As I wove through the patients’ cots, I spotted Odd standing near Estrid. I should probably say goodbye, but his betrayal still hurt. How could he leave when he knew what we faced? I almost tripped over my own feet as I realized I was about to do the very same thing. But I planned to return despite Ryne’s threat. Did that count for extra...morality points? Ah, hell, who was I kidding. I was just as bad as him. And, no, I didn’t wish to say goodbye to Odd.

Shouldering my pack, I hurried out before Kerrick sent the monkeys to fetch me.

No surprise, they all waited near the entrance.

“What took so long?” Kerrick asked.

“I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s go before Ryne changes his mind and arrests us now.”

Setting a quick pace, Kerrick led us east through the dark forest. He kept his normal appearance so we could see him. A small bit of moonlight lightened the darkness, but not enough to discern smaller obstacles like vines, rocks, and exposed roots. We stayed close behind Kerrick, trusting him to find a safe path.

As we traveled, I filled them in on Christina’s aqueduct. “She wouldn’t come along. She mentioned having too many bad memories there.”

“I don’t blame her,” Loren said. “Chinska Mare is the main center of Estrid’s religion. It might have changed, but before the plague, the streets were filled with acolytes seeking people not following their commandments. They raided houses looking for alcohol, musical instruments, or other banned items and dragged the poor person or even whole families in for punishment. They were big on punishment. I think the acolytes were paid by the body.”

“Sounds like a great place. Can’t wait,” Quain grumbled.

“It’s good she stayed behind. Christina hasn’t had the silent training,” Loren said.

“Estrid didn’t either and we managed,” Quain said.

“Yeah, but it took us three times as long to get anywhere.”

“Are we going to find horses?” I asked Kerrick.

“I’d rather not,” he said.

“But we need to stay well ahead of Estrid. Ideally we should be long gone before she arrives.”

No reply.

I tried again. “We’ll only use them to cross Pomyt Realm. There shouldn’t be any danger along the way. And once we reach the border, we can stable them for when we return.”

“All right, I’ll see what I can find,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy.

We continued on in silence. The plan was to travel all night, stop for a brief rest at dawn, then continue on until nightfall. By then we should be far enough away from Ryne’s forces to switch to daytime hours.