Leaving the valley was a surprisingly emotional experience for me. My mother had often taken me up into the foothills, looking for ingredients for her potions and salves, but in all my twenty years I'd never been beyond the valley itself. I don't think I'd really considered what it would mean, leaving to go look for my father, but as we rode our horses up to the mouth of the pass that would take us out the valley, my breath caught.

The tower rose like a needle above the surrounding countryside, its silhouette clearly visible against the mountains. Farmland made a patchwork of the fields around the tower, and the white snowleaf trees looked like giant sheep grazing. It was beautiful, and I missed it already.

"You okay, kid?" Heilyn Pritchett, an enormously fat man on a comically small horse, rode up beside me and put his hand on my arm. He was an established merchant in the village that had grown up around the Tower, well-respected and very successful, and I had no idea how the masters had convinced him to accompany us on this quest. Rumor said he was sneaky, but I had a hard time believing anyone with his bulk could manage that. Still, I appreciated his kindness; of my four companions, he was the only one that I felt inclined to trust.

Thinking of my companions, I glanced up the road and saw that Tomi and Cari Bebb were riding on either side of Mair, apparently deep in conversation. Cari was all right, if a bit strange. She was a cleric of Qotmos, god of various things like music, birds, and earthquakes, and Cari had found her calling in the observation and cataloging of all kinds of birds and their songs. She whistled like a songbird herself, and tended to do so constantly. She'd have been quite likable, if she hadn't been married to Tomi.

Tomi was our warrior, more brawn than brains, and was convinced that my father was guilty as charged. He rarely spoke to me, apparently thinking that I was guilty, too. As far as I'd been able to determine, he was determined to do whatever was necessary to bring us both back. In chains. I knew very little else about him.

I shook my head, then, and nodded to Heilyn. "Thanks," I said. "I've just never been beyond the valley. It's harder than I thought to say goodbye."

Heilyn nodded and smiled. "Not to worry," he said. "We'll be back sooner than you think, I'll wager. And then you'll be itching to go off on another adventure." He winked at me knowingly. "These things tend to be a bit addicting."

I raised an eyebrow skeptically, but didn't voice the questions I had. I hoped that I'd learn more about Heilyn and his mysterious past as we traveled together, but our acquaintanceship was only a few hours old, and I didn't want to press him too hard. "If you say so," I said, and we spurred our horses to follow the others.

We'd been riding for three or four hours when we came upon a handful of travelers afoot, heading in the opposite direction. Tomi made as if to guide the horses around them, but Heilyn drew rein and called out to the group.

"Hoy!" he said. "What news from ahead?"

The man in front, a tall, thin fellow in a rich cloak, and with a case slung over his back, looked up. He seemed annoyed, but bowed with a flourish.

"Good day, sir," he said in a ringing voice. "You are but an hour or two from the village of Sora. The road is clear, the air is calm, and I predict an uneventful journey for you all!"

Tomi snorted, but Heilyn bowed in the saddle to the man. "Your optimism gladdens my heart, sir..." He let the implicit question dangle silently.

"Ioan Daniels," said the man. "At your service."

"And I am Heilyn Prichet," said Heilyn. "Tell me, friend Ioan, has there been much traffic through this pass?"

The man shrugged. "There's always traffic between the Tower and Cumae," he said, and gestured to his companions. "We left Sora just this morning after entertaining the guests there last night."

"Bards, then?" Said Heilyn. "But traveling on foot?"

The troop chuckled together, and Ioan shrugged elaborately. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for the lure of gold. There was a caravan that stayed the night at the inn, though they rarely do—"

Cari nodded. "Indeed. They typically go as far as they can in a day, and then camp in one of the clearings along the way."

"Just so," Ioan said. "But this group had the misfortune to lame a few of their horses, and they offered to purchase our beasts at a very generous price. I figured we could purchase new horses at the Tower, and still come away with a tidy profit."

Heilyn nodded. "What can you tell us about this caravan?"

The tall man squinted as he considered. "There's not much to tell, really. Three or four merchants and their guards, and a few passengers. There was a young lady bound for Cumae to visit her aunt, and a quiet fellow that kept well to himself."

Tomi perked up. "Did he have a long bundle, wrapped in canvas?"

Heilyn rolled his eyes and tsked, and Cari threw Tomi a glare, but the bard only nodded. "Aye, that he did." He considered the group carefully. "A friend of yours?"

Heilyn laughed easily, drawing attention away from Tomi and his ham-fisted attempt at interrogation. "Hardly! We sold him the wrong item and are trying to catch up to him before he discovers it the hard way. Bad for business, that."

The man chuckled. "Indeed, indeed." He sighed and glanced at his companions. "Well, we must be on our way if we hope to reach the Tower by nightfall."

The two parties waved each other goodbye and went their separate ways. When the troop was sufficiently far away, Heilyn chuckled. "Well, that was productive," he said. "Sounds like our thief may have been delayed. We might be just half a day behind him."

Tomi growled. "Thief. We'll have him tomorrow."

"Maybe," said Heilyn evenly. "Or maybe not. If they left early enough this morning, they might be in Cumae by tonight. Unless we want to travel through the night, we have little hope of catching them there."

"Then let's travel through the night!" Tomi said, frowning.

Cari put a hand on his arm. "Tomi," she said. "The horses would never manage that. We need to stop at Sora to rest them, and feed them."

"Ourselves, as well," Heilyn said with a chuckle, patting his generous belly.

Tomi ground his teeth, but didn't answer.

"Never fear, my impatient friend," said Heilyn with a smile. "We're a small party, with no wagons, and unencumbered. We'll catch them up in a few days."

I hoped he was right. I was worried about what it meant that the bard had mentioned only the one man. Where was my father? Could he be in some kind of disguise? Was he really the thief after all?

I refused to believe it, but I couldn't entirely squash that seed of doubt. It sat poorly within me the rest of the day.

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