On the following morning, the younger Children escorted Farinka on an inspection tour of their small village. Hamlet, really, as there were only ten roundhouses in all – not counting the grave-house mound, which had once been a roundhouse. The two oldest of the little ones, Thani and Kuli, both with nut-brown hair and eyes, and sun-brushed golden skin, were alike enough to be easily recognisable as brother and sister, and their appearance was of youngsters in their early teens. Lekki and Linka, the two youngest, were also clearly brother and sister, each with almost white-blond hair and greenish eyes. They seemed a year or so younger than Shiffih appeared – about four or five in human terms – but Farinka knew that was just an illusion. They were younger, certainly, but by how many years, decades or scores of years it was impossible to tell. There were five of in-between-looking age: dark-haired Asha, tawny-haired Sharni, honey-blond twin brothers Keshteth and Yarith, and auburn Taari, who was wearing her hair in intricate braids.

Shiffih had taken on the role of tour leader, and was proudly explaining to Farinka what everything was. Between the various roundhouses, the pathways were topped with a mixture of cobbles, gravel, grit and sand, and around each building was a strip about a metre wide where an imposing variety of herbs and flowers grew in an anarchic riot of scent and colour.

The tour started at the uphill side of the village, where a smallish water-wheel provided power for the workshop house.

"Jevann and Jekavi made a lot of what's in here," said Shiffih. "The wheel was just for milling when we arrived, but they added all this stuff." 'All this stuff', Farinka noted, impressed, was a system of pulleys, gears, and bands which could be linked and unlinked to, variously, a potting wheel, a lathe, a grinding wheel for tool-sharpening, and a small loom – as well as the millstones which had been there originally.

"That's awesomely well constructed," she commented. "They did this by themselves?"

"Yes. They're both good at that kind of thing."

Leaving the workshop house, they looked briefly in through the doorway of the forge house.

"Sherath's domain," said Shiffih with a grin. "He hasn't needed to make anything new for a few weeks, so the forge is cold. This is where the kiln is, too – on the other side of the hearth from the forge."

"Who makes pots?" asked Farinka, interested.

"Lots of us make things," said Thani, "but Louka makes the best ones. Tarke and Sienne are both good at weaving, and Asha and Yarith are pretty good, too. Sharni and Taari are good at growing things."

Next were the cookhouse, the bakehouse and the brewhouse; all combining a functional practicality with a kind of cosy homeliness. The cookhouse included a storage area for preserved foods, and a striking array of cooking utensils, pots, pans, mugs and bowls. Most of these, Farinka noted, were not just practical, but decorative as well; made variously of wood, pottery and bronze.

There was also a stone sink with a tap over it.

"Where does the water come from for the tap?" she asked.

"We'll show you!" came a chorus of voices; Lekki and Linka took one of her hands each and led her, followed by the rest of them, around the side of the cookhouse.

"See," said Shiffih, "the stream leaves the workshop house up the hill and then comes down here." She pointed to a pair of huge stone troughs, one sited uphill from the other. The overflow from the upper trough ran into the lower one, and a wooden pipe ran from the bottom of the lower trough in through the cookhouse wall. A second pipe for overflow disappeared briefly underground.

"This is the silt trough," said Kuli, patting the upper trough. "It catches any silt, so the water in the main trough is cleaner. There's a big wooden plug in here," – he demonstrated – "so that the silt can be cleared out. And the water from this trough can be run two ways, depending on where this sluice is. In this position it goes on down into the original stream, and in this one" – he demonstrated again – "it runs through the latrines to flush them out."

The latrine house stood somewhat downhill from and to the rear of the cookhouse, with its doorway facing out into the woodland area behind it.

"You've already seen that," said Linka, smiling shyly up at Farinka.

"Yes, sweetheart, I have. One side for liquids and the other for solids! And the solids go down into a cart with soil and kitchen waste, don't they?"

"Yup," said Lekki. "And then get carted away to the muckheap down there." He pointed down a path which sloped away down into the woodland.

"And the overflow from the cookhouse trough comes out here, on the stream side of the sluice," added Kuli. "That all rejoins the original stream."

"And the flush from the latrines? Where does that go?" asked Farinka.

