You're setting a hard pace. It took you nearly a month to get to Suld the first time.

"I don't have much choice," he told her. "Besides, I wandered around alot the first time. This time I'm going to go straight."

Are you sure you can hold that pace?

"I'm sure of it, Mother," he said confidently. "I'll beat the ki'zadun to Suld, even if I have to cheat. If it looks like I'm not going to make it in time, I'll have my Elemental fly me the rest of the way."

It's not cheating, kitten, the Goddess laughed. I've put you on the ground because there were things that you have to do, things you have to see. Surely you understand now why I sent you through the desert?

"Yes, Mother, I do," he replied honestly. "And thank you."

What kind of mother would I be if I didn't help my children grow and mature? she asked in a light voice. Well, you're not done with your journey of discovery yet, my kitten. There are more things you need to see, more things you need to experience. When you've seen what I've wanted you to see on this journey, you can reach Suld in any way you desire.

"When will that be?"

When the time comes, my kitten, you will know, she said to him gently.

"I'm not there yet," he said grimly. "I guess I'll just have to bull my way through to the Frontier. There are a heap of Trolls around here, and I've been moving carefully to avoid them."

Do whatever you think best, my kitten.

"You seem unworried."

She laughed in his mind, a cascade of silvery bells. I stopped worrying about your safety a long time ago, kitten, she admitted. I've come to discover that you're safer on the road and in the wilderness than you are just about anywhere else.

"You're probably right," he admitted after a moment of thought. "How is Sarraya doing? And Var and Denai?"

Sarraya is about two days ahead of you now, the Goddess told him. She's flying straight to her colony, which isn't far from the border with Arkis. Var and Denai have passed through the Sandshield with Var's clan. They're about three days behind you, and since you've been moving slowly, they're catching up.

"I think they'll make it in time," Tarrin pondered. "They can move nearly as fast as I can. So long as Sarraya clears the way for them through the Frontier, they'll be able to get to Suld unmolested."

Sarraya thought about that, the Goddess said to him. She intends to join Var and Denai after meeting with the Druids, to serve as a guide for them.

"She's doing the right thing," Tarrin agreed. "Wait a minute. How did the Selani get through the mountains so fast?" Tarrin asked. "It took me three days, and I was flying. And they were days behind me before I left."

They didn't go over them, kitten, they went under them, she replied. There are caves and passages through the mountains that most common Selani don't know about, caves that they wouldn't even show you , which make it very easy for them to pass into Arkis. They keep them secret in case they have to invade and attack Arkis. And as to why they're catching up, it may have to do with the fact that they're running about eighteen to twenty hours a day. Kitten, even you have underestimated the endurance and the mobility of the Selani. They can move faster over land than any other race. When you left the desert, they were only four days behind you. While you've been walking and hiding and wandering around, they've been steadily running forwards, in very nearly a straight line. They will run until they reach Suld, almost nonstop.

Tarrin had to agree with her on that one.

And, might I add, that those three days you took through the mountains were mostly spent just flying in circles, the Goddess said with an amused edge of accusation in her voice. You could have gotten over the mountains in one day, if you'd not kept flying back and forth looking for passes. Why didn't you just go up and over them? If you'd have done that, you'd have been over the mountains by sunset.

Tarrin had no good answer for that.

I know, kitten. You were just having too much fun, weren't you? You dragged it out, just for the excuse to fly.

Tarrin bowed his head in embarassed shame. Had he been in another form, he would have blushed.

No need to feel that way, kitten, the Goddess laughed. I'm glad you took your time. You needed some quiet time to yourself, a few days of rest. Even you need a day off now and then.

"Well, now it's costing me. If I'd have gone faster in the desert, if I would have flown straight over the mountains, I'd be in the Frontier right now, maybe even just outside Sulasia."

As long as you get there first, it doesn't matter how long it took to get there, she told him confidently. I have to go now, kitten. I've delivered Keritanima's message and served my children for today, but I do have other things to do.

"Thank you, Mother."

Any time, my kitten. Good journey.

And then she withdrew from him.

Tarrin looked down at the farmstead, knowing that he didn't have time to sit here and wait anymore. The news that the passes were melting was a thorn in his tail now, a constant reminder that the time he'd frivilously wasted both in the Sandshield and moving across Arkis mattered. He had to push himself as hard as the Selani now, or they'd actually pass him.

He had no more time to play or watch or rest. Now came the serious business of getting himself to Suld as quickly as possible, because now that the passes were melting, he knew that he had a solid line drawn in the sand ahead. He had to reach that line before his enemies did, and he had no more time to dawdle.

It was time to move.

Tarrin stood up, looking down into the farmstead, then he turned away to get down out of the hayloft. He would have enjoyed more time with this nameless family, watching them and sharing in their togetherness, at least from the fringes of it, but he simply had no more time. A few short jumps brought him down to the ground, and he padded quickly past several other cats towards the door. The other cats rose up to a sitting position as he went by, a signal of respect, but they didn't bother him. They could tell that he was in no mood for pleasantries or introductions. They knew what he was, and that made them obey his wishes.

By the time he got outside, however, everything was different. Crazy. The family was running around, and a few of the women and children were screaming. The men were running into the houses, and two of them were already outside holding a pitchfork and an old, slightly rusty sword. Tarrin stopped to try to figure out what was going on, but one of the older men answered him.

"Get the women and children into the storm cellar!" he called authoritatively. "Those monsters can't be more than a few minutes behind us!"

Monsters? The Trolls. He remembered, they didn't know their names, so they called them monsters. The Trolls were attacking this farmstead?

Tarrin looked around, then he saw them. Just between the barn and the stable, a goodly distance off, about twenty of them lumbering along in that deceptively fast gait, clubs and old axes and a few polearms in hands.

Tarrin paused. He had told himself that he didn't care about the fires burning in the distance… and in a way, he didn't. He didn't know those people, didn't see them, didn't really care what happened to nameless strangers. But this family, this family he knew. He didn't know their names or their personalities or their histories, but he had seen enough to know that they were a family, they were people that had accepted him into their farm, if only for a day, if only because they didn't understand what he was. He wasn't about to let those Trolls destroy this place.

Twenty. Too many to fight paw to hand, even for him. But there weren't enough of them to get past his Sorcery.

Loping out to the outside edge of the compound of buildings, Tarrin sat down and centered himself. He had never tried to use Sorcery in cat form before-at least not consciously-but he knew that it could be done. He didn't want to change form and alert them to his presence. He wanted them to keep coming, thinking that they were about to sack a farm full of defenseless humans. He wanted them to keep that overconfidence going until it was too late.