"I'll-I'll try to see who it is," Aerie announced. She set down her wooden bowl, which now was mostly empty, then sprung to her feet.

"Wait up," Lidia said, setting her own half-finished bowl down on the ground. "I'll come with you."

Even in the dim early morning, Lidia could easily pick out the footpath; it was a winding scar of hardened soil in the mostly-dead grass, pressed down by many feet. Her heart began to thud steadily as she followed Aerie up. She was still waking up to some degree, and she suspected that lying in a cell for several tendays had taken a toll on her physical conditioning. She'd done a number of exercises at the Coronet every morning, when her schedule permitted, but progress and recovery had been much too slow. For this problem, she thought, an expedition like this would do her some good.

They cleared a small stand of trees just before the top of outcropping, and to the east, the sun blazed achingly bright against the dark hills.

"It's - it's so beautiful here," Aerie said. Though Lidia could keep her eyes open only a sliver, she could hear the admiration in the elf's voice. "The sun's so much prettier here than in the city, don't you think?"

Lidia shaded her eyes and tried to open them further. "Back in Candlekeep, whenever I guarded the eastern wall, I'd stand on the battlements and watch the sun rise from its forest bed."

"The places we come from...they're not that different, are they?" Aerie said, half to herself.

"You haven't mentioned much about yours."

Aerie turned towards the sun, obviously uncomfortable. "Well…"

Lidia let the question rest. "Never mind. Can you see anything?"

She scanned the horizon, eyes unblinking. The sound of the horn rose again. "That sound - it's coming from over there. It's - it's odd."

"What is?"

"There's a small group ahead, but there's some kind of silvery shimmer about them. Almost like - almost like they're a mirage or something." Aerie glanced in Lidia's direction, then said with a hint of embarrassment, "That wasn't the best way to say that."

Lidia furrowed her brow and tried to see what Aerie was seeing, without success. "But is it heading our direction?"

Silence for half a minute, as Aerie watched. She finally said, "I think so, yes."

Within a few minutes, they rejoined the others. They had finished their breakfast; when Lidia and Aerie returned, they paused the cleanup, wordlessly waiting.

"Something's coming our way in an hour or two. We don't know what," Lidia said. "Aerie, Yoshimo, as soon as you're ready, take a position above us on the hill. Stay out of sight, but make sure you have a clear shot at anything coming through."

"You suspect hostiles?" Jaheira said.

Lidia slowed down and forced herself to think. She had to admit to herself that, more than likely, it was the group from the Order coming to the rendezvous. Still, she was still on edge from the Sythillisian scout last night, and she felt an inexplicable sense of danger. She finally said, "It might not be. The rest of us should be enough to welcome them if that's the case."

They left the tents in place, doused the fire, washed the dishes, and retrieved their combat gear from their packs. A renewed sense of urgency lent speed to their tasks. Aerie finished sooner than the others and bounded back up the footpath, remaining at the top of the valley for another half hour.

Suddenly, she called out, "It's - it's more of them!"

"What is it, Aerie?" Jaheira asked. "Come down and don't yell."

The elf half bounded, half slid down the path. "More of the Syth- the Syth- the monsters!" she said, not quite shouting now, but obviously excited.

"It was only a matter of time," Anomen said. He already had mostly armored up, and with a gloved hand he reached for his mace "They'll find more than an equal match, here."

"Do you hear that, Boo?" With his massive finger, Minsc offered a walnut to his hamster, who took the treat between his paws. "These monsters have not kept their noses clean! Far past time to wipe them with the handkerchief of goodness."

The sword gave a squeal of anticipation. "Finally!"

Yoshimo pulled Lidia off to the side. "If you think there's time, I've got an additional trick," he said.

"Do it," she said. "And then be ready."

As Aerie and Yoshimo moved into position, the others moved about midway between the rocky outcroppings, then stopped and held their position. The sun was no longer completely overwhelming, but they were still blinking their eyes as they faced east.

"Remind me to find that ankheg shell later, while I remember it," Jaheira said to Lidia.

"That was a good bit of armor, wasn't it?" she replied. "Maybe you could get a replacement."

Now that the light was better, Lidia got a closer look at the multitude of carvings and scratches embedded in the rock. The signs of the Order and of Sythillis were the freshest, but these were made over a hundred other marks that she didn't recognize.

She realized now that somehow, the Company had found themselves in the middle of disputed territory. No wonder Lord Jierdan was offering such a great sum - he'd need to, in order to have anyone take his job at all. And, she noted, he'd left any mention of the Sythillisians out of the bargain.

But first she'd have to survive the next few minutes.

As the distant group approached, Lidia shaded her eyes with her hand and examined them more closely.

These were gnolls, brown-furred and man-shaped creatures with golden eyes and keen long noses like hyenas. They lived an existence ruled by fierceness and cunning in the wilds, carrying armor and weapons as other beings did and traveling in their packs. And Lidia remembered reading that, above all else, gnolls prized shows of strength.

Lidia stepped forward, brandishing her staff in one hand. She stopped about a foot from the exit. "Halt!"

The gnolls stopped in place for a moment, then ran forward, arranging themselves in a half-circle and extending their long halberds, their spiked tips glinting in the new day.

Their leader, taller than the others and bearing a white mark between his ears, stepped forward. "You are bold for one so foul," he said, his voice unusually deep. "But nonetheless, beast, your terror ends here."

"We have as much right to be here as you," she said. "Be on your way from here, if you value your skin."

"There will be no talk! We shall not deal with monsters that have no concept of honor! No more words! Attack!"