I awoke to the greying light. Already, I could hear sounds from around the camp as people went about their morning tasks. I got dressed and went outside to check on the status of things. Réni was still in the bed, but I suspected she was awake and waiting for me to leave before getting up.
Our cooks were busy with breakfast and I could see that some of the crew were already eating. I queued up behind Kooras with my plate. He barely looked at me through bleary chocolate eyes, and I remembered he wasn’t much for conversation before coffee. That made two of us. A couple of minutes later, Réni stepped out of the wagon.
After everyone had eaten, we finished breaking camp and we led off again, with Rispan driving my wagon. Our direction had angled toward the south as the foothills to our right
