“Oh, it isn’t much—just wait until you arrive, then inform the capital.”

Talia recalled then what Selenay had said, that Alessandar was rumored to have some new system of passing messages swiftly. She also remembered that Selenay had asked her to find out what she could about it.

Evidently Kris had gotten similar instructions.

“Now how are you going to get further instructions about us in any reasonable amount of time?” Kris asked. “I know the nearest authority is several days away on horseback, and you don’t have Heralds to carry messages quickly.”

The young Captain smiled proudly. “It’s no secret,” he replied, his brown eyes frank. “In fact, I would be honored to show you, if you aren’t too tired.”

“Not likely—not when you’re offering to show us what sounds like magic!”

The Captain laughed. “From what I understand, you’re fine ones to talk about wonders and magic! Well, one man’s magic is another man’s commonplace, so they say. Come along then, and I’ll show you.”

Out of courtesy to him, since he was afoot, Talia and Kris dismounted and walked with him up the packed-gravel roadway to his outpost; a building much bigger than the one on the Valdemar side, and shaded on three sides by trees.

“Will it interest you to know that I may very well get my orders within a matter of hours, if someone is found of high enough rank to issue them before the sun sets?”

“That’s amazing! We can’t even do that,” Talia replied. “But what does the sun setting have to do with it?”

“You see the tower attached to the outpost?” He shook dark hair out of his eyes as he pointed to a slim, skeletal edifice of gray wood. This tower rose several feet above the treetops, and was anchored on one side to the main barracks of the Border station. It had had both of them puzzled since it seemed to have no real use except perhaps as a lookout point.

“I must admit we were wondering about that,” Kris told him. “Are forest fires that much of a danger around here? I wouldn’t have thought so, what with all the land under cultivation.”

“Oh, it’s not a firetower, though that’s where the design is from.” The young Captain laughed. “Come up to the top with me, and I’ll show you something to set you on your ears.”