Motley Owl cursed himself for having lost his temper at the round ear prince who lacked manners. What he wanted to do was put his fist through that pampered and spoiled nose on the prince's face. He walked until he talked himself out of breaking the prince's nose. Then he turned around and started walking back.

Out of habit, he walked on the edge of the smooth pavement next to farm fields so his footfalls were silent. He never walked next to the trees at night if he could help it because of predators shaped like Fuzzy, who liked to drop out of trees onto their prey.

He didn't know what the goblins did to make such amazing roads but they were smooth and hard and great for wagons. He liked walking on them because they were so easy on his feet.

He had noticed that the goblins used iron horseshoes on all their horses to protect their hooves from the damage the hard pavements would do otherwise. He had seen so many wonderful things made by goblins that he was wondering why they didn't have the same reputation as artificers as the dwarves.

While he was pondering these mysteries, he heard a branch snap in the woods to his left. It wasn't a higher-pitched crack like a deer stepping and breaking a small branch. It was a lower-pitched crack that could only be made by a bigger animal breaking a thicker branch, like a bear, a mountain cat, or a person.

He kept walking as if he hadn't noticed but dropped a throwing spike out of its sheath and into his left hand. His right hand soundlessly pulled his heavy double-edged dagger out of its sheath slung horizontally from his belt on his back. He turned around and walked backward so he could see where he had been. This was to protect from being ambushed by a mountain cat. Mountain cats preferred to hunt by ambush. They would only attack head-on if cornered by some other predator.

He heard another crack followed by several more where he heard the first. Then he heard no more. Whatever it was, it must have fallen or made a misstep. That the woods went silent meant it had frozen in position to assess its surroundings. Deer and elk did that but not much else. Most other animals would pick themselves up and run away. So he guessed it was a big elk or a two-footed predator like a human.

He walked backward for about 200 yards and then crossed to the side of the road next to the trees. He stopped walking, slipped the dagger back into the sheath on his back, and put the throwing spike back into his wrist sheath. He inspected the trees at the side of the road, picked the one with branches that invited climbing, and went up about three yards. He could see across the road and fields from he sat. He would also hear any animals walking through the underbrush, excluding careful stalkers like mountain cats.

He dropped into a light meditative trance, opening himself up to hearing every sound the night made: the leaves rustling in the breeze, the owl across the fields, crickets, the lowing of cattle, cowbells, the claws of a skunk on the hard pavement of the road, frogs somewhere past the fields, waves of wind in the winter wheat not yet tall enough to harvest, soft footfalls on the pavement.

He stopped his breath and opened his eyes. Before he felt a need to breathe, a tall, hooded and cloaked figure walked past with soft but audible footfalls. Traveling next to the trees told Owl that the figure feared being seen more than being ambushed by wild animals. Since the traveler was not a goblin or dwarf, that left human or elf. He discounted the possibility that it was one of the beast peoples since their homeland was far to the east.

He doubted it was an elf since an elf would not be slinking through the night trying not to be seen. By process of elimination, it was probably a human. Given the attack by humans aimed at his legal sister Wren, a stealthy human was a danger. He waited for 50 breaths and silently exited the tree. He stepped on the pavement, careful to avoid any pebbles, and looked up the road toward the camp. His eyes picked up the motion next to the trees of the unknown walker. He followed next to the trees, lengthening his stride.

He was closing the gap between him and the traveler. The man was only about 50 yards in front of him. He estimated he might be able to close the gap as the sounds of the camp got louder. He could go much faster if he didn't need to worry about being silent. Then the man froze, causing Owl to stop. The man turned to his right and disappeared into the trees. He heard the sounds of feet tearing through the underbrush and breaking branches.

Cutting back a choice curse, Owl saw what caused the man to take to the woods. It was a mountain cat. He hoped it was Fuzzy because he wasn't up to fighting a wild mountain cat. The cat started to run toward him. He pulled out his long dagger and palmed a throwing spike. It was not needed. The mountain cat stopped where the unknown man had entered the woods and sniffed the ground. Owl could see the riding pad on Fuzzy's back. He gave up all pretense of silence as he put away the spike and dagger. With a quick sprint, he caught up to Fuzzy.

"I went for a walk," Owl said at his softest volume, "and heard that fellow break a branch in the woods. If not for the unlucky branch, I might never have noticed him. I walked past him and then climbed a tree to wait. Sure enough, he walked past me. He's tall so I guessed he was probably human since an elf would not need such concealment. I'm worried it might be one of the Bishop's agents that the goblins didn't catch."

* He's an elf or he's a human who is fond of the elvish soap that Sleeping Willow makes with laurel oil in it. * Owl could feel Fuzzy's amusement. * You do a great job of stalking, Owl. Even with my excellent night vision, I didn't even know you were near until you sprinted over here. Maybe we should try stalking each other in the woods for some variation on the ambush game. I'm getting off-topic. I suggest we head back to camp and report this. *

"I don't understand. Why would an elf want to hide from other elves?"

* Think through the situation, Owl. I can think of at least three reasons why. If you give it a little thought, I believe you will come to the same or similar conclusions as to why an elf would not want to be seen right now. *

Owl was silent as he pondered the question. He knew he wasn't stupid but he also knew that he wasn't a fast thinker, not like Wren or Cloud Eye. Given enough time, he could figure most things out. He knew Fuzzy was giving him that time.

"Now, if I was that elf," Owl worked through the problem, "the first thing I would see coming down the road would be the hobgoblin camp. If I didn't want to be bothered with producing my traveling papers, I would be tempted to detour around the hobgoblin camp. If I snuck into Gorgurak and didn't have papers, I would definitely detour around the hobgoblin camp. Last, it's night so I might violate the goblin curfew."

Owl frowned, "curfew was midnight in Kizdangengar, but I don't know what it is in the countryside."

* It's an hour after the end of twilight. Your list is the same as mine, by the way. So, what would you do, Owl, if you were in charge of security for our expedition? *

"I'd put Wren in the coach for the evening with a guard on the inside and two outside. This scenario assumes we missed one of the Bishop's men and that the traveler is in the employ of the Bishop."

* Good answer and close to what I would have done. I can see camp from here. Let's report this, move Wren into the carriage, and get some sleep. *