That evening he climbed another tree, and this time the three-peaked mountain stood out unmistakably. When he described it to Riyannah, she almost danced with delