To get there, we will travel north through the Wolfsktaag-in
through the Pass of Noose, out through the Pass of Jade, and
from there east into the Reach.”
He paused, considering what he saw in their faces. “There
are other ways, of course-safer ways, some might argue-but
I disagree. We could skirt the Wolfsktaag to the east or west,
but either way we risk an almost certain encounter with Feder-
ation soldiers or Gnomes. There will be neither in the Wolfsk-
taag. Too many spirits and things of old magic live in the
mountains; the Gnomes are superstitious about such and stay
away. The Federation used to send patrols in, but most of them
never came out. Truth is, most of them just got lost up there
because they didn’t know the way. I do.”
His listeners remained silent. Finally Coil said, “I seem to
remember that a couple of our ancestors got into a good bit of
trouble when they took this same route some years back.”
Steff shrugged. “I wouldn’t know about that. I do know that
I have been through these mountains dozens of times and know
what to look for. The trick is to stay on the ridgelines and out
of the deep forests. What lives in the Wolfsktaag prefers the
dark. And there’s nothing magic about most of it.”
Coil shook his head and looked at Par. “I don’t like it.”
“Well, the choice is between the devil we know and the one
we suspect,” Steff declared bluntly. “Federation soldiers and
their Gnome allies, which we know are out there, or spirits and
wraiths, which we don’t.”
“Shadowen,” Par said softly.
There was a moment of silence. Steff smiled grimly. “Haven’t
you heard, Valeman-there aren’t any Shadowen. That’s all a ru-
mor. Besides, you have the magic to protect us, don’t you? You
and the Highlander here? What would dare challenge that?”
He looked about, sharp eyes darting from one face to the next.
“Come now. No one ever suggested that this journey would be
a safe one. Let us have a decision. But you have heard my
warning about the choices left us if we forgo the mountains. Pay
heed.”
There wasn’t much any of them could say after that, and they
left it to the Dwarf’s best judgment. This was his country after
all, not theirs, and he was the one who knew it. They were
relying on him to find Walker Boh, and it seemed foolish to
second-guess the way he thought best to go about it.
They spent the night in the clearing of pines, smelling needles
and wildflowers and the crispness of air, sleeping undisturbed
and dreamless in a silence that stretched far beyond where they
could see. At dawn, Steff took them up into the Wolfsktaag.
They slipped into the Pass of Noose, where Gnomes had once
tried to trap Shea and Flick Ohmsford, crossed the rope walk-
way that bridged the chasm at its center, wound their way stead-
ily upward through the ragged, blunted peaks of slab-sided stone
and forested slopes, and watched the sun work its way across
the cloudless summer sky. Morning passed into afternoon, and
they reached the ridgelines running north and began follow-
ing their twists and bends. Travel was easy, the sun warm and
reassuring, and the fears and doubts of the night before began
to fade. They watched for movement in the shadows of rock and
wood, but saw nothing. Birds sang in the trees, small animals
scampered through the brush, and the forests here seemed very
much the same as forests everywhere in the Four Lands. The
Valemen and the Highlander found themselves smiling at one
another; Steff hummed tonelessly to himself, and only Teel
showed nothing of what she was feeling.
When nightfall approached, they made camp in a small
meadow nestled between two ridgelines cropped with fir and
cedar. There was little wind, and the day’s warmth lingered in
the sheltered valley long after the sun was gone. Stars glim-
mered faintly in the darkening skies, and the moon hung full
against the western horizon. Par recalled again the old man’s
admonition to them-that they were to be at the Hadeshom on