They rode slowly for over an hour with Syman in the lead before Antello returned and indicated that he had found another trail. The group left the main trail and followed Antello. Their cross-country journey was easy at first, but soon they were riding through scratchy bushes with thorns and barbs. The barbs reached out to snare their clothes and scratch their arms, but it was the noise of the journey that bothered them the most. If anyone were listening, the sounds of their journey would certainly be heard. Finally, they broke free of the bushes and found a narrow trail. Antello halted as he reached the trail and listened intently for any sounds that didn’t belong. Only the morning chirping of birds and the gurgle of a distant waterfall disturbed the woodlands and Antello led the small group southward in single file.

It was impossible to talk while riding single file and still remain quiet, so everyone was left to their own thoughts for the remainder of the morning. Lyra had a lot of questions without answers and thinking of them only frustrated her. Instead, she let her mind drift back to her magic lessons and started looking at what she had been taught in a different light. She had always hated the lessons because she saw no reason for the magic. Walak was right about one thing; the lessons were boring and useless. Still, she had never thought of being in her present position and now she started seeing uses for some of the spells that she thought were useless, like starting a fire without a tinderbox. That lesson had seemed pointless while living in a castle where the corridors were lined with burning torches.

She started looking at each spell in a new light. Fetching a small object could become handy if they were hiding and couldn’t move. Making a noise emanate from a distance could be a good distraction and sending a scent upon the wind could be used to lead tracking dogs astray. Smiling to herself, she began to find dozens of uses for the spells she had learned. Mentally, she cataloged each spell and thought of ways they could be utilized. Still she wished she had learned some offensive magic and her hand instinctively patted her saddle sack as she thought of the books she would read as soon as she got the chance.