The following morning we were still making our way along the side of the line of mountains running to the east of the ridge but there was no longer any sign of a road. The sky was heavily overcast and by midday it began to rain. At first the rain fell only lightly and since there was nowhere to take shelter on the sloping flank of the mountain, we did not stop. By afternoon it was falling more heavily and there were distant rumblings of thunder. Maruman alone was dry because he had climbed inside my coat when the first spits of rain fell, but I did well enough. My waterproofed coat and hood kept my upper body dry and my boots kept my legs dry to the knee. Indeed, the warmth of the cat’s body, our plodding progress and the grey dullness of a day curtained by rain had a soporific effect so that I drifted in and out of a light doze as the stormy afternoon wore on.

Whenever I woke properly, I saw Darga’s dark form ahead, indistinct in the ever-falling rain.

At last Gahltha stopped and bade me get down. Only then did I discover that we were partway down a scree slope. I had no sense of direction and the rain and dull light prevented me making out where we were. I saw in Gahltha’s mind that he had made me get down because he had feared to stumble on the loose stones with Maruman and me riding on his back. The rain fell steadily and there were still dim flickers of lightning, but the full force of the storm was falling beyond the western peaks. The diffused grey light made it hard to guess the hour. I thought it was mid afternoon, yet it might just as well be closer to dusk. It was impossible to see how far the scree slope ran, or what lay at the bottom.

I turned to look at Darga, and found him gazing down the slope without making any move to go on. Before I could speak to him, Maruman wriggled until I opened my coat and let him out. Leaping lightly down onto the wet stones, he shook his paws fastidiously, emanating disgust, then he set off, taking the lead. That he did so told me that the scree was not tainted, though how he had learned this from Darga I did not know. They had not had any exchange that I had heard.

Then it struck me sharply enough to bring me wide awake that we might finally have reached the place where Jacob fell. I was careful to shield my speculations and the surge of hope that we were about to find Cassandra’s key as Darga set off after Maruman and Gahltha followed.