Thorat frowned. “I can’t find any sign of Ferrent. He should have gotten here by now.”
“Would he be able to find us?” Eppie asked.
“He should be able to. I think it’s time for me to go into the town and see if I can learn anything more.” He took hung his sword on one of the boughs of the rhododendron. “Stay here and guard this,” he said. “I should be back by sundown.”
§
Thorat went into the village with only his short dagger bound beneath his tunic, out of sight. He had no intention of using it, but he was used to carrying it, and it made him feel a little more at ease. Outside the Anamat valley, small villages in Theranis were suspicious of strangers passing through, as they should be, with the Cereans looking for dragon gems to steal and bandits darting in from the mountains.
The wo