"Down through that hollow log pipe into the boggy patch in the dip in the woodlands," replied Taari, twisting the end of one auburn braid between her fingers. "It soaks away there and eventually, when the bog has filtered it, it trickles away to join a different stream lower down the woods. Our water comes from the stream that runs from the spring in the cave, away up there." She pointed up the rocky hillside.

"It's all incredibly well thought through," remarked Farinka. "The way you've directed the water and so on. Did all of you build all of that, too?"

"No, most of that was here when we came. That's how you can tell this was an Elven place; Men just don't do water management systems like Elves do," said Thani.

"We think that's why they get sick so much more," added Shiffih, as they made their way back to the central hearth and the four remaining roundhouses which surrounded it.

The hearth area was a veritable hive of activity.

"There's one real major problem about travelling during the winter," Tarke was saying as she divided a heap of assorted clothing into two smaller piles, "and that is food."

"Nut and fruit season is only just starting," said Louka, sitting with her back to the fire and restitching the side seam of a sheepskin jacket.

"Yes, but we'd be hard put to it to gather enough not only to feed us as we travel but also to keep for later on. No matter how much ground we cover in a day, we're still going to be travelling during the hungry gap. Meat won't be a problem – the hunting on the plains is always good, though everything will be a bit lean by the time the hungry gap hits us."

"Including ourselves," murmured Sienne, sorting through a collection of pieces of hide and cloth.

"Quite," said Tarke. "And we will need fat as well as meat – for energy as well as warmth. Which means we either need to carry a fair bit of fat from the word go, or else a fair quantity of nuts and oily seeds, which would do just as well. The problem being that either of those options adds to the weight, which adds to the amount of work anyone carrying that weight is doing, which in turn adds to the amount they need to eat to do the work."

"What about fruit and grain?" asked Sienne.

"Fruit can be dried, which makes it a lot lighter," said Louka, "and also makes it last longer. But it does need to be carried in something that keeps the rain out. And it will rain."

"And snow," added Sienne with a smile.

"Yes, and snow." Louka knotted the end of the sinew threads and pulled the knot tight with her teeth. "We need wax for these jackets, or they'll end up waterlogged and heavy, too."

"Good point," said Tarke. "If we can find wax, we have also found honey."

"Which is also heavy to carry," said Louka lazily.

"Good for a lot of reasons, though," said Tarke crisply. "And now is the right time of year for honey-hunting. Who shall we send?"

"Not me," said Sienne. "I always get stung. Tell you what, though – I can take some of the little ones mushrooming for a few days. Mushrooms dry easily and weigh next to nothing. Why does Sherath want to travel over the winter, anyway? Wouldn't it be simpler just to stay here and start out in the spring?"

"You're joking," said Louka. "Granted, we've got enough food stored here to see us over most of the winter, but if we started travelling in the spring we'd hit the centre of the plains in the summer – "

"When it wouldn't rain or snow," Sienne pointed out.

"Quite," said Louka. "And the plains are very dry in the summer. Not enough water. And that would also mean that we'd hit the western mountains just as autumn was coming on. Not a good time to cross the western mountains. And we'd hit the winter having been travelling for ages and with even less stores of food with us."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that."

"Whichever way we do it, it's going to mean travelling through the winter at some point," said Tarke. "But it's better to do a winter journey after a good summer's rest than after several months of travelling." She picked up a pair of deerskin leggings and inspected the seams critically. "Hmm. These seem okay."

"More than I can say for this," said Louka, holding up another heavy jacket with three large tears across the back of the shoulders.

"Isn't that the one that Nemeth was wearing when he had that argument with the snow leopard?" asked Sienne.

"Looks like it," said Tarke. "I should hand that over to Jevann and see if he can make boots out of the pieces. He's always looking for sheepskin pieces."

Louka flexed the skin experimentally between her hands. "This would wear through in no time. Would never last as boots."

"Boot linings, then," said Tarke. "Jevann will find a use for it."

Louka put it on one side. "Same again for these?" she asked, holding up ripped trousers.

"Yup. He's lucky he was wearing winter gear, wasn't he? Would have made a nasty mess of him otherwise."

"Instead of which he made a nasty mess of it," said Sienne.

