Snail Hunt
- Pin and Cam are out in the garden with wheat when Da comes up with a bunch of holy lettuces—like, with actual holes.
- Da figures the holes are from snails, which makes Pin's stomach crawl. Spiders? No problem, but snails and slugs? Ick.
- Everyone gets to talking, and we learn that some people—Uplanders—actually eat snails.
- Mam thinks that's weird, to say the least, and she says something like, "you know, those silly Uplanders have their own ways." (We don't actually know, but we can pretty well guess that these folks are not Uplanders and don't care for the bunch either.)
- Da tells Pin to wear pajamas after dinner, and no one is really sure why.
- A little while later, Cam wants to help Mam with the chores, but she shoos him away, so he figures he'll go ask Da for something to do.
- But when Cam asks Da for a task, Da's got the same answer as Mam: there's nothing for you to do. It turns out Cam fought in the war, so everyone's a little edgy when it comes to putting him to work.
- Cam hates this and thinks it's unfair. What's he supposed to do for the rest of his life? He runs off to the tavern for a dink.
- At dinner, Da announces that they're going on a snail hunt—they're gonna catch a big one, too.
- Da explains that they've got to squish any snail if they want to save their crops, and though Pin doesn't like this much, she follows what her dad says.
- Just then Cam shows up and sees there's more killing here at home—stomp, stomp, stomp, everyone smashes the snails.
- He's just returned from the war after being gone for twelve years, and he's the only Downlander soldier to come back alive.
- It's clear everyone's a little on edge around Cam, but we don't know much about what he thinks about the war since no one lets him do much.
- With Pin, Cam wants to share his story and tell her all about the war—he figures if anyone will listen to him, his own sister will.
- He takes Pin for a ride on his shoulders and tells the story of the war: The Uplanders took the castle and all the people in it; they even cut off Cam's arm.
- Just when he thought he was done for, Cam was helped by the Uplanders. Wait, what? The guys who just stormed the castle and killed his buddies? Yep, those dudes.
- Cam doesn't really get it. He was nursed back to health by the Uplanders, and he wonders why he didn't die like the rest of the soldiers.
- Pin gets bored of the story pretty quickly, and the siblings turn their attention to Hughar and Edord who are daring each other to eat the snails. Finally, Hughar takes the bet and chomps down on one. Ew…
- Da comes over and tells Pin it's time for bed, but before she goes inside, he shows her an arrow in the stars. She wants to show Cam, but Da stops her—it'll just remind him of the war, he says. Oh yeah, that.
- Pin goes to bed and dreams of snails and the starry sky.