“Alamar?” quizzed Walak. “Why on earth would you go to Alamar? That is on the other side of the country. We should just find the nearest Imperial Guard and tell them what happened and then go home.”

“You are free to go where you want to, Walak,” stated Lyra, “but I must go to Alamar. There is nothing the Imperial Guard can do for those at the Academy now and I have nowhere else to go but to my Uncle Temiker. I promised Rhodella that I would, so I will.”

“You are welcome to ride with us for as long as it suits you, Walak,” Syman added. “We have enough provisions for the four of us. Whatever your decision, we should be moving along now. We have wasted too much time already and I think the raiders will check this trail sooner or later. We should be well gone when they do.”

Walak looked around nervously as the others mounted their horses and quickly joined them. “Well, you are going in the same direction,” he feebly stated. “I think I will ride with you for a while.”

Antello took the lead as the four students rode quietly down the forest trail, each lost in his own thoughts of the events of the morning. Several hours later, Antello paused briefly as the trail split. Lyra directed him to take the left fork towards the village and they continued on in silence. Lyra remembered her vow to anticipate and plan and starting visualizing the small village. She recalled that the raiders said they were going to the village and she did not intend to stumble into them. Silently, she pictured where the trail would enter the village and thought about how they could tell if the raiders were still there. Finally, she whistled softly and when she had Antello’s attention, she signaled for him to stop.

“I am concerned about raiders in the village,” she explained. “I want to stop before we get to the village so we don’t stumble into a trap. There is a farm a short distance before the village. I want to stop there and talk to Aguara, the farmer, but I also want to check out his farm before we are seen. Let me lead for a while.”