They remained perfectly still, not daring to breathe until the bandits were a good distanceaway.
“If they do know, they will be prepared for us,” Yarim said. “We will have to be especially cautious as weapproach.”
“It is a good thing that we are wearing different faces,” Calrain said. “No doubt they are looking for our realguises.”
Tariel changed their appearances yet again before they moved on, turning herself into an old man, Yarim into her younger son, and Calrain into a youth. If they were looking for a witch, it would be best not to travel as a woman. At least the bandits thought they were a group of four, which would throw them off a little since Riann wasn’t with them. The fact that he was already a prisoner of the bandits was ratherironic.
Eventually, they came to a sheer rock face that seemed to go on for miles, the natural limestone overgrown with ferns and other plants. Tariel sensed in her bones that the entrance to the valley was somewhere around here, but no matter how far they rode in either direction, they could not findit.
“There must be a strong illusion over this place, like Zolotais said,” Calrain said. “Perhaps you can use your magic, like she suggested, to penetrateit?”
Tariel was about to try when two burly men carrying wood-cutter axes approached. They made angry gestures at them, and Tariel could guess at the meaning of their angry words even though she could not understand thelanguage.
“I’m sorry,” she said in the Common Tongue, “but I don’t understand Carlissian. Is there aproblem?”
The men exchanged glances. “You are trespassing,” the one on the leftgrowled,
jabbing a finger in their direction. “What are you doing in theseparts?”
The back of Tariel’s neck prickled with warning again. “My sons and I are a bit lost, I’m afraid,” she answered in a deep voice. “We are trying to reachSalanis.”
“You are far off course for travelers headed to the capital,” the second woodcutter growled, hefting his ax. “The penalty for trespassing on these lands isdeath.”
Tariel opened her mouth to say something, but Calrain hurled a knife through the air. The blade embedded itself in the woodcutter’s throat, and he dropped his ax, clutching at the hilt of the blade. His blood gurgled in his throat as he collapsed to the ground, and the other woodcutter yelled in rage, lunging forCalrain.
“No!” Tariel cried, using her magic to fling him back. Yarim jumped off his horse and drove his scimitar through the man’s stomach before he could get up. Tariel shuddered as the two woodcutters bled out in the grass, watching as Yarim searchedthem.
“Bandits,” he snarled, pulling a green and black cloth from one of the woodcutter’s pockets. “Likelyguards.”
“They will be missed sooner or later,” Calrain said in a worried voice. “I imagine there’s a change of shift at least twice a day. And there will be more guards on the otherside.”
They followed the bandit tracks back to the wall, and after some pawing around, Tariel discovered a hidden entrance—a narrow passage in the stone cloaked by magic, as well as real ferns that grew around either side of the stone wall. It was just wide enough for them to squeeze through with their horses, but they would have to go single file, which would put them at a disadvantage to anyone who might be waitingbeyond.
“We cannot go through the passage as we are now,” Calrain said. “We will be killed on sight. And we cannot just keep going around and killing guards—that will draw far too muchattention.”
“Can we disguise ourselves as the woodcutters?” Yarim asked. “I can pass off a Carlissian accent reasonablywell.”
“Perhaps, but I cannot, and I doubt Calrain is so talented either,” Tariel pointed out. “And we will be expected to speak the native language, which we do not know either. Even if we look the part, I fear we may bediscovered.”
“That is a good point,” Calrainsaid.
“What if you disguised yourself as an animal?” Zolotais asked, popping out of the abacus. “Usually only the strongest mages can manage it, as you’ll not only have to convince them that they’re seeing a dog, but smelling and feeling one too, but your talent with illusion magic should help you carry itoff.”
“Will that really work?” Calrain asked, sounding doubtful. “Our encounter with the miller and his wife has proven that magic affects people differently, and the bandits do have a witch. Won’t she see through thedeception?”
“Illusion magic works just as well on mages as anyone else,” Zolotais said, sounding unconcerned. “So long as the witch does not suspect, and thus look closer, Tariel should have noissue.”
“I’m not sure I can manage such a deep illusion,” Tariel said, “and even if I could, I don’t think I could convincingly maintain it between the three of us. I would have to go inalone.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Yarim said. “You are very handy with your magic, but you have no battle training. What will you do if the bandits find out who youare?”
“Hopefully by that point, you will have freed Riann, and the two of you can escape together,” Zolotais said. “But ideally, you should avoid detection. Why don’t you practice on one of your men first, to see if you can doit?”
“All right.” Tariel turned to Yarim and Calrain. “Which one of you would like tovolunteer?”
“I’ll do it,” Calrain said, stepping forward. “Just…change me into something dignified, at least. I don’t want to be a rabbit, or amole.”
Tariel laughed. “I’m going to try something a bit closer to your size,” she said, lifting her hands. Concentrating, she called upon her magic, and wove it around Calrain. She held a picture of a young buck in her mind’s eye, and within seconds, it flickered to life, giving Calrain an extra two feet of height. But this time, she went further, imagining the texture of his fur, the coldness of his nose, and the sharp, pointed tips of the antlers branching out from his greathead.
