This time it was Bart who checked the pot and sat back down, disappointed. Abi passed him a fistful of cress. He made a face over it, but munched it stolidly anyway. Jicks put another log of their limited wood on the fire, carefully, so as not to bring the temperature of the stew down. Bret gestured to Abi to pass the cress, and he stuffed two handfuls into his mouth. The silence was broken only by the sound of two sets of jaws munching leaves as assiduously as a couple of cattle, the snapping of the fire, and a great many crickets.

“You seem troubled, Jicks,” Vance said into the silence.

“Oh, just superstitious,” Jicks replied, with a wry chuckle. “This trip has gone too smooth.”

But Stev laughed. “That’s because we’re in Valdemar, milady,” he replied, bowing a bit. “I promise you, things will start to fall apart as soon as we’re across the Border.”

Jicks contemplated that for a moment. “If that’s supposed to be comforting, it’s not,” she retorted, but with an upward twist of her lips. “Still. I don’t think the three of us are comfortable unless we’re up to our asses in snapping turtles and shit.”

“It ain’t natural otherwise,” put in Bret, asking for more cress with a gesture.

“Oh, one more thing,” Jicks said, helping herself to cress. “Once we’re across the Border, when we’re camped out like this, we’ll need to stand guard watches.”

“With four of us, that won’t be too onerous,” Stev noted.

Jicks smiled. “I was hoping you’d volunteer.”

Stev shrugged. “What else am I doing? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve taken a watch shift. But just what are we watching for? I thought this consortium that sent a delegation were all friends and allies now.”

“Bandits probably won’t trouble us; we’re too much trouble. Too little gain for too much potential danger with four trained fighters they can see. But there’s wild creatures. Bears.”

“I knew I was going to get eaten by a bear!” Abi exclaimed, unable to help herself. “I just knew it!”

Bret and Bart snickered.

Jicks rolled her eyes but continued. “There’s also lone thieves who’ll try and filch something from the camp while we’re sleeping. If there’s a storm and we’re along a watercourse, we’ll need to pack up and move to higher ground, no matter how far away the storm is.”

“Won’t that make us a better target for lightning?” Abi asked.

“Better that than get everything washed away in a flash flood. Then there’s . . . things.” Jicks’ voice took on an ominous tone.

“Things?” asked Stev. “What things?”

“Unnatural things.” Jick’s seemed perfectly serious, but Master Vance frowned.