The cart had been abandoned five kilometres north of the Point. The two zule that had been harnessed to it had been cut from their traces, but they had not gone far. One had stopped in a low dip in the earth a few metres away, its head buried in the long grass as it searched for any dampness at its roots. The other still stood beside the wagon, but as the riders approached it lurched away on its odd segmented legs, giving a rattling hiss from between its long mandibles.

Sir Kralaford dismounted, went immediately to the abandoned cart, and climbed to the driver's step. He pulled aside the tarp curtain, which was untied and flapping in the morning breeze. The sky still held the darkness of the night, but the light from the Khensis moon was enough to light the cart's interior.

"Empty," he said, without surprise.

Sir Beddingvale, who had urged his steed beyond the wagon, called to one of the scouts who had ridden further up the road. The man's steed had its horned head lowered to its compacted surface.

"Do you have anything?"

"Nothing here, sir."

The other scouts had ridden cautiously from the road, into the long grass of the plains. It was still too dark to see clear detail within its whispering shadows, but their madriel snorted as their noses investigated its scents.

"I have something," said one, whose steed was pushing keenly into the grass.

With a word of command, she halted the eager madriel and slid from its back. She went forward slowly, careful not to further disturb the tall grasses around her.

Sir Kralaford stepped down from the cart, but said nothing that would distract the woman from her investigations. Herald Bernus had selected the scouts personally, and he was satisfied to put his trust in their skills, despite his central impatience.

"They rode off this way," said the scout eventually. "There are hydrayet tracks."

"How many?" asked Sir Hogan, who had halted his steed beside the cart.

"At least two, but maybe more."

"Heading east?" asked Sir Kralaford.

"From here. Yes."

"Can you follow their trail?"

"This is ranch land, sir; thick with the scent of tragasaur and felgar. Our beasts can tail them, but not at great speed."

"We must travel swiftly."

"If it were light, our task would be easier."

The senior of the six scouts rode her steed back onto the road from where she had been searching its western border.

"The Siceria will still be high after the rains," she said. "The fords will be flooded, and there will be few places to cross."

"Where could they be going?" asked Sir Beddingvale, who had re-joined them on the road.

Sir Kralaford went to Hakansa and pulled himself back into his saddle.

"Solridge," he said.

"Can you be sure, Commander?"

"It is our closest border."

"And one that it would be unwise to cross," added Sir Hogan.

"Which is why whoever has taken my son is seeking its safety."

"If they are heading for Solridge, then the deeps bridge will give them their swiftest route," said the senior scout. "But they may try to cross by one of Siceria's farms. Many of them span the river where it is narrow."

Sir Kralaford stared east, his brows lowered.

"They will doubtless avoid the farms and ranches, but that is not a certainty. I will ride to the deeps with Sir Beddingvale and Sir Hogan. Send your people to scout the other crossings and see if they have passed that way."

"Yes, sir."

"You ride on ahead and see if a trail can be found beyond the deeps bridge."

The scout nodded and went to give her orders. Sir Kralaford turned to one of the messengers waiting on the road behind.

"Return to Klinberg and inform them that I am heading east."

The messenger saluted and wheeled about.

"We cannot cross into Solridge," said Sir Hogan as the messenger urged her steed away.

"Unless you wish to provoke the Free-clans," added Sir Beddingvale.

"I will go where I must," answered Sir Kralaford, and urged Hakansa forward into the dawn shadows of the grassland.

* * * * *

When Dak passed through the high hedge that marked the boundary of the fortress gardens, she foundthe place beyond to be surprisingly light. The strange brightness she had seen from below came from spherical glass glow lights, set on poles among the plants, spaced at intervals along the garden paths. Everything was ghostly and damp, and the odd silhouettes of plants stood immobile, because no breeze moved them or disturbed the clinging mist.

She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest after her encounter with Tasker, and now she was wary of the misty dark. She tried to remember the layout of the gardens from her last visit with Maddock, when he had showed her the hives and the spectrum-fly houses. She knew that the long low shapes lying away to her right were the sheds of the Growers, and that on the terrace above her was the compost distribution yard, and above them were the pits themselves. A good deal of the mist seemed to be cascading from up there. She knew the hives lay somewhere up the hill behind the sheds of the Growers, and began to make her way towards them. The layout of the gardens came to her mind quite clearly, but all her previous visits had been in the light, and as she climbed, she hoped her memory would still serve her well in the darkness.

