Chapter 28
The Western Shore
Ruarnon: the Zaldeaan Realm, Five Days March From Tarlah
The next afternoon the road wove through dense forest, and Ruarnon felt exposed. Trees, leafy shrubs, and their shadows might conceal damars, allowing the creatures to creep close unseen, then charge with speed and mindless violence. It made Ruarnon tense, and they noted rigid postures, white knuckles gripping weapons, and a heavy silence among the vanguard, whose wary eyes scanned the undergrowth.
Then the trees thinned, and they rode onto low, open, grassy hills with rivulets running through them. Further east lay villages and a flock of grazing sheep.
“This is the river Ila,” said Armar. “Further north, it divides Governor Syenne’s province from Governor Kia’s, and Governor Iomar’s from the Heart
