His memory was good—and interestingly enough, the Tedrels had not made use of the spring he recalled, for they had to deviate from the track and go over a hill to the east to get to the half-hidden water source. When they did, they found no sign that anyone had been there, and the Tedrels would surely have trampled the bank of the stream that the spring fed, and muddied the basin.

But Alberich was taking no chances. Just to be sure that they hadn’t been here and tampered with the water (which would have been entirely like them) he called over one of the Healers.

“Test this, for fouling or poison, can you?” he asked the green-clad woman.

“Hmm.” She gave him a sidelong glance, but bent to test the water, taking up a single drop on the end of her finger and touching it to her tongue. “That would have been like those bastards, wouldn’t it?” she said absently. “Spoil what’s behind them so the Karsites couldn’t follow.”

“My thought,” he agreed gravely.

“Well, it’s clean; you can bring them all in.” She stood up; he waved at the wagons, and the teamsters brought their charges in to drink at the stream fed by the spring, while the humans drank at the source. Tooth-achingly cold, the water tasted of minerals. The horses adored it. Fortunately, they were not so thirsty that they were in any danger of hurting themselves by drinking too much, too fast.

He kept an eye on the crests of the hills around them; the disadvantage of stopping here (or anywhere) for a drink was that doing so made them very vulnerable. But this spring, flowing as it did out of the side of a hill, at least was not as exposed as the stream it fed, that ran along the bottom of the valley. He put a lookout on the crest of the hill, which was all anyone could reasonably do, and trusted also to his Gift and that of the FarSeer that was with them to warn of any danger approaching.

But all that appeared was a herd of sheep and a dog—and a very brief glimpse of the shepherd, who turned his flock aside and back over the hill when he saw them.

:At least he’ll know the water’s safe,: Kantor pointed out, as he rounded everyone up, anxious to be gone now that they had been spotted. :I don’t think he’s likely to say anything to anyone for a while. Days, probably.: