In the time the women traveled ten miles, we traveled a hundred. Our delegation approached theirs only five miles beyond the Burrow-Eyry road. Bubbling Water called a halt, then came toward our delegation alone.
When I first saw her, I didn"t recognize her. Bubbling Water wore her hair bound in a braid. Her thick-soled moccasins reached her knees. Her breeches were a loose, thickly padded cotton. Her fur-lined leather tunic dropped to her thighs. From a distance her face looked severe and sharp. She didn"t look happy as she descended the hill, striding like a man. She wasn"t wearing an electrical shield—her mindshields were like the stone walls of a castle.
Our company bowed as she reached the base of hill.
Nodding, she said, “Infinite be with you, Bear.”
“And with you, Lady Matriarch,