She was breathing heavily when she reached the hives. There was only a single glowing globe of light at the edge of the wooden walkways that criss-crossed between the tall pyramid shapes. The carpet of plants beneath was shrouded in the mist, so it seemed as though the walkways were suspended above the clouds. She stood close to the single globe of light and peered into the shadows. She could see no sign of Tahlia and Grifford, and feared they had not made their escape from the Infirmary. She felt the fear rising in her stomach as she considered what to do next.

A voice suddenly hissed at her from the shadow on the far side of the hives.

"Over here!"

Dak crept across the walkways towards the voice, making their woodwork creak.

"Tahlia?" she hissed back.

The back of the terrace was bordered by tall rows of olap vines.

"Quick! In here!" said the voice.

Dak ducked between a row of vines to find Tahlia and Grifford hunched in the shadows.

"What took you so long?" said Grifford abruptly.

"Tasker," replied Dak hurriedly. "He is looking for you, and he was not on his own. And he had a sword! A sharp one. Not just a training sword."

"So Zemrossa has not found him," said Tahlia.

"And he means us harm," said Grifford.

"Well, we had better get up to the fortress before he finds us."

"Yes," conceded Grifford. "Let us find Master Hepskil quickly."

"We are not going to see Master Hepskil," said Tahlia.

"Yes, we are," said Grifford.

Dak stood dumbly between the two of them, her head switching from one to the other, like the pendulum of a clock.

"We are going to find Jerrus," said Tahlia.

"Who!"

"Jerrus; senior clerk to Pantler Heb. He is in charge of the supply-depot."

"Why would we want to see him?"

"Because on the day the merchants came to the fortress, he was in the central courtyard talking to their crews and telling them stories."

"So!"

"So he used to be a Trade Proctor for a merchant of Naddaran."

"And!"

"And he was talking to that Vlambra character. He said they had business to discuss. I thought it was about the wagon of spices they had been checking, but if Merchant Dres does not deal in food, as the Field-hand's brother said, then it must have been about something else."

"What?"

"Oh you idiot boy! Merchant Dres must have had help to get Kralmir out of the fortress, which means he has someone within its walls. I really hope I'm wrong, because I quite like Jerrus, but we have to go and see him."

"No," said Grifford firmly.

Dak managed to stop her head from following the flow of the conversation, and stood looking at Grifford, lost in wonder that anyone could say no to Tahlia. It seemed that Tahlia did not share the same awe.

"No!" she hissed. "You cannot tell me no, brother..."

"I am not going to be sneaking around any longer than I need to, sister. We are going to find Master Hepskil and tell him about this Jerrus person. Then the fortress guard can be out looking for him."

"But..."

"No buts, sister. We are going to find Master Hepskil."

"Oh, all right!" said Tahlia.

She turned to push her way between rows of vines.

"Why do we not go that way?" said Grifford, pointing back towards the hives.

"Because we need to go this way. If we go along the terraces, there is a way through the hedge at the far end, and a path down to the training-grounds."

She set off without a further word. Dak followed immediately, but Grifford seemed unwilling to follow his sister's lead.

"Come on, little brother," Tahlia called back from the darkness.

Dak lingered, watching Grifford to see what he would do.

Grifford scowled, but after a second's pause, followed his sister.

* * * * *

Squire Gefry was unhappy. He crouched further into the shadows of the work-shed and looked over at the tall hedge that surrounded the gardens. Tasker and Marcin and Brefoir had been gone ten minutes, disappearing into the shadows of the gardens after the Engineer girl, leaving him to keep watch in case she managed to slip by them in the garden.

He scowled again at the thought of being given the lowly duty of watchman, which would lead him to missing out on all the fun if the others did catch up with Kralaford's children. As the minutes slipped by, he could do nothing but content himself with imagining the punishments he could meter out once Grifford and his sister were caught.

