'They went north.' Velindre looked up the dry stream.

'Away from that wild mage with the skull mask.' Risala

turned her attention towards the black and brown trees clustered thickly on the opposite bank. 'I'm not anxious to go into that forest, Kheda, not if those birds are there.'

'Then we'll go and see if we can find the people who went upstream from here.' Kheda grinned as both wizards' faces betrayed their surprise at this change of plan. 'A wise leader always listens to those following him.' He pointed to the far bank. 'But we'll use those trees for cover. We're not going to walk up the middle of this watercourse.'

Risala looked at him with a smile in her eyes. 'As you command, my lord.'

They moved on and Kheda tried to curb his exasperation with Naldeth's halting progress. Once they were safely within the trees on the far side of the stream bed, he allowed a halt.

The young wizard evidently read something in Kheda's expression. 'If you want me moving any faster, I'll need to use more magic,' he said tightly.

'I'll try to find a path that won't be too taxing.' Kheda tried not to sound curt.

That proved easier said than done and it was an awkward task keeping close enough to the edge of the trees to see the dry stream clearly without drawing too near to the fractured lip of the bank. High above, unseen birds bickered. Now and again one squawked a peremptory warning and Kheda froze. When the idle chatter in the treetops resumed, he moved on, each time with his heart beating a little faster. The dry valley curved around a shallow bend and as soon as he got a good view of what lay beyond, Kheda stopped.

'Not all these savages live in caves.'

Back on the western bank that they had just left behind them, below another of the irregular outcrops where the rocks of this harsh land broke through the meagre soil, the

thickly buttressed trees had been claimed by the wild men. Underbrush and lesser saplings had been cleared and platforms built around the sturdiest trunks, supported by branches forced into compliance with thick plaited ropes. Crude sheaves of dry leaves showed up brown among the green, tied to cast shade, while hanging hides foiled draughts, though the dwellings could hardly be called huts. Wild men and women were moving peaceably around the wide bases of the trees with no thought that they might be observed.

'Do you suppose these people have a wizard to call on?' Risala studied them.

'We'll have to wait and see,' said Velindre, her eyes keen.

Are these allies of those cave-dwellers to the east of here? Or does this dry valley mark some boundary? Whose territory are we in? Does it make any difference?

Kheda looked up and down the bank of the stream where they stood, searching for a safe place to hide and keep watch on those new wild men without risk of being seen. A wide-boled tree whose drooping branches were thick with coppery leaves caught his eye. Cautiously, he pushed aside the dangling foliage to find a bare circle of richly scented earth within the curtain of branches. There were no snakes immediately apparent or burrows where some venomous creature might be lurking.

'In here.' He beckoned the others into this opportune hiding place.

'What now?' Naldeth sat down in the aromatic shadows wilh palpable relief.

'Concentrate on your element.' Velindre moved to get a better view across the dry stream. 'We should be able to sense if there are any mageborn over there.'

The wizards sat still in remote contemplation. Risala edged across the ground to join Kheda. Sitting cross-legged,

she delved inside the leather sack she was carrying and offered him stale sailer flatbread and a piece of dried turtle meat.

'What do you suppose those wild men are eating?' Kheda whispered as he chewed the leathery flesh.

'Something substantial given the size of that hearth.' Risala dripped a little water from her flask onto the sailer bread to make it more palatable.

Time passed tediously slowly as they watched the savages piling dry branches into a hollow dug just above the edge of the stream bed. The substantial stones ringing the pit were blackened with use. With some agreement presumably reached that the pile was big enough, a handful of dark-skinned men in leather loincloths huddled to one side. A sharp rapping noise echoed across the emptiness and after another interlude, pale-grey smoke showed that a fire had been kindled.

'Just a natural flame.' Naldeth stirred to answer before anyone could ask. 'Struck from flint and fool's gold,' he commented with some interest.

The huddle broke up as the wild men carried smoking bundles of tinder and poked them into different places around the edge of the pit. The smoke thickened and darkened and drew together into a single column. Dry wood crackled and split and the first true flames flickered to life. Children appeared to fling bundles of sticks onto the fire. As the blaze rose to a brilliant scar against the darkness of the trees behind, the men shooed the children away. They chased each other around the tree trunks with shouts and laughter that echoed along the dry valley.

The men sat around the fire, watching as the dry wood burned down to a bed of glowing embers. From time to time, women in scanty leather wraps emerged from the shadows beneath the platforms rigged in the trees. They consulted with the seated men before disappearing once

more. Finally, the men rose to fetch sticks and raked aside the ashes and stones that had been soaking up the heat of the fire.

The women reappeared in twos and threes. Some held dripping lumps of meat or ungainly burdens wrapped in thick green leaves. Others carried gourds and lengths of stout vine plugged at each end with twisted tufts of foliage. The meat hissed as it was tossed into the middle of the hot stones, while everything else was set carefully in the ring of embers. The fickle breeze carried the taste of roasting meat to taunt the unseen watchers beneath the all-enveloping tree.

If they have no metal for weapons, they certainly wouldn 't have it for fire irons or cook pots.

Hunger stirred by the appetising odours, Kheda was trying to estimate how long the food might take to cook when Risala clutched at his arm.

'Look,' she breathed.

Kheda followed her pointing finger to see a familiar figure leading a sizeable contingent of savages up the dry stream bed. It was the wild mage with the cloak of feathers and the mask fashioned from a skull.

'Don't so much as stir your element,' Velindre warned Naldeth tensely.

Kheda noted that the women with feathers in their hair were walking a few paces behind the wild mage. The three mageborn were surrounded by warriors carrying spears of fire-hardened wood and clubs studded with chips of black stone that caught the light.

'Do you suppose he goes to find the source of any fire?' Risala wondered almost inaudibly.

'These people show no sign of fearing attack.' Kheda tried to make sense of this mystery. 'Perhaps this skull-faced wizard is a newcomer to the area.'

'I can feel something stirring the earth.' Naldeth tugged

at the cord that bent the knee of his metal leg so he could kneel upright, looking down at the ground.

'I think that old man might object if this skull-faced mage has come to claim his little valley.' Velindre stiffened like a matia catching a threatening scent.

A grey-haired wild man emerged from the shadows beneath the mighty trees. He wore a loincloth like all the rest and a hide cloak slung around his bony shoulders. The skin was pale on the inside and when the old savage turned to face the approaching wild wizard, Kheda saw that the outer side was brilliant with intricate patterns of sewn beads. As other men and women gathered a few paces behind the grey-haired wizard, he noted that many of them wore necklaces of coloured beads while some of the children had strings of polished stones knotted around their waists.