The mountains became cold and harsh soon after they left, a steep climb with only animal trails to follow once past the pagoda and the village boundaries. The trees remained well-spaced, but coarse bushes and tangled branches crowded their path, forcing them to exert large amounts of energy clearing the way forward. The air remained chill despite the sun, a biting wind that harried them as they climbed.

Towards the end of the first day they reached a small area of clear rocks from which they could see the way they had come. The village was surprisingly small, a smear of foreign colour amongst the tangled greens of the forest. Beyond, the plains stretched into the distance. They camped there for the night though the ground was hard and exposed, drawing comfort from the sight of their home. The wind drew away all sound of their surroundings.

The second and third days were a sequence of similar toils, and of regular consultations of the map. Brin taught Rial the basic understandings of the lines and symbols, and they worked together to judge whether it was more worthwhile descending down into or working their way around the large depressions that stood in their way.

Brin also began teaching Rial how to use his sword. Brin now used a replacement Rial had never seen, a simply-designed blade that nevertheless appeared well-kept, sharp and bright.

The lessons were short. Brin said they were to make sure that at the very least the blade would be more of a threat to others than a threat to the wielder. The others would gather around and joke as Rial learnt to temper his wild swings and lunges.

Conversation too, stilted and slight at first, increased. The more time they spent together, the less guarded everyone seemed to become.

"And I'm telling you Seb is a kitten compared to Loris. Seb will put you out in the snow in your pants for an hour; Loris will put you out there for a day. Without the pants."

This was Shaleigh. She and Brin were debating which of the Family's various head servants was the most severe.

"Ha! Seb would allow us only ice water for meals for three days if we acted out."

Rial was learning a lot about life as an adult in the village. Apparently it wasn't that different to life as a child. The two had been at it for hours now, both trying to demonstrate that their childhood experiences had been tougher, recounting increasingly ridiculous and highly fictionalised events. Eselwol had been part of the conversation earlier, but retreated when the other two shouted him down.

Eselwol and Gryrne now walked besides Rial, talking about the various eccentricities of people of the village, occasionally throwing a question towards Rial to which he replied noncommittally.

Rei was walking alone, regularly moving back and forth between the front and rear of the group, staring out into the trees. Rial assumed she was looking for easy prey.

On the third night Rial brought Mead out of his pack.

The wind had not abated at all during their climb, as his chapped, dry skin would attest, and Rial was finally prepared to risk conversing with the machine within the confines of his small tent. He would need to keep his voice low, but he felt certain he would not be heard by the others.

Mead woke... Mead activated swiftly, calibrating[1] its own volume to Rial's.

"And how goes the journey, young one?" asked the weapon upon activating, voice the strange, high-pitched tones of a... woman? Child?

Rial blinked, nonplussed.

"No? No, clearly not. Adjusting..." said the machine... The voice fell, a neutral, serious style close to what it usually was. "How may I help you?"

"Uh..." Rial hesitated. What had that been about? "Um... how are you?"

"I am operating at predicted efficiencies given the extended period for which I was inactive," replied Mead.

"Uh... good. Look, Mead, have you been paying attention to what's going on? Do you understand where we're going?"

"You are planning to find and purify the source of contamination to your drinking water."

Rial waited until it was clear the weapon was not going to say anything further.

"That's right," he said, instead. "Is there anything you can tell me? Do you have any ideas what the source of the... col... con..."

"Contamination,"

"...contamination will be?"

"I am afraid I do not," replied Mead. "However, I do have information I believe is of import. You are once again being followed."

In the ensuing silence Rial peered at the walls of his tent, watching as the shadows of the trees shifted and clawed at the canvas. The effect was made more disconcerting by the howling of the wind.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Hamist..?"

"Incorrect. It is not a human who stalks you."

"It's not?" The hairs on his arms stood up, though Rial told himself it was only the cold.

"It is not. It is a group of approximately 12 animals, dispersed at a median distance of three to four hundred metres, flanking our sides and rear. A single animal is much closer, no more than 50 metres away."

"What are they?" asked Rial through heavy breaths.

"Unknown. They appear to be some form of canid, though far larger in size and muscle density than any I have on record."

