"D'you think he'll show up?" The voice came from a group of knights gathered at a ring of boulders-a circular space Ash had used as a campsite on his previous visits to the grove.

"If he don't, we've taken a hundred lances out of the lords' army fer nothin'!" groused another knight.

"He'll come." Now Ash recognized Sir Kamford's voice. The knight stood in the center of the circle, an undeniable figure of command. The other knights fell silent as he spoke. 'There was something about him-a kind of wisdom that I've rarely encountered. He gave me his word-"

"And I have honored it," concluded Ashtaway, stepping into the circle. He enjoyed the consternation of the knights as they scrambled to their feet or instinctively reached for weapons, held back by Sir Kamford's chuckle of amusement. The knight bowed his head in a gesture of respect and appraised Ash for a moment before speaking.

"Welcome. Were my pickets sleeping on the job?" asked Sir Kamford with good-humored amazement.

Ash repeated the respectful bow, and he, too, paused to meet the other's eyes before he spoke. "No, they are alert and would doubtless have discovered any human who sought to intrude-or an ogre or Silvanesti elf, for that matter."

"I believe you," Sir Kamford said with a nod. "It is good to see you again, my friend-and ally."

"And you, human. I see that you bring many warriors."

"You are the elf who will show us the road to Sanction?" inquired one of those knights, quite rudely, thought Ashtaway. Below his large nose this fellow had a curving red mustache. The human fixed the Kagonesti with a look of frank skepticism and not a little hostility.

"I would not call it a road," he replied stiffly. "I made it clear that it is but a hunting path. It does, however, cross the lower slopes of the smoking mountains and leads to the valley you call Sanction. And I believe that your horses will be able to cross."

"Believe? You don't know?" demanded the red-faced warrior.

Ashtaway stiffened, forcibly holding his hand away from the hilt of his axe. This knight's lack of manners offended him deeply, and for the first time he wondered if he was making a great mistake by coming here.

"How could I know?" he replied curtly. "We Kagonesti have no need of animal slaves in our efforts at war. We do well on our own feet." Ashtaway sensed that his own words were inflammatory, but he found it impossible to hold his tongue. The blunt conversation with the red- faced man seemed to arouse an instinctive antipathy.

"Animal slaves?" The knight's mustache quivered in indignation, and his fists clenched into firm knots. 'These steeds are the boldest warriors on four legs! Never insult them-for to do so is to insult the men who ride them! To do that is to die."

The words hit the Kagonesti with the piercing force of a hot lance. "If there have been insults uttered, it was not I who began the exchange," Ash replied grimly, his own fingers curling inward. "I was led to believe that my services would be of some aid to the knights, and to my friend, Sir Kamford Willis. If that is not the case, I will go-or I will fight, whichever you choose."

His hazel eyes, darkened in the night, remained unwaveringly on the face of the belligerent knight. A small voice grew louder within him, suggesting that perhaps his coming here was a mistake, that humans and wild elves could not work together.

"Patience, Sir Blayne." It was Sir Kamford who cut through the tension with a soothing voice. "As I told you-and told the lords of the orders as well-Ashtaway has hunted over this trail on foot. But if he suspects that our horses will pass, I'm prepared to believe him."

"He passed our pickets, all right. He must know a little something," murmured another knight, not unkindly.

The one called Sir Blayne made a visible but only partially successful effort to relax. "Very well." He addressed Ashtaway. "Your offer of help is not unwelcome. You should know, however, that these hundred knights could be very useful on the plains during this summer. If our mission here comes to naught, the loss could be catastrophic."

"I cannot control the success or failure of your mission, but I can see that you will be able to approach Sanction from the southeast. The rest will be up to you."

Ashtaway felt the flame of his anger slowly doused. As the hazy sense of instinctive rage faded, he wondered about its sudden force and fury, and he told himself that he would have to work hard to hold that tendency at bay.

"That is all we ask," Sir Kamford declared, silencing Sir Blayne with a firm look. "Can you tell us what we will do from here?"

"In the morning, we leave this valley, crossing the north ridge. In four or five days, we should reach the summit of the pass, and from there you will be able to see your destination."

"Up the north ridge of this valley?" Another knight spoke, faintly skeptical. "That didn't look like any kind of slope for riders."

Ashtaway shrugged. "If the little climb out of here is going to stop you, then I can say with certainty that your horses will never make it over the pass. I am sorry."

"We can make it!" Sir Kamford snapped. "We'll dismount and lead the horses on foot over the rough parts."

"I still say we'd be more use forming a line of charge on the plains, fighting beside Lord Huma in the battle that will decide this war!" Sir Blayne, apparently, could not keep himself quiet.

"Why aren't you there, then?" Ash asked in genuine confusion. "Are you not your own master?" He couldn't understand why the man had joined this mission if he was so doubtful of a positive outcome. Certainly no Kagonesti would ever consent to such behavior.

"Orders," growled the knight, as if begrudging the word. "I am a loyal knight who follows the commands of his lord."

"But if you do not wish to attack Sanction, then don't," argued the brave. "I do not wish to lead any warriors where they are afraid to go."

"How dare you-a painted savage-question my courage?" snarled Sir Blayne, and this time his fist closed around the hilt of his sword.

"Enough!" barked Sir Kamford, stepping between the elf and the angry knight. He fixed Ash with a level gaze. "There is none who may question the courage of any of my knights without questioning my own. And Sir Blayne is right. We will not tolerate such insinuations."

Ash remained silent as the leader of the humans turned to his companion. "And I remind you, good Knight of the Crown, to remember your oath. It is unbecoming that we bicker thus in the presence of one who may help us to a spectacular victory. Neither should we make slander against his motivations or his noble people."

Sir Blayne stood stiff and tall, and for several moments Ashtaway wondered if he would be able to control himself. Finally he exhaled and bowed his head stiffly. "You show us the way to Sanction, and our courage will be displayed before all."

Ash accepted the reply. "I will go to the ridge crest to sleep tonight, and return with the dawn. You should be ready to walk, then, if haste is of importance." "It is," Sir Kamford declared.

The Kagonesti turned and vanished into the night, seeking his high ledge for a night's rest. He had a strong feeling that most of the knights were not disappointed to see him go.