Chapter Forty-SevenIt took two and a half days, and a lot of goading from Elzor, for Skart to lead them safely away from the Daradian patrol routes and into Vandan territory. Though Skart gave the most solemn oath in the Vandan vocabulary—according to him—Elzor insisted that either he, Langon, or Brynak watch the bandit at all times, lest their guide decide to abandon them.
After clearing the last cluster of reesa trees that marked the end of the Celosian Forest, the four riders crossed an open plain, fording several narrow streams as they approached a line of hills that loomed several miles in the distance. The temperature had dropped considerably, and Elzor had to pull his borrowed cloak around himself to keep the chill out.
They had only gotten halfway across the treeless plain when a
