“Someone who’s also something?” Cody said quizzically, tilting his hat back on his head. “Now y’all got my attention.”

Rosa grinned. Giselle reflected that there was a lot less verbal prodding going on between them, now, which made things much more pleasant all around. During their time in Bad Schoensee, it seemed she had gotten tired of “testing” him—or was satisfied with her results. “Come along, then, it will be worth your while,” she said. “It’s a nice walk, and I promise that there won’t be any Vilis along the way.”

The Captain mock-shuddered. “Iffen I never see another of them, it’ll be too soon,” he admitted. “But . . . walkin’? Couldn’t we ride?”

She shook her head. “Not advisable. Where we’re going is fine for walking, but if the poor horse shied or slipped, it would mean a dead horse.”

He shook his head. “Hang if I know why you people like walkin’ so much, but all right. I’m game.”

Rosa led the way up the path that led to the spring, shouldering a rucksack that she picked up from her vardo on the way. Light tree cover began right at the edge of the clearing, but it looked as if people camped here regularly, so the path was well trodden and clear. The trees were in full leaf now; they were just into June and proper summer. There were flowers in the meadow, and even things like violets under the trees, and as an Air Master Giselle was acutely sensitive to their delicate perfumes.

The path itself was not beaten down to hard earth, just flattened grass, which was nice for the feet. Rosa was right, it was a very pleasant walk, and even better, it didn’t get appreciably cooler or damper as the sun dropped behind the mountains. This valley evidently held the sun most of the day, which meant it kept some of the warmth well into the night.

The spring gurgled out of a cleft in the rock only about a foot off the ground and formed quite a respectable stream. Once they reached the spring, the path traveled alongside the swiftly flowing stream that it fed. The water looked very inviting, and Giselle stopped just long enough to scoop up a handful to drink. She expected it to be cold, but it was just pleasantly cool. The stream descended into a steep gorge, but the path continued along the edge, with the cliff to their left and the upward slope of the mountain to their right.