Larisroot in the daytime offered plenty of interest to a young foreigner who had never seen a market, river commerce, stone temples, beasts of burden, and many other things perfectly ordinary to those born east of the Great White Mountains. Telli could have passed many days in the small market town without tiring of it.

He left his bed long after sunrise, knowing that there was only one thing of importance to do that day. He must meet with people of influence in the town, and do his best to convince them that precautions should be taken throughout the western settlements closest to the valley of the Khrelling. It was curiosity at the sound of ox-carts arriving in the town that finally moved him from his bed to the public room, where the landlady, a cheerful and friendly soul he now knew as Rhenna, served his morning meal. She informed him that two men wished to see him, and had asked if he would be so kind as to be at the inn around noon to meet them. Saying that he would certainly be there, and feeling rather important, he finished his meal and sauntered out onto the main street, head held high and trying to appear full of confidence. Any effect this might have had on local observers was immediately ruined as he stopped to gape in amazement at the passing farm carts drawn by brawny oxen. The Elnesiders had no animals that actually worked for them in any way, and their only vehicles were small hand barrows.

Recovering, and laughing at himself for trying to appear so sophisticated, Telli made his way along the street, through the already busy market, to Flankis's shop. The fat man was seated at his desk behind the half door, and greeted Telli with a flash of gold teeth as he smiled.

"Don't tell me the thieves of the market have already had all your silver, and you need more. Riches earned by bearing the company of Slomen should be spent with care unless you want to return penniless to work for the old fool immediately."

"I've spent nothing, and know nothing of the prices for reasons you now understand. I come only to bid you good morning, to thank you for your companionship last night, and to ask why the market is so busy today." Telli could not have chosen a better person for this question. What the search for gold was to Slomen, commerce was to Flankis. By the time he had left the moneychanger, agreeing to meet him again that night at the inn, Telli knew more about the workings of the market than some of its traders did.

Every day was a busy day in Larisroot, unusual for such a small community, and for one in such a remote part of the Kingdom. Its market served not only the town itself, but five surrounding villages. Three of these were down river at no great distance, the fourth an hour's walk away to the south, and the fifth, of course, infamous Minersford itself. But traders came from much further afield than this for two main reasons. The gold found in the surrounding area was one of these, with its value increasing at every stage down river. The other was the laris-root, even more important to the prosperity of the region than the precious metal. These twin backbones to its commerce had made the little town very rich. Flankis revealed that there were many other citizens who could walk around in finery such as his if they so wished.

Telli walked up and down the riverbank market, enjoying the novelty it was to him, but also using his sharp eyes and quick brain to learn the ways of life in this new land. He watched boats being loaded, mainly with laris-root, and unloaded with goods from all over the Kingdom, brought in exchange for it. These boats were fairly small, less than thirty feet in length, as it was hard work to navigate anything larger this far up the winding river.

Telli knew from Slomen that, although he could get a lift down river from this point for a small sum, it would not pay him to do so. Below Larisroot, there was a huge bend in the river. It turned north for some distance, then curved right around to flow back south, before finally returning to its usual easterly course towards the Great River, where Telli wished to go. Boats would take three days to round the great loop going downstream to the town situated at the point where the river turned back eastward. Slomen's advice had been to cut out this loop by walking through the forest. Starting at sunrise, it was possible to reach this town before nightfall on the same day. This was Telli's plan for the following morning.

He spent an interesting day exploring the town, interrupted only by his return to the inn at noon to eat, and to meet the two town elders who wished to question him about the Khrelling. These proved to be laris-root farmers, representative of the majority of the townsfolk. He learned from them that the Lord of the Manse was away, and not expected back for five or six days. They would consider what should be done in his absence, and would relay Telli's story to him on his return. Telli answered their many questions accurately and patiently. They were kindly, conventional and conservative men, the sort he imagined to be typical of this well-ordered and prosperous community. Talking with them on many subjects, he sensed their disapproval of some of the miners and gold traders, although the mention of Flankis brought a smile to their faces, and they clearly saw the moneychanger as a likeable rogue rather than a threat to their stable lives. On their departure, Telli considered that one of these stolid farmers was definitely inclined to believe his story, but the other was more doubtful, disliking any news that might mean even the slightest change in his simple view of life.

