Still hungry, I ride in aimless circles around the area of An Caiseal. Winter Mist and Oran the Ghost have vanished without a trace. There's fresh boar scat in the woods with a track that would definitely lead me to breakfast. It seems foolish to get sidetracked on a boar hunt when there are more important matters to resolve. Baine is still at An Caiseal. The gnawing in my empty belly has gone from a rowdy roaring to a steady ache which makes it easier to ignore. So I ride around and try to think of how I can get into the keep and set her free.

An outburst of noise ruins what little concentration I have. I jump down from Re's back and crouch behind a fallen tree, pulling the pony into the hiding place with me. A single horse thrashes through the woods, and it looks like there are two riders. It goes by too fast for me to see more than a blur. I wait to see if whatever is chasing them will come by. All is quiet.

Just as I start to get up, I hear dogs. Hunting dogs hot on the scent of something.

That's enough to set me back up on Re and leave this place as fast and quiet as I can.

At the place where the woods meet the road, I rein in the pony and listen. It sounds like a great number of horses are coming up from the other side, where our cave camp once was. I don't wait to find out what this is all about. Sadly, I kick Re into a gallop and storm down the road, away from the keep.