It was another day before the narrow remnant of the Beforetime road ended abruptly, buried under what had obviously been a huge landslide. Fortunately the rubble and cracked stone had spilled out to form a rough bridge to the nearest mountain to the north. The fall had been so long ago that the rubble was stable but it was still a difficult crossing for Gahltha. The ledge had brought us far enough east that we had passed out of sight of the tainted flint vale and through the line of high mountains that had bounded the vale to the east. When we had climbed up to the top of the low mountain I saw that it was the beginning of a long low ridgeline running directly north. Maruman set off immediately in this direction. I did not wonder that Jacob had got so far if he had travelled the same route as we were taking, for the remnant of the Beforetime roads and now the ridgeline had given us a relatively easy passage.

There was yet another line of mountains running parallel to the ridgeline in the east, high enough to block any view we might have had of the plain in that direction. Not that I felt much regret about this for I still remembered the searing vision of the endless Blacklands I had seen, years before, when I had come to the mountains with the Agyllians. Yet it struck me now that I had looked from the east of the range, and given that my view in this direction would have been somewhat blocked by the high spine of mountains running along the centre of the range, I might easily have missed seeing a city or settlement. Around mid morning I spotted a meagre stubble of grass growing in cracks on the ridge, and insisted we linger long enough for Gahltha to graze. I added that we might just as well break our own fast at the same time. Maruman grumbled about stupid funaga and greedy equines, but he did not insist we continue immediately, so I took this for acceptance.

‘Do not fear for me. I am your protector – you are not mine,’ Gahltha reproached me gently, when I rummaged in my pack for another parcel of travel food.

‘I worry for my friend,’ I said, and wrapped my arms around the stallion’s neck, feeling a welling of love for him.