All of a sudden Raistlin and Tanis rounded a bend to find a sheer wall that loomed before them with no possibility of being scaled. To both their left and right stretched fifty vertical feet of smooth rock. Once again the group had no option but to turn back and retrace their steps.

By the time Flint and Yuril had climbed out of the ravine and Raistlin had made another sighting of the dry, winding riverbed below, the sun was sinking out of sight. Tanis felt the first chill as darkness began to settle over the land. He saw Flint sink down to the ground, his face lined with sweat and dirt. Immediately several of the sailors followed suit.

Next to him, Raistlin peered at the parchment map, turning it around in his hands, trying to decipher which was the best route.

"The old river keeps splitting off and changing direction," the young mage said wearily.

"Your map must be a hundred years out of date," said Tanis, "Who knows how many rockslides and earthquakes have come along since then?"

Raistlin frowned at him.

"I don't think any of us can go much farther today," said the half-elf softly, indicating the group that had collapsed on the ground behind him.

"I told you," said the mage sharply, "that if we don't get to Karthay inside of two days, there may be grave consequences."

"Perhaps there will be enough light from the twin moons later tonight to permit us to cover some ground," said Tanis diplomatically. "But right now it would be best for us to stop to eat and rest. Besides, I thought I spotted some ant-lion pits during the day, and we wouldn't want to stumble into one in the dark."

Flint had come up behind them. "Ant-lion pits?" said the dwarf worriedly. "I agree with Tanis. Let's make camp for the night."

Raistlin hesitated.

"There'd be more shelter down in one of the ravines," added Flint, "but we'd also be more vulnerable to attack." Tanis nodded.

With a heavy sigh, Raistlin gave in. His pale, tense face suddenly showed a deep exhaustion. Tanis felt quite certain that the young mage couldn't have lasted much longer.

Everybody was happy with the decision.

As night fell, the temperature continued to drop. Now the wind cut into them bitterly. They made camp behind a line of boulders. Although the boulders afforded them only meager protection from the biting wind, they did offer another advantage, Flint noted. "In the dark, any attacker will find it hard to distinguish which is stone and which is flesh," the dwarf said, "and we will appear to be twice our actual number."

Yuril volunteered to go prowling for wildlife for supper, but Tanis declined her offer. "It's growing too dark," Tanis explained. "If anyone should hunt, it is I, with my nightvision. But even if I caught anything, we couldn't cook it. Raistlin and I agree that we shouldn't light any fires until we are sure of our bearings. On this high plateau, it might be a beacon to whoever-or whatever-else is on this part of the island."

The small group huddled together on the leeward side of the boulders. Tanis walked from person to person, sharing the provisions he carried-small portions of meal bread, dried fruit, and half a cupful of water for everyone. All day they hadn't come across one spring or stream where Tanis could have refilled his canteen. When he reached Flint, Tanis noticed that Kirsig wasn't at the dwarf's side as usual.

"Where's Kirsig?" the half-elf asked anxiously.

"Don't bother about her," the dwarf snapped. "She scurried off somewhere after you gave your speech about the fires. Now at last I've got some peace and quiet."

Alarmed at this news, Tanis gazed out over the darkening plateau but could see no sign of the female half-ogre. Despite his protestations, Flint also peered nervously into the gathering night. Just then Kirsig trotted into sight holding a bulging bag.

"Hello, dearies. You weren't worried about me, were you?" she asked, pinching Flint's cheek. "I just thought that since we didn't have much in the way of victuals with us, I'd go see what I could dig up. And dig I did!" She held the bag up triumphantly.

"Smagroot," Kirsig proclaimed. She held out the sack, insisting everybody take some of its contents. Tanis reached in and grabbed the smallest sample he could find. The smagroot was green, fleshy, and moist, with a texture a little like an uncooked potato. Tanis nibbled on one end of the root. It tasted sweet and soothed his throat with welcome moisture as he swallowed.

"Best thing in the world if you're stuck in a desert, my daddy always used to say," Kirsig babbled as she dispensed the smagroot.

Raistlin had come up next to Tanis and taken some. "I have read of smagroot," said the young mage, eagerly tasting the exotic root. 'The plant is also called desert balm and has saved the lives of many travelers stranded in dry parts. But I am surprised that anybody could find some and dig it up in the dark." Looking over at Flint, Tanis saw that the grizzled dwarf was beaming the way a teacher does when his prized pupil performs well.

The smagroot momentarily lifted the gloom that had settled on the travelers with nightfall. Everybody ate their fill, and Kirsig still had half a bag left for the next day. After "dinner," each member of the group worked at making himself comfortable for a night of restless sleep on cold, hard ground. The night was black. Clouds hid the stars. "I'll take the first watch," Tanis volunteered.

"I would like to take the first watch," announced Raistlin, surprising Tanis and Flint. "I'm not ready to go to sleep," the mage explained, "and I could use the solitude to clear my thoughts."

Tanis hesitated a moment, then shrugged. After several minutes of tossing and turning, however, he found himself unable to sleep. He propped himself up on one elbow, then sat up. Staring across the space of the camp, his eyes adjusted to the dark so that he could see more than just the auras supplied by his normal nightvision.

Raistlin leaned up against a boulder, staring up at the sky. Hair fell across his face, and the young mage appeared lost in thought.

Tanis jumped as a loud rumble broke the silence, then had to smile when he realized it was only Flint's snoring, augmented this evening by Kirsig's. In between the rumbles, a sandpapery noise, like that of a small nocturnal animal scuttling across the ground, reached his ears.

Tanis jerked up his head. Raistlin, he saw, did the same.

The sandpapery whisper had grown louder, until it seemed not to come from the ground but from the sky above. Looking up, Tanis saw nothing before he felt a heavy weight drop onto his shoulders, accompanied by the sensation of being smothered. He attempted to call out a warning but only succeeded in inhaling what felt like a mouthful of feathers. When he tried to reach for the knife in his belt, Tanis found he couldn't move his arms, which were pinned to his sides. Sharp talons pinched into his neck.

Muffled sounds coming from outside his feather cocoon indicated the others were caught in the same predicament. Suddenly, from over his head, rang out a clear, melodic voice, speaking in Common. "These are not bull-men. They appear to be like you and your friend."

The feather cocoon opened, and a torch flared in Tanis's face, blinding him for an instant. Tanis felt himself caught up in a bear hug.

"Tanis Half-Elven! I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. And Raistlin, brother mine!"

Now it was the mage's turn to be enveloped in Caramon's muscular frame.

Raistlin smiled broadly. "We expected to find you a captive, not a captor, Brother," the young mage responded, "but as I told Tanis, I trusted we would find you somehow, alive and well."

The twins stood side by side, Caramon's strong arms draped across the slender shoulders of his brother. In the flickering light of the lone torch, Tanis marveled, not for the first time, at how the Majere twins could be at the same time so alike, yet so dissimilar. At this moment, the difference was heightened by the leather thong with feathers attached that encircled Caramon's head, and the feathers that seemed to sprout from his shoulders but were no doubt just sewn to his tunic.