During the afternoon, Telli visited the town's largest temple, built of stone with many ornate carvings, and dedicated to the River Goddess, Setisia. She was easily recognisable in statues depicting a woman with long locks cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall, and with a fish tail in place of legs, the better to patrol her great domain. In Elneside she was honoured with a small wooden shrine, no bigger than those of other deities, her statue surrounded by carvings of fish. But Telli could see that she had a much greater importance this side of the mountains. Setisia was Goddess of travel, trade, and communication in a Kingdom where the rivers were the main thoroughfares.

The evening was pleasant, Flankis arriving at the inn's public room and teaching Telli several games played locally, all of them involving the exchange of coins, of course, as the fat man confessed he could see no point in games if they involved no gambling. New acquaintances gave Telli much good advice concerning the long journey to Kellmarsh he would begin the next morning. Flankis promised to make sure his story of the Khrelling was not ignored, and with such a loud individual behind his cause, he felt that his warnings to the good people of the area had not been made in vain.

Telli woke the next morning to the patter of rain on the roof above his attic room. After eating his morning meal, he looked out of the inn door to find the world outside turned grey by steady drizzle. In spite of Rhenna's insistence that he should put off his departure, he decided to set off on his way. He hoped that a lighter sky in the east, where the wind was coming from (and where he was going), meant the weather would clear by the afternoon, and after some hours walking under the shelter of his goatskin coat, was proved right. The summer sun started to shine, and he discarded the heavy wet goatskin, deciding that he now had no need to carry its weight.

The way towards Bhuin, the river town he hoped to reach before nightfall, led him first through a mile or so of open laris-root fields, then into the forest, with a footpath to follow all the way. Wet weather apart, the going was easy, a pleasant stroll for a traveller who had recently passed the Great White Mountains. The low hills, which caused the great, looping deviation of the river from its eastward course, also made it impractical for an ox-cart route through this short cut from Larisroot to Bhuin. All trade between the two must therefore take place on the river and only those wishing to make the journey without the burden of goods used the path Telli followed. His acquaintances of the inn's public room estimated this way as taking a good ten hours at a steady walking pace. It was unknown for footpads to be encountered on the lonely path, as no one would be likely to pass this way carrying anything of value to a thief. All in all, this should have been a simple stage in Telli's journey, but Fate, a God in whom he believed profoundly, had other ideas.

By mid-afternoon, Telli's clothes had dried on him, the sky was bright blue above him, and he felt in his element, enjoying the feel of the forest around him, so similar in many ways to his hunting grounds back home. Knowing he must be well over halfway to his destination, and seeing that the path ahead sloped downwards from the high ground, he selected a tall tree, and flew up it to look at the way ahead. This effort was rewarded by a fine view over the green canopy, and he could see not only the broad band of the river, now much wider than at Larisroot, but also the town of Bhuin itself, a cluster of grey stone on its bank. Behind him the skyline was still dominated by the White Mountains, their snowy peaks glistening in the afternoon sun. Much nearer was an open patch in the forest, which he knew must be the fields around Larisroot. Seeing that the distance to his destination was less than half that to his point of departure, he congratulated himself on having made good progress despite the morning rain, and decided to rest for a moment in the branches before continuing his march.

After ten minutes seated lazily admiring the views around him, Telli was about to descend and go on his way, when high pitched shrieks and the loud rustling of foliage warned him that he was not alone in the high branches. The sounds came rapidly towards him as he drew his knife, not knowing what to expect. A black figure came swinging through the trees, followed by others, and Telli was soon in the midst of a tribe of monkeys, jabbering and squealing as they jumped from branch to branch, each seeming to try and reach the highest point possible in the tall trees. The first to spot him shrieked a warning, but none seemed too concerned by his presence, concentrating instead on the ground below. He did not know this eastern species, but did know how monkeys behaved in the Elneside forest, and he scanned the ground beneath, realising that something much more dangerous than he must have scared them.

