THE RAIN NO LONGER POURED but the drizzle and icy wind we got in exchange felt as bad, if not worse. I hunched close to Mhelyn's back, the shelter of the trees almost entirely gone as we made our way up this windy wet mountain pass.

Mhelyn puffed away, sounding like a steam engine and Rashid called for stops more often than I'd seen him do before. Neither him nor the soldier made any show about it so I hoped Mhelyn wasn't feeling self-conscious about it. He'd been employed as ...