After a while Crowflies was too far away to hear, which made Sa-at feel really bad. He had this horrible feeling he would not be back soon. It felt like they were not just travelling in miles, they were going into a different world. He was still excited by that, but also sad to be leaving his friend so far behind.

When they came level with the rocky base of the castle, Rochant told them where to find a side path.

‘I’m sorry, my lord,’ said Tal. ‘There’s not much path left.’

‘That’s as it should be. It’s a secret path. The going will be hard from here on, so rest if you need to.’

They did, but Sa-at had hardly closed his eyes when Rochant was ordering them up again. It seemed that the higher they got, the more he seemed to tell rather than suggest. It made Sa-at uncomfortable.

Slowly, they scrambled around the side of the castle until they came to some loose bricks. Under Rochant’s supervision, they removed them, revealing a small gap in the wall. Sa-at was able to squeeze through easily enough, but Tal and Rochant had to strip off their outer layers of padding to get through, and both were shivering by the time they’d got to the other side.

They were in a walled courtyard full of tents. Though the corner they’d arrived in was dark, there were lots of lit areas, and the sounds of people’s voices. Sa-at could hear talking and laughter, and something that sounded like talking but was more melodic. There were smells too, of food and fragrances that he had no name for. It took all of his self-control not to go and investigate further.

They hurriedly dressed Rochant again and carried him towards the side of the keep where a couple of steps led to a small door. ‘Keep your heads down and my hood up,’ Rochant instructed. ‘If anyone speaks to us, ignore them. If they insist, let me answer.’

‘Why are we hiding? Isn’t all this yours?’ asked Sa-at.

‘Not now,’ replied Rochant.

He bid them wait on the edge of the darkness. It seemed to Sa-at as if he were listening to something, and then, seemingly at random, told them to continue. They crossed the patch of light to get to the door and as they reached it, there was a loud roar from the tents, followed by lots of clapping.

Sa-at flinched from the sound but managed to stop from calling out. He’d learned long ago that staying small and quiet was the best way to survive. Suddenly, meeting all of those people seemed less appealing. They dragged Rochant up the stairs, but the door was locked.

‘Should I knock, my lord?’

‘Yes. Three short knocks, three slow ones, then one more.’