"What is a canid?" asked Rial.

There was an extended pause, causing Rial to worry that something was wrong with the machine.

"A carnivorous, long-muzzled creature with upright ears and long tails that often have highly-developed social structures," said Mead eventually.

Rial ran the sentence through his head another time.

"You mean khiladri?" Rial said with relief. "We're being followed by khiladri? That's a good sign!"

"It is?" asked the weapon.

"Khiladri help those lost within the mountains, guiding them to safety and protecting them from the elements. With a khiladri escort we are doubly safe!"

"That is good news," said Mead. "My predictive programming must be in error."

Rial's smile froze on his face.

"What does that mean?'" he asked.

"Well, their movements over the past day or so have strongly resembled the hunting dynamic of a pack of canidae as stored in my memory. Were these the same creatures, I would not doubt that they were stalking us in preparation for an attack."

"You wouldn't?"

"I would not. My pattern-matching software is highly advanced."

There was long silence.

"Mead..."

Rial was cut off by a sudden tapping on the side of his tent, then a whispered voice.

"Hey, who are you talking to?"

Rial hardly had time to identify the voice before the flaps of his tent were drawn open and Rei clambered in, drawing the flaps closed behind her and sitting in front of them.

Rial stared, jaw hanging open in shock at this sudden intrusion.

"What is that?" Rei asked, eyes drawn to the now silent Mead laying on the floor next to Rial.

She leaned forwards and grabbed the object, one hand supporting herself.

"Decent metal, this is," she said, holding Mead to her eye. "Can't find metal like this in the village or the outpost, usually. Why's it so dull, though? Should be shiny."

Rial shrugged, attempting to hide his horror at seeing Mead in the hands of another.

Rei stopped and looked directly at him.

"Well?" she said impatiently. "Where'd you get this? This is master-craftsman grade, this."

"I... It's a long story," said Rial. He tentatively reached over and took it from her hands. "It's too late to explain tonight."

"Too late, is it? You never stayed up all night with a girl in your tent then?"

The grakar grin had returned, making Rial feel he was a tiny field rodent caught in a predator's toothsome stare. He shifted uncomfortably.

Rei's grin faltered and disappeared at a sudden increase in the intensity of the wind. Her eyes darted from side to side, then she seemed to gather herself together.

"So who was it then? Who were you talking to?" she asked.

She peered around the tent as if expecting someone to appear magically from some hidden compartment in the tiny, one-person sized space.

"I wasn't talking to anyone," replied Rial, aware that his voice was oddly defensive.

Rei's eyes narrowed as she shook her head.

"Yes, you were. I could hear you chattering away from my tent..."

Her words cut off as the wind gusted up in a sudden, shrieking fury.

Rial watched as her eyes widened and beads of sweat appeared on her head. She was scared, he realised.

"It's ok, it's just the wind," he said.

Rei met his words with a look of derision.

"I know what the wind sounds like, thanks," she said.

Again, the sudden howl, and again the sudden tension.

"Just the wind..." said Rial.

Mead had said they were surrounded by khiladri. Could they be making their presence felt? That last howl; was it really caused by the wind?

"They're out there, aren't they?" said Rei, voice suddenly low and flat.

Rial nodded slowly.

"I saw them, through the trees. Yesterday, and today. Grey flashes through the shadows."

Rei's eyes stared through the skin of the tent and into the dark forest as she spoke.

"But that's a good thing!" said Rial, forcing some vitality into his voice. "Khiladri have protected us for hundreds of suns."

She turned slowly towards him and something flashed in her steely eyes, a spark that spoke of suppressed fires within.

"They do not always protect," she said.

The tent fell silent, only the howling of the wind, if that's what it was, and the rustling of the branches around them for sound. It was oddly peaceful.

"Goodnight," said Rei abruptly, and before Rial had time to react she was gone, slipping out through the entrance flaps in one swift, smooth movement.

Rial sat there alone with his thoughts as the howling continued outside.

[1] That was the word Mead used. Rial had never heard it before, but was fairly certain he understood the meaning. He was really getting good at these demonic terms.