"Not mess," said Louka. "Nemeth's never messy about a kill. Did anyone ever find out what he did with the skin?"

"Not sure," said Tarke. "He certainly cured it, but I don't know what he intends doing with it. It would make a very warm jacket – but probably not big enough for Nemeth."

"It was big enough for the leopard," said Sienne.

"The leopard would still be wearing it if it hadn't attacked Nemeth," Tarke pointed out.

"Leopard's legs aren't half as thick as Nemeth's arms," said Louka. "He'd have to take sleeves out of the main skin. Or have it sleeveless. Talk of the devil," she said, looking up as Nemeth came back into the village at an easy run. "Where have you been?"

"Fishing," said Nemeth, slinging his pack down beside the fire. "I fancied trout for lunch."

"You've been gone since before dawn," said Sienne.

"Yes, well. I thought some other people might fancy trout, too. So I got quite a few. About enough for half of one each – or a bit more bearing in mind those who won't want it."

"Well done," said Louka.

"Have we got any 'tatoes left?"

"Loads," said Tarke. "In the sand pit. And that's another thing I'd like to be able to take, but they weigh too much."

"I'll have a think about it," said Nemeth.

"While you think about it would you like to think about where we can find a good bee-tree?"

"Bees? Yes. Passed several honey trees this morning."

"How far did you go?" asked Sienne.

"'bout eight miles," he answered. "Covered most of the small streams that drain down into the river out of these woods." He tipped fish out of his pack onto the slate slab. "I gutted them as I caught them, but I think I'll bone them. Do fishy-'tatoes. If someone else can get the 'tatoes ready," he added, looking pointedly at Shiffih, Thani and Kuli who were busy brushing whichever bits of Moondust they could comfortably reach. "They're going to brush that animal into non-existence at that rate."

"I don't think Farinka will let them," said Sienne.

Nemeth looked over at Farinka sitting in the sun with most of the little ones. "They're not pestering her for stories again, are they?" he asked.

"They've just come back from showing her all around the houses," said Louka. "But don't worry about it, she likes telling them. She's got a lot of new stories."

"Understandably," said Nemeth. "And all ours are new to her, too."

"They're good stories," said Sienne. "Ones she had in books when she was small."

"You've been eavesdropping, have you?" asked Nemeth with a grin.

"Not eavesdropping. Listening quite unashamedly. You'll have to get her to tell you the one about Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree, if you're going honey-hunting."

"Maybe," said Nemeth. He stood and walked over to Farinka. "Domina, my apologies for interrupting, but I need to borrow some of the Children to get 'tatoes washed and cut up. That is, if they want fishy-'tatoes for lunch." He smiled at her. "Sienne says you have a good story about a Honey Tree."

"Winnie-the-Pooh," said Lekki, who was sitting closest to Farinka. "And we were telling her Jevann the Seer stories, too."

"Which ones?" asked Nemeth.

"Jevann the Seer and the Beautiful Shield, and Jevann the Seer and the Beastmaster's Son," replied Lekki.

Nemeth smiled. " 'There was a Seer, and his name was Jevann, and his was a warm and gentle soul', " he quoted. "They all start with that, and they all end with someone living happily ever after and Jevann the Seer going on his way," he added.

"Go and help the others, Lekki," said Farinka. She stood up, brushing dust off the seat of her trousers, and walked over to Moondust and his three groomers. "Enough, you lot. There's no more dirt left to clean off."

"What about his feet?" asked Shiffih.

"Let me," said Nemeth, picking up a hoof and running the finger-guard of his knife-hilt around the sole like a hoofpick. "Off with you. Scat." He grinned up at the Children, and went on to the next hoof.

Farinka watched him. "They seem to like the idea of fishy-'tatoes," she said.

"Usually popular. How do you like the idea of honey-hunting?" He put the last hoof down, and leaned against Moondust's shoulder.

"I've never tried it. Back home, honey came out of jars and milk came out of bottles."

"Milk out of bottles? So who put the milk in the bottles?"

"Big dairies. Farmers keep cows and milk them with milking machines, they sell the milk to dairies who put it into bottles and sell it to the rest of us."

"Strange world," said Nemeth.

