She clicked to her horse, but it hesitated and whin-nied softly. Frowning slightly, Sylvriss cast around again for some sign of danger that had escaped her first inspection.

Then a distant, rapid movement caught her eye. Before she could identify it, her horse began trembling as if remembering again its recent fear. She whispered to it soothingly and slowly backed it into the shade of the trees where she could watch without being seen.

The movement became clearer. It was a rider, travel-ling away from the City. Suddenly Sylvriss caught her breath, and her horse shifted uneasily beneath her. Even at this distance she could feel waves of terror moving before the approaching figure. What had happened in the City? came the question yet again, but it was lost almost immediately as she saw that the rider was not simply travelling quickly, he was plunging along the road at a speed that must surely bring both him and his horse to destruction very soon.

The realization cleared Sylvriss’s vision abruptly and the totality of the scene below swept over her. The horse was not carrying one person, but two. Its rider was a large, solid-looking man, but across its neck dangled a second, black clad figure, seemingly uncon-scious. And it was no ordinary horse. It was a great black stallion amp;mdasha Muster horse! And a magnificent one at that. There were few Muster horses in Fyorlund, and none the like of that she was sure. Further, it was not being ridden, it was carrying its charges!

Questions overwhelmed her, but she dashed them aside. It was a rare man that such a horse would carry in that fashion.