He set off at once, moving surprisingly quietly for a man with armor and a shield strapped to his back. Sandreena waited a moment, not wanting too much movement in this area, and when he was gone from her sight, she set off up the side of the basin and onto the flat above. She crouched, though it was no easy feat with her shield on her back and her sword clutched in her right hand. She found a small stand of scrub brush between the lip of the basin and the watchtower. She prayed to the Goddess that whoever was stationed up there was watching for movement along the road and not for anyone coming up behind.

She would turn occasionally and glance at the far wall of the fortress—how she thought of this alien structure—and try to discern some more detail as to who was on the wall and what they were doing, but it was still too far. She came to an outcropping of rocks and knelt behind it, slowly raising herself up to observe the guardhouse. She sat down hard, barely believing her eyes. An elf stood guard in the guardhouse, and from his apparent size, she judged him to be one of the newly arrived Star Elves.

She sat down, her back to the rock, and felt completely confused. She sensed demon presence in huge numbers, yet an elf stood watch. Given their reputation for seeing in dim light, she counted herself and Jaliel fortunate to have made it down that gully undetected; certainly had they stayed on the switchbacks, even at night, the elf would have seen them a half mile away.

Now she knew she had to get closer to this structure and see if she could make any sense of what was occurring there. She waited until she saw the elf turn his back fully, to watch the trail above, and she hurried across what seemed a vast open space, moving as silently as she could, until she found more rocks behind which to shelter. Holding her breath so she could hear any hint of alarm, she waited. Only the distant sounds of working coming from the fortress disturbed the silence of the desert night. Where was that wind when you needed it? she thought, then off she went, moving around the perimeter, seeking a place that would allow her to get closer to the construction.

Sandreena crouched below some empty wagons, their traces empty and no sign of the mules or horses that pulled them. She doubted those inside stabled their draft animals; most likely they ate them. This had all the appearances of a one-way enterprise, with the destination before her. She felt as if she might scream from frustration, but fear and caution combined to keep her focused and silent. There were so many questions plaguing her, but all she could do was creep around in shadows and observe.