"It seems to work. Mostly," said Farinka. "Some people – not a lot – keep a couple of goats or a cow for milk just for themselves, and milk them by hand. But almost everyone gets their milk out of bottles."

"Mothers would rather feed their babies on cow's milk than on their own?"

"No, most mothers feed their own babies. But people go on drinking milk all their lives. And using it for cooking; making cheese and butter, all sorts of things."

"Interesting. Do you want to help me get honey?"

"Yes, okay. So long as I don't get stung."

"I'll do my best," said Nemeth. "But no guarantees. I must carry on with these trout or the 'tatoes will be ready before the fish are."

***

"Moondust seems to want to come with us," said Tarke.

"It's probably safer if he does," said Farinka. "That way none of the little ones will try to get too close to him."

"So long as he doesn't get himself stung," said Sherath, "I don't see that him being with us is likely to cause any problems."

"We're going to have to shift along a bit if we want to get to the best tree at dusk," Nemeth pointed out. "We were later starting out than I'd expected. You fit for a seven-mile run, Domina?" He grinned.

"I'll ride, in that case." Farinka caught hold of Moondust's mane and vaulted onto his back. "He can help carry honeycombs home," she said. "No reason why he can't do his share of the work."

"There are a couple of fallen trees up ahead; you'll have to go through the woods to get round," Nemeth called back over his shoulder.

"Anything you can get over, Moondust can," said Farinka, chuckling.

"Whatever you say," said Sherath with an answering grin.

"Save your breath for running," advised Tarke, jogging lightly beside Nemeth, her dark plaits swinging as she ran.

The feet of the three Elves and the unshod hooves of the unicorn made little sound on the soft carpet of leaf-mould and grass on the track. Twice they startled roedeer from amongst the trees, coming upon them almost noiselessly.

Nemeth rounded a corner of the track. "Here are the trees," he called, and put a hand on the trunk to vault over, with Tarke half a pace behind him. Sherath hurdled the tree and ran on, glancing back as he did so.

Moondust pricked his ears and lifted his head, and Farinka caught hold of a handful of his mane and nudged him into a canter. His muscles bunched under her as he jumped cleanly over, snorting on landing, and lengthening his stride as he eyed the second tree.

"Mind your backs!" Farinka called, and – steady, you nutter!

The three Elves leapt aside as Moondust sped past and launched himself into the air over the second tree.

– Maniac! Farinka patted him on the shoulder. Now settle down. Moondust bounced into a walk, and swung round to watch the others vault over the tree, with a look on his face as if to say 'What kept you?' He nudged Sherath with his muzzle as the Elves caught up with him; Nemeth and Tarke took the lead again, and Moondust kept pace with Sherath behind them.

– He enjoyed that, Domina, said Sherath, his Voice light.

– Me, too, she answered.

Sherath grinned as he ran. – I noticed. You made it look very easy.

– It is, when you know how.

– It's the knowing how that counts. Where did you learn that trick?

– Back home.

– You rode unicorns on your world?

– No. Just packbeasts. I used to do a lot of riding. And quite a bit of teaching, too.

– Could you teach me? Sherath's Voice was curious.

– I can't think why not. You learn most just by doing it. The basics are very simple. You could learn a lot by Hearing how I react to Moondust. Better still, jump up behind me. You'd get the feel of the movement and be able to hold onto me to keep your balance.

– Would he mind?

– He shouldn't. I'll stop him for you. She slowed Moondust, and Sherath patted the unicorn's rump before vaulting up.

– You need to sit as far forward as you can, said Farinka. You'd upset his balance otherwise. And you need to have your weight evenly balanced so you can move with him. Stay relaxed on him so your body absorbs his movement. The more you tense up, the more you'll bounce and the more uncomfortable you and he will find it. Open your mind to mine – you can pick the feeling out of my mind; feel what I'm feeling. She nudged Moondust into a trot again, feeling Sherath's Awareness within her own thoughts; feeling his concentration. Don't close your mind at all – you'll need to stay open because I'm going to ask him to canter to catch up. She nudged Moondust on, and after a moment's adjustment Sherath relaxed into the rhythm.

– Sherath, why do you guard your thoughts when the subject of the hidden valley comes up? Farinka asked.

– Domina, that is called taking advantage.