coldly at him. "You think you're very clever, don't you? I'm not paying a penny."

Serali didn't hear what her father said next, because she had darted out the door that led to the stables. She dashed from there out behind the inn and ran down the deserted street. These men talked about killing, and they talked about burning down the inn, and she couldn't let them do it. She couldn't let them kill her family and burn down the place where she'd been born and raised. Not when she might be able to stop them.