In the morning, Iarius and Nessalir set out once more. So deep were they in the forest now that they found it necessary to forsake riding, and instead to walk while leading their steeds through the woodlands. After an hour or so of this exercise, they found that the forest was rapidly beginning to grow thinner, and not half an hour after this discovery, they found themselves at the rocky foot of what Iarius knew as the Paeliig Mountain Range.

  "Caelus Pass is not far from here," Nessalir noted. She was crouched, examining the dirt. Aside from some roots and a few particularly stubborn weeds, there was little in the way of vegetation here. Even Iarius could see plainly the signs of well-trod ground.

  "How can you tell?" asked Iarius.

  "I have always possessed a keen sense of direction," said Nessalir, "and we are downwind of it. There is a faint smell of horses, sweat, and food—to my nose at least. I believe we are about a half-day's walk away from the pass, or an hour or so's ride."

  Iarius ran his eyes over the disturbed earth, and the tracks and bootprints which marred it. He noted that they extended in the direction the wind was blowing. "So they truly are holed up near the pass. Why then have they not attacked traders? Why travel so far to harass Imperials?"

  "Likely because you are Imperials," said Nessalir, standing up. "I have faced a number of bandits in combat, and have even been friendly with a few. No two bands are alike. Some attack indiscriminately, seeking only to satisfy their greed. Others pick and choose their victims with care, only targeting those who appear wealthy. And some still act not out of greed at all, but out of a desire for vengeance; or a sense of justice."

  "I see," said Iarius. "So you believe these bandits seek revenge against Remura?"

  "We cannot know for certain until we meet them," Nessalir replied. Her golden eyes were fixed on the trail the bandits had left. "But were I betting woman, aye, I'd wager that's precisely the situation."

  "But what could they want revenge upon us for?"

  Nessalir turned her gaze upon him, and looked for a moment as though she could not believe a man could ask a question so foolish. Iarius felt heat rush to his face, and annoyance in his heart.

  "Remura brings civilization," he told her. "It uplifts all it annexes."

  "Conquers, more like," Nessalir said. "Do you believe nobody dies in Remura's wars? Have you never considered that the dead leave families behind?"

  Iarius opened his mouth to reply, yet found that no words came to him.

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  "Come," said Nessalir, returning to Huunang and mounting the great black beast. "It is time I faced the bandits myself."

  After a brief hesitation—for Iarius was still disturbed at the thought that these bandits might be motivated by a hatred of Remura, and that Nessalir could seemingly find such a motivation a sympathetic one—Iarius did the same with Bellus. The gelding gave a snort, but otherwise did not react. Nassalir glanced their way to confirm that Iarius was mounted, then spurred her great beast onward, and Iarius followed close behind.

  The wind blew gently across the trees on their left, and occasionally disturbed the soil on their right. Sometimes a rock or pebble would come loose and roll down the mountains. The only other sounds were the clip clop of the horses' hooves upon the ground.

  After a time, Iarius found himself beginning to doze. He knew he should not. The bandits could strike at any moment, just as they had out on the road, and he knew well the danger that even a small number could present. Yet the surrounding terrain was so peaceful, so quiet, that Iarius could not find it in himself to remain alert or on edge.

  That is, until Nessalir halted, and pointed to a trail that wove its way upward into the mountains.

  "There," she said. "That will take us to the bandits."

  Iarius eyed her discovery. Had the barbarian woman not followed the tracks so closely, they could very well have missed it. The path split off between two great boulders, then rose past the remains of a rockslide which obscured it. Now that Iarius knew of its presence, he could plainly see where it continued its way up and around the mountain, but a less studious eye would doubtless pass right over it without a second thought.

  The virem draconem directed her horse up this path, and Iarius followed. It was just wide enough for the horses to tread it comfortably, and soon enough they were curving around the mountain, and moving through a ravine hidden from the woods.

  "Be wary," Nessalir warned him. "There are many places they could post a lookout. I have yet to spot a bandit, but I cannot account for all the possibilities."

  He nodded silently, which was foolish since she was not looking at him. Still, Iarius got the sense that Nessalir did not need confirmation from him. Her warning had been given, and it was up to him to heed it.

  As they walked, Iarius grew more and more certain that he could hear voices from somewhere nearby. They were too distant, or perhaps the acoustics of the ravine too warping, for him to make out any words. Yet they were undoubtedly human speech.

  Nessalir glanced over her shoulder at him, took note of his expression, and seemed to confirm that he heard them too. Quietly, she drew her sword from her side. Then, with one hand guiding Huunang's reins, she led Iarius around a bend, where the ravine suddenly opened up into a wide valley that rose upward into the mountains.

  The two of them froze, for the source of the voices was now plain to see. Iarius gasped in shock.

  There, in the center of the dirt path before them, stood a pair of children, staring up at the intruders and their horses with wide eyes. It was a boy and a girl, and in Iarius' estimation, neither could be older than a decade. The boy had his hands in a bush—one of a number that grew upon this mountain path—and the girl had a small pile of red berries cradled in her dress.

  For a moment, nobody acted or spoke. Then the boy leapt to his feet, the girl dropped her berries, and both ran screaming up the path, the boy shouting for his parents that the Remurans had come.