* * * * *

The morning mist was thinning as Tahlia, followed by Grifford and Dak, crept over the bridge to the terrace where the composting pits lay, though the curling vapour was still thick around the hatchways to the pits themselves. The round bulk of the water tower loomed above them out of the greyness, the triangular tragasaur tarps enclosing the pool beneath seeming to anchor it to the mist.

Tahlia held her breath as she led her brother and her friend across the terrace. The place was silent except for a faint rippling of water from the pool, and the distant noises from the battle-grounds and the encircling fortress hub.

A sudden clang echoed from behind her.

She turned round to see Dak stumble forward. Her heavy work boot had caught one of the pipes that led from the tower to the pits.

"Shhh!" Tahlia hissed, and Dak stopped herself clumsily.

A quick rhythm of waves broke on the pool's edge.

They all stood frozen as the sound of the breaking water died.

"Come on!" whispered Tahlia. "And try to be more careful with those feet of yours.

"Sorry!" whispered Dak.

Tahlia shook her head and moved on, picking her way through the pits' thick vapour, seeking out its hidden obstacles.

"Pay attention to me..?" she began, but then saw the two figures step out of the gloom in front of her, and heard the distinct sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard.

"So here you are."

It was Tasker's voice.

Tahlia heard her brother's indrawn breath behind her as Tasker's face resolved itself in front of them.

"I have spent a good deal of time looking for you."

The squire had a sword in his hand, but she wasn't about to let that fact bother her.

"And what do you want with us that has caused you to spend so long searching?" she asked innocently.

"I want your silence."

Grifford took a step forward, so that Tahlia was behind him.

"You will not lay a hand on my sister."

"I would like to make a proper fight of this," said Tasker. "But I do not have the time,"

Tahlia heard Dak's gasp of surprise, and dropped her hand towards her pouch, and her mother's knife. Her fingers had barely reached it before her arm was gripped tightly, and a sword was at her throat.

"Give up," said Tasker. "We have you."

Grifford spun about, but whoever had a hold on Tahlia's arm pulled her backwards, making her stumble away and widen the gap between them.

"Do not try anything stupid, oaf," said Tasker. "Squire Brefoir is handy with that blade."

"He would not use it on me," said Tahlia. "He has not got the courage."

"Try me!" hissed the boy at her ear.

"And why would you want us dead?" Tahlia asked calmly. "Do you not need to take us alive to Sir Galder?"

Tasker smiled.

He stepped forward and raised his curved sword so that it rested at the base of her brother's skull, then he looked at Marcin, standing at his shoulder, and jerked his head towards Dak. The boy circled behind Grifford, took hold of her friend's arm, and pulled her forward. Dak's eyes were huge and scared. Tahlia shook her head imperceptivity, trying to convince her silently that all would be well, but it did not seem to help.

"I promised myself ten years ago that I would make your father pay for what he did," said Tasker. "The death of his children will be just the start of his payment."

The boy holding Dak's arm looked uncertain.

"You did not say anything about killing anyone, Tasker. They were not Sir Galder's orders."

"Come on, Marcin, you have been beaten at the hands of this squire enough times." He pushed forward with his blade, and Tahlia saw her brother wince, though his face remained set with hatred. "Would you not be happy at his death?"

The squire seemed to brighten at the idea, but then frowned again.

"But if we are caught, they will give us to the Pride."

"Then we had better not be caught." He turned his hate filled eyes back on Tahlia. "Killing you will be no problem, but what, I wonder, shall we do with you after?"

"We could put them in the bone-pit," said Brefoir, his mouth close to Tahlia's ear, and she could hear the relish in his voice.

"The bone-pit?"

"Yes," said Squire Brefoir, nodding with his head towards the short stub of cylinder that held the hatch to the pit, barely visible in the mist at the far side of the terrace. "There are things in there that will strip the flesh from them and grind their bones to nothing. I saw them when Sprak had me carting bones up here. Nothing will be found of them after they have been in there."

Tasker grinned evilly.

"Good idea," he said, his sword still held at the back of Grifford's neck. "You will go as well, Engineer. I warned you what would happen if you lied to me."

Tahlia saw Dak's eyes go wider still with fear.

"You cannot do this," said Grifford defiantly.

Tasker sneered again.

"Who will stop me?" he said.