The wait seemed to drag on especially slowly.
About forty minutes later, just as Belt was about to start pacing, Zoya's figure emerged from the shadows like a ghost and returned to their side.
She said nothing, only handed over a rough sheet of paper from beneath her cloak.
It showed a simple charcoal sketch of the surrounding terrain.
The drawing showed a clear Ω-shaped bend in the stream near the village, which almost completely encircled several isolated houses.
Seven Xs marked the Spined Boars' locations. They were scattered across the fields outside the bend, some distance from the houses.
Zoya extended a pale, slender finger and first pointed at the houses on the map. Her soft, sweet voice came from beneath her hood again:
"Villagers, safe."
Then her fingertip moved to the X closest to the houses.
"This one, eating, potatoes."
Tom leaned over to look at the drawing, gestured, and said, "Judging by the map, the nearest boar is probably four or five hundred meters from Old Jack's house."
Hulk studied the drawing carefully, then nodded in understanding. "Right. The Spined Boars have plenty to eat for now, so they probably won't attack the villagers' houses unprovoked. Tom, head back and tell everyone things are stable. We can handle it here."
Tom let out a sigh of relief, thanked them repeatedly, then hurried back to the village.
Hulk glanced up at the sky and estimated the time. "It's around seven in the evening. Let's have a quick bite, then get some rest as soon as possible. We'll split the night watch into three shifts. I'll take the middle four hours."
He looked at Belt and Laila. "Belt, Laila, you'll take the first shift, from eight to midnight. Any objections?"
"None, Captain!" they both replied.
"Galen, Zoya," Hulk said,