7. A Little Help

You ask hesitantly if the one holding you can let go. He doesn't. Maybe some help, then? Perhaps in salvaging the wreckage, or just finding a place.

 The tall man considers you slowly and then shakes his head. They're overcrowded enough as it is. The forest needs its tribute.

 The one holding your collar drags you outside. You struggle, but you are still weak from the wreck.

 A crowd gathers to watch as they tie your arms together and to a high tree branch, forcing you to stand on tiptoe.

 Then they leave you there. Something rustles in the trees behind you. You see the tip of something that gleams – polished stone, perhaps, or a claw.