After only an hour or so, Anomen reappeared with a small, sturdy horse, which was loaded down with several large packs. Lidia eyed it warily, when she thought Anomen wasn't looking. She'd never traveled with any kind of pack animal before, and she was unsure whether one would do more harm than good. But the horse seemed to be even-tempered enough, and its master was confident in handling it, and for the time being that was good enough for her.

He said, "The Order sends their greetings, and they have sent a message to the band in the Windspear Hills - led by Sir Jurian Ulvax, if my memory serves. It should reach them well ahead of us for the rendezvous."

"Is that it?" Yoshimo pointed overhead.

A dark grey pigeon fluttered beneath the clouds. Within moments, it had passed over the forest, then over the road, and then out of sight.

"They use birds? Wouldn't a Sending spell be easier?" Lidia asked. Back in Candlekeep, the monks and mages who lived there had used magic to convey short messages for all but the most confidential purposes. She herself had been the recipient at least once a tenday.

Anomen said, "The less we have to do with magic, the better."

Aerie looked a bit miffed, but Minsc spoke up first. "See, Boo is confused. He knows about the wise women in Rashemen and how they protect the land and make peace, but the wizards take little Imoen away for casting a spell against an evil wizard. He thinks he smells a rat, though more than likely he's spent too much time in stinky tunnels and he's not all the way clean yet."

Jaheira put a hand on the massive man's shoulder. "Minsc, that's enough."

"Who's Imoen? What - what did the Cowled Wizards do to her?" Aerie asked.

Lidia replied, "She's old friend of mine. She cast one Magic Missile in self-defense, and they took her away."

"She ought not to have broken the law of Amn, then," Anomen said.

"As far as we can tell, some vigilantes kidnapped her without a trial," Lidia said, tightly controlling her voice. "Clearly Amn has had problems with mages, but how does that make it right?"

"I have heard that the Cowled Wizards are harsh but not unreasonable," Jaheira said, with a sidelong glance to Lidia. "Perhaps good news will be awaiting us when we return."

Lidia understood well enough. Time once again to lead, she reminded herself. "In order to return," she said, "we'll have to start. Let's be off."

They traveled along the main road for several hours until mid-afternoon. The whole way out, they'd had to take turns making noise. As Jaheira told them, they were entering ankheg country.

"No doubt about it. Do you see this?" she said, nudging with the end of her staff a dead, small brown insectoid creature about the size of a cat. "This one was about two months old. Others are about. There is at least one adult making burrows for their offspring and other holes nearby, as well as these." She nudged aside some grass to reveal a rotting, green-brown chitinous shell, a ruined oblong dome the size of a humanoid. "This is what they shed when they molt."

They'd had to scout several different campsites, rejecting them when they saw sandy, circular spots of soil. Though they looked like ideal places to set a campfire, they were likely the entrance to ankheg lairs.

They finally found a small ring of wooden shelters, purpose-built for travelers along this way. They put on a couple extra coats, set up the tents - Lidia was scrambling to finish hers, as Aerie had needed help - and placed their packs inside the shelter, where they'd stay off the ground. They tied the food up on the lowest branch of a well-grown maple, they filled their skins in a nearby stream, and soon had a fire going.

Once everyone had something to eat, they all drifted off to their evening chores. Exhausted from her first day on the road, Aerie went into her tent and was soon asleep, despite the fact that the sun was still up. Anomen had gone to feed the horse and check over its feet and legs one more time. Minsc had taken the first watch, but Yoshimo was keeping him company beside the fire. Jaheira had gone for a long walk in bear-shape, at least partly to find any signs of danger.

Lidia joined them, setting up a molted ankheg shell next to the fire and sketching it in her notebook, doing as best as she could with the rapidly waning light. She was so engrossed in her work that she hardly noticed the conversation die down. Even Larry had been mollified with promises of battle to come.

Finally, when she'd sketched to her satisfaction, she looked up. Minsc was gone, and Yoshimo seemed to be coming out of a long train of silent thought.

He asked her, "Tell me, how did you get into adventuring? It is a dangerous business, as you well know. Any one of us could die without even a moment's notice."

She said with a grin, "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?"

"Hah! But from the little I've heard from Jaheira, it sounds as though you might once have chosen a different path."

She'd have to ask Jaheira what exactly she'd told him, she thought. She said, "It wouldn't have been too different. What I'm doing now was bound to happen eventually."

"Bound to happen?"

"Of course. Seeing as how there weren't any dragon-harangued villages where I lived, I was going to leave Candlekeep eventually. I'd wanted to go to Damara, where my mentor was from, but I ended up staying in the Sword Coast and spending some time in Baldur's Gate. But as long as there's good to be done, what does it matter?"

Yoshimo stared at her a moment. "I've never known a knight to take their duty so lightly. There has to be more to the story than you're letting on."

"More, perhaps, but for another day."

"Fair enough. I like to know about the people I'm traveling with, that is all. Any time you wish to elaborate further, my ear is ready."

Lidia took the second watch after Minsc. Little happened, thankfully, though she thought she could hear an occasional sound of chittering like an overgrown cicada. From time to time, she tended the fire and kept it going, though not as vigorously as before; just enough to keep some live embers. She passed the rest of the watch in meditation, recalling a verse Ajantis had taught her: "They also serve who stand and wait and watch carefully."

After several long hours, Jaheira met her outside, ready to take the next watch.

"Do you recall those dryads in Irenicus's dungeon?" she asked.

"Yes." Even now, Lidia could clearly picture that strange, self-contained grove where they had been kept. "Why do you ask?"

"I received a message in a dream. The road to their salvation lies close to ours."