Paths infrequently used by man, such as the one Telli had been following, are often used for convenience by large animals. Coming along the narrow way from the direction he had arrived was the largest cat Telli had ever seen. He watched fascinated rather than afraid, as unlike his small brained, hysterical, jabbering cousins, he knew that he was safe from the animal, this being no tree climber. This was a camouflaged hunter of the night, a killer by stealth and strength, the loneliest cat and true King of them all, the great Tiger. Telli watched, eyes riveted, as the great beast strolled along the path, seeming slow, but actually moving at twice the walking speed of a man. He wished Brakis could be there to share the sight. There were no tiger west of the mountains, but they were legends from the past, and Telli knew his friend's love of other hunters such as the one below him.

The tiger passed on its way, not hunting, and uninterested in the creatures above. Telli recovered from his excitement and realised the animal had created a problem for him as he was headed the same way. He decided to continue by flying eastward, knowing that he must arrive at the river if he kept on in that direction, and preferring to leave the path to the tiger. Making steady progress for more than an hour, he halved the distance between himself and the river. He then made a mistake, perhaps becoming too careless with his flying, and failing to use the intense concentration needed to move safely by this means.

Telli landed clumsily on one foot in the fork between two branches, nearly falling to the ground, and twisting his foot in the process. It was painful, and he made a few short flights onwards before spying an attractive looking glade to one side. He decided to land there and take the time to bind up his sprained ankle. The distraction of the pain made him careless again, and he flew down to the centre of the clearing without his usual caution, landing on his one good foot, and stumbling to the ground. Picking himself up, he heard a loud, clear voice from behind.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot you dead! Don't move, don't dare to move. Hold your hands away from that knife. I'll shoot, I swear by the Gods, I will if you try anything, hobgoblin. Demon, take that bow slowly off your shoulder and throw it to the ground. Same with your goblin knife, foul creature, and hold your claws out away from your stinking corpse, or I'll dispatch you back to the underworld where you belong!" These commands were rattled off at a frantic speed, then a few seconds silence ensued, until Telli's weapons were lying on the ground a few feet away from him.

"Now turn slowly, hobgoblin, that I may see your foul face."

Telli obeyed, and was not too surprised, having heard plenty of her voice, to find himself facing a girl of about his own age, holding a bow fully drawn with the iron tipped arrow levelled at the height of his chest. Her left arm was trembling slightly, as it is not easy to hold a bow so bent for long. They looked each other up and down for a few tense seconds, which neither would ever forget. Telli was struck immediately by two things. Long red hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and bright green eyes stared into his, clearly visible ten feet away. Neither of these features existed in his race. Telli knew that the fear and tension in her voice, and the aggression in her behaviour were not the way she would normally behave to a stranger in the forest. She had just received the shock of her life. She had seen a boy flying. He broke the silence.

"I am afraid you must shoot me soon, or relax your bow arm. I can only hope you are too kind to choose the first."

"Do not try to bewitch me with words, goblin," she hissed between clenched teeth. "Kneel down quickly, or I shoot."

Telli obeyed once more, and she relaxed her hold on the bow and arrow, while still holding them in both hands.

"What are you, creature, a faerie, an elf, a devil disguised as a dirty boy? What are you?"

"Just a weary traveller, headed for Bhuin, who wishes to be allowed on his way."

"Oh! Oh! I have found a traveller who became so weary he started to fly through the air! Hobgoblin liar. Get up and walk ahead of me that way, and remember I shall shoot you with pleasure at the first sign of any faerie tricks."

Telli got up, and hobbled away along the faint path she had indicated. He knew he could easily attempt escape, by throwing himself quickly behind a tree and flying upwards for example, although he guessed by the way she held her bow that she was an experienced shot, and could certainly be dangerous with the weapon. His instincts also told him that she would be reluctant to shoot someone who had not actually harmed her or anyone else. All sane people share this reluctance. But he had no desire to escape, and felt no fear. His captor's voice at first, then her looks, seemed to have put a spell on him. He was happy to go with her wherever she asked. She could have thrown her weapons into the nearest ditch, and he would not have fled.

"Stop limping, you do not fool me." The voice behind him was still angry, and Telli stopped in his tracks.

"Move, goblin, move."

"I cannot obey, I cannot move without limping as I have a twisted foot."

"Foul liar. Limp on then if you must."

Telli moved on, in pain.

"I am not fooled, but pick up that stick beside you, so you can pretend to be lame properly," she said, after some minutes of slow progress. Telli did this, and continued in less discomfort and at better pace.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked over his shoulder.

