‘Must there be a reason?’ she snapped. ‘You said you’d be pleased to have company on the road.’

‘Nothing has changed.’ He grinned more broadly. ‘But if I’m wrong about the issue of the amnesty, I’m not certain we should keep company. We find ourselves, as you see, at a crossroads. A junction, the four points of the compass, the need for a choice… Symbolism, as in that well-known legend. If you ride east you will not return… If you ride west you will not return… If you ride north… Hmm… Amnesty lies north of this post—’

‘You can shove your amnesty.’

‘Whatever you say, miss. So where, if I may ask, does your road lead? Which path from this symbolic crossroads will you choose? Master Almavera, artist of the needle, drove his mules westwards, towards the small town of Fano. The eastern highway leads to the settlement of Jealousy, but I would very much advise against that.’

‘The River Yarra,’ Ciri said slowly, ‘is the Nilfgaardian name for the River Yaruga, right?’

‘Such a learned maiden–’ he leaned over and looked her in the eye ‘–and she doesn’t know that?’

‘Can’t you answer in a civilised fashion, when you’re asked in a civilised fashion?

‘I was only joking! Why bristle so? Yes, it’s the same river. In elven and Nilfgaardian it’s the Yarra, in the North it’s the Yaruga.’

‘And at the mouth of that river,’ continued Ciri, ‘lies Cintra?’

‘That’s right. Cintra.’

‘From where we are now, how far is it to Cintra? How many miles?’

‘Plenty. And it depends what kind of miles you count it in. Almost every nation has its own, so it’s easy to make a mistake. It’s more convenient, using the method of all wandering merchants, to calculate such distances in days. Reaching Cintra would take twenty-five to thirty days.’

‘Which way? Due north?’

‘Miss Falka seems very curious about Cintra. Why?’

‘I want to ascend to the throne there.’

‘Very well, very well.’ Hotspurn raised his hand in a defensive gesture. ‘I understood the gentle deflection, I won’t ask any more questions. The most direct road to Cintra, paradoxically, doesn’t lead due north, for wildernesses and boggy lakes would hinder your progress. First, you should head towards the town of Forgeham, and then north-west to Metinna, the capital of a country with exactly the same name. Afterwards you ought to ride across the plain of Mag Deira, on the merchant’s road to the town of Neunreuth. Only from there should you head for the north road, which runs along the valley of the River Yelena. From there it’s easy–military units and transports ply the road without let-up via Nazair and the Marnadal Stairs, which is a pass leading north to the Marnadal Valley. And the Marnadal Valley is Cintra.’

‘Hmm… ‘Ciri’s eyes were fixed on the misty horizon, at the blurred line of black hills. ‘To Forgeham and then north-west… You mean… Which way?’