Chapter 10 Summary

Waking from a heavy sleep, Birle finds she is still hungry. She is thirsty, but for cool, clear water, not the thick ale. Her legs feel intolerably heavy. Looking down, Birle finds her ankles manacled, with a thick chain between. Ker and Torson are in the back of the ship, near the tiller, talking indistinctly. Birle and Orien are on a shelf above the deck, over two oarsmen. One of the oarsmen is a scrawny lad not yet ten. The other is a giant, tall and thick with legs the size of tree trunks. He has the eyes of a dog that has been kicked. The oarsmen, too, are manacled.

Seeing that their captives are awake, Ker and Torson make the boy fetch everyone bread and water. The giant receives the same tiny portion as the starving boy. As Birle eats, she thinks...