"To my village, where there are strong men, who will no doubt hang a goblin invader of our woods."

"They will not believe me to be anything other than the boy I am," said Telli, causing a moment of thoughtful silence behind, then:

"I saw you fly, foul demon."

"Yes, I know that, and you know that, but others know that only mad people claim to see such things." Telli was starting to enjoy this, realising that he had made a good point. No one would believe her impossible story if he claimed merely to have jumped from the tree.

"Then I would be better advised to shoot you now, is that not so, my clever little hobgoblin."

"No, you have no need, and the Gods frown on those who kill the innocent, so in shooting me you would most certainly bring damnation on yourself. I have an idea that will please you more."

"You have an idea that will please me, vermin? That I doubt."

"I shall lay down, arms behind my back. You may then tie my wrists and arms as you wish, and this will save you from walking with your bow half drawn, and will save me the risk of being shot in the back should your fingers slip on the string."

"Foul devil of the netherworld, you wish me to come near you so as to wrestle my weapons away. Rather, stop and tie yourself up, and I shall check and finish the knots."

The girl hunter, for such she appeared to be, pulled a good length of rope from the bag she carried on her back and threw it to Telli. He made a noose that could be tightened easily and slipped it over his head and shoulders, explaining that she could lead him like a goat, and the noose would prevent him from moving his arms. He also asked if they could return to the clearing for his weapons, which she could now carry.

"I shall return for them tomorrow when you are hanging from the tree we use as a gibbet, with that noose round your neck instead of your chest."

Telli laughed, to her annoyance.

"March, demon, and quickly, or I'll take that stick from you and beat you with it."

They went on their way to her village, Telli walking ahead, strung on a lead for the second time in his travels, but feeling no threat as he had from the Khrelling.

The village proved to be on the river bank, and Telli found later that it was only an hour's walk upstream from Bhuin, which he was clearly not destined to reach that night. Captive and captor emerged from the forest, and the former followed directions to the nearest cottage of twenty or thirty he could see strung along the riverbank.

"Go in, goblin, and try no tricks or I shall call for help, and you will soon be swinging from a tree. I do not spare you out of kindness, but because I wish to know more of this faerie invasion of our lands. Sit here."

They had entered the cottage, and Telli sat on the large chair indicated. His captor then wrapped the rope round him, the back of the chair and its legs, and tied it in such a way that he could hardly move. He sat there, looking around him, not knowing whether to laugh or protest at this treatment. The girl closed the door, lit lamps and a fire that was already laid, then shuttered the only window of the one room cottage in spite of the warm summer's evening, as if wanting privacy. She then took a chair and placed it a few feet from Telli with its back towards him, straddling it the wrong way round with arms folded on the back-rest, and subjecting him to the piercing gaze of her bright green eyes for some time before speaking.

"You look like a boy, goblin, but I can see you are not a normal boy, and would be able to see that now even if I had not caught you practising your demonic magic in the forest. You were floating through the air, boy, so tell me how you come to do this. I am a witch, and you will be wise to remember this, for I shall know if you are lying."

Telli was taken aback by this speech, which would have sounded like childish fantasy from other lips. With those eyes staring unblinkingly into his, and the recent memory of the effect of her voice when he had first heard it in the forest glade, he was half inclined to believe all she said. He could hear Brakis's voice in his mind from the evening of Trina's wedding, now seeming so long ago. 'You have been discreet about your gift, or curse, or whatever it is; and you would do well to be even more so in the future, here or anywhere else you might find yourself.' Now a second person knew his secret. He looked at the pretty face opposite, much paler in complexion than all others he had seen on both sides of the mountains, with a few tiny dots across its small, slightly snubbed nose, and read what he could from it.

"Well? I give you time to explain yourself, not to sit there staring."

Telli followed his instincts, and decided he liked his sharp-tongued captor, and would tell her his whole story, simply because he wanted to, such was her effect on him.

"If you find my story true, and if you are persuaded I am not a creature of harm, will you promise to tell no-one my secret, what you witnessed in the woods?"

The green eyes considered this for a moment.

"Those are big ifs. What if not goblin!"

"Then my fate is in your hands, sweet witch!" This drew the ghost of a smile for the first time.

"It seems fair enough. Now tell, foul necromancer in a boy's body, what you really are and what is your business."

Telli told his story, and told it well, starting with a brief history of Elneside, giving detail on the discovery of his ability to fly, taking her on his voyage under and over the White Mountains, and finishing at the point when she had surprised him that afternoon. It took him the best part of an hour, during which time the hypnotic eyes remained fixed on his face, and he was not interrupted even once. When he had finished, she surprised him again with her first question.

"Do hobgoblins eat?"

"This one does when he can." Telli realised he was hungry and tired, and his ankle was hurting. She seemed to have been thinking along the same lines as she prepared some food in silence, putting it in a pot over the fire, because she came to him suddenly and firmly but gently removed his left boot. Still without speaking, she examined his ankle, then brought over a small stool and cushion, resting his leg comfortably on it. She then made up another small pot and set it on the fire beside the first. Telli was also silent, looking round the simple but orderly room, and somehow spellbound watching her work. A witch indeed, he thought to himself.

It had been a good feeling to be able to tell his story without concealing anything. Telli had not been able to confide in anyone since he had left Brakis behind in the Khrelling valley. He remained silent now, feeling it was up to the girl to reveal more of her thoughts, although he was extremely curious to know what she would make of his tale. He watched as she left the house briefly to fill a large jar with water, and returned, scarcely giving him a glance, as if she assumed he would not now attempt to escape. If so, she was right. He was so intrigued with her that she would have had difficulty in ridding herself of his presence if she had untied him and begged him to leave.

Shortly after returning with the water, and seeming to have completed her chores for the evening, the girl returned her attention to Telli, coming to his chair suddenly and untying the ropes that bound him to it.

"Do not fly away until I have treated that foot," she said, going to the fire for the smaller pot, which gave off a pleasant odour of herbs as she set it on the floor by the footstool. She took Telli's swollen foot in both hands and moved it around, watching his face for reactions.

"I see even goblins feel pain," she said, smiling broadly at him as he winced, her face transformed, the anger and suspicion suddenly gone. "It is badly sprained but not broken. You will be limping with a stick for a few days when you walk. Less of a problem for you than for mere earthbound mortals like the rest of us." She bathed his ankle in the sweet smelling preparation, then held it firmly in both hands for a full minute, seeming lost in concentration. Towards the end of the time, Telli felt a warmth in the skin under her hands, which then seemed to flow through the muscle, bone and blood of the whole foot. The pain receded fast, and Telli imagined he could feel wellbeing spreading up his left leg and through his whole body. As she bandaged his ankle tightly, he broke the silence to thank her.

"I have turned ankles a few times in the past, but have never felt the pain leave so quickly. You are indeed a worker of magic."

"Oh yes, as I told you for some strange reason, because I tell no others, I am a witch." The green eyes met Telli's with complete sincerity. "Now we should eat. There is no fresh meat as I was interrupted in my hunting."

They ate the soup of vegetables in silence, Telli still seated with his leg up, and she at a table across the room. Telli had noticed that there were two beds in alcoves on either side of the fireplace, but only one seemed to be in use, and there was no sign of any clothing excepting articles of a size to fit the girl. When they had finished eating, and she had poured them both a glass of red wine, he asked if she lived alone in the house.

"Yes, it was my grandmother's. She died three years ago. But I shall not be alone now, as you will be staying for a few days."

"I will?" She had surprised Telli again.

"Yes. Not because you are my prisoner, as that is no longer the case, and not really because of your foot, although it does need rest. You will stay because you want to."

Telli concealed his astonishment at this last statement. He found conversation with this girl like being hit over the head gently by unexpected words, and managed only to reply once again, "I will?"

"Goblin, you are disguised as a boy, not a parrot bird that must repeat iwill iwill iwill all evening. Not only will you, but you know you will."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. I shall have to leave you now for a while, as there is an old man sick in the village and I must see what I can do for him, although he is very old and I fear that his future will soon be in the hands of the Gods rather than mine. Do not fear, I shall tell no one of your presence. I do not wish you to hang yet as I look forward to telling you my story tomorrow." She took a deerskin jacket from a hook by the door, and left Telli struggling to digest her last words.