“Lady?” Hollow-sky queried, impatiently. His hands
gripped his reins too tightly.
Riverwind’s hand slid smoothly along his longstick in a
vaguely threatening manner. In response, Hollow-sky, with
seeming casualness, ruffled the feathers atop his own pole.
If I do not separate them, Goldmoon thought, they are
likely to continue with yesterday’s contest.
“Please excuse me,” she said regretfully to Riverwind.
“Come, Hollow-sky.” She nudged her horse ahead a bit, and
Hollow-sky followed.
The party of riders and servants made only a few short
stops to stretch their legs. They ate dried meat and fruit on
the trail. It was a typical summer afternoon on the open
plains – hot and still. Grass insects hummed and swarmed
and made a nuisance of themselves. The only excitement of
the ride came when their passing flushed birds out of the
grass or when snakes or small animals underfoot startled the
horses.
At last, just when Goldmoon felt she could no longer
bear her own trickling sweat, they began to climb into the
hills at the foot of the mountain that held their goal. Cool,
pine-scented air reached the travelers, renewing their energy
and spirits.
The trail became steeper and narrower. Just when it
seemed that the cart could go no farther, a high meadow
came into view. Here Goldmoon instructed Clearwing and
Starflower to unhitch the cart horse and load it with her
belongings. They were then to make camp and await her
return, which should be by midday the next day. Her
serving women were reluctant to let her go on without them,
but she repeated her orders, eyeing them sternly. No one but
herself and her two escorts were allowed on the holy
ground.
Goldmoon and her escorts continued upward with the
cart horse. The trail grew worse; in some spots it became
almost vertical. The cart-horse-turned-pack animal balked,
and Riverwind had to dismount and coax, tug, and push it
along. Hollow-sky watched without offering to help, an
amused look on his face. Finally, they came to a spot where
the horse refused to be moved no matter what Riverwind
did.
Tossing her horse’s reins disdainfully to Hollow-sky,
Goldmoon slid off her horse and joined Riverwind. She
covered the animal’s eyes with her hands and murmured
softly in its ears. When she sensed the beast relax, she
tugged gently and it followed her along the rim.
Riverwind stared at her with admiration, but Goldmoon,
failing to acknowledge it, remounted without a word, and
they continued on.
The path divided unexpectedly on the lower slopes of
the mountain itself, one trail heading up the west slope, the
other the east.
“Which way, Princess?” Hollow-sky asked.
Goldmoon’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. “I do not
know. I thought there was only one trail.”
“The shadows are lengthening,” Hollow-sky said
unnecessarily. “If we take the wrong route and need to turn
back, we shall have to travel in the dark to be there when
Lunitari’s rays open the cavern, and that could be
dangerous.”
The princess wondered why Arrowthorn had not
warned her of this. She looked for signs that one trail was
newer than the other, but she really could not tell.
“Why don’t you rest, Princess?” Hollow-sky said. “I will
scout down one path and return as quickly as I am able. And
you, shepherd, scout the other.”
Goldmoon bristled. Riverwind was not an underling for
Hollow-sky to command, and worse, the son of Loreman
was again making decisions and giving orders on her
behalf.
“You will scout the trail, Hollow-sky,” she said firmly,
“and Riverwind will remain here as guard.” Her tone
brooked no argument.
Hollow-sky sat stiffly astride his horse as Riverwind
dismounted, tossing a tight-lipped smile at his rival.
Hollow-sky’s fingers strayed to the feathers atop his long
stick as they had earlier. Ignoring the subtle challenge,
Riverwind defiantly turned his back on Hollow-sky.
The Plainsman stood alertly at the path’s divide and
watched Hollow-sky depart, as Goldmoon sat down on the
ground and leaned against a tree.
“Come sit with me, please,” she commanded.
Riverwind lowered himself into a cross-legged position
before his Chieftain’s Daughter.
“I have something for you. I made it during the ride
across the plain,” Goldmoon whispered. She held out her