“You coming with me, Rush?”

“In a minute. You go along. I have to get something in the house.”

“All right,” said Dag amiably, and trod off down the hill to the lane. He descended it for a few hundred paces, then cut over to the wooded hillside, plotting his routes. He needed to surprise his ambushers on the correct side for his purpose. He wondered how fast they could run. His legs were long; theirs were young. Best not to cut it too close.

Mari would beat me for trying this fool stunt. It was an oddly comforting thought. Familiar.

Dag ghosted down the hill at an angle until he was about fifteen feet behind the four young men hiding in the shadows of the trees and keeping watch on the lane. Looks like Sunny took my advice. It was still early twilight; Dag’s groundsense would give him considerable advantage in the dark, but he wanted his quarry to be able to see him. “Evening, boys,” he said. “Looking for me?”

They jumped and whirled. Sunny’s gold head was bright even in the shadows. The others were more nondescript: one stout, one as muscular as Sunny, and one skinny; young enough to be foolish and big enough to be dangerous. It was an unpleasant combination. Three were armed with cudgels, for which Dag had a new respect. Sunny had both a stick and a big hunting knife, the latter still in the sheath at his belt. For now.

Sunny got his breath back and growled, “Hello, patroller. Let me tell you how it’s going to be.”

Dag tilted his head as if in curiosity.

“You’re not wanted here. In a few minutes Rush is going to bring down your horse and your gear, and you’re going to get on and ride north. And you don’t come back.”

“Amazing!” Dag marveled. “How do you figure you’re going to make that happen, son?”

“If you don’t, you get the beating of your life. And we’ll tie you on your horse and you’ll still ride north. Only without your teeth.” Sunny’s grin showed white in the shadows, to emphasize this threat. His friends shifted, a little too tense and worried to quite share the amusement, although one tried a huffy sort of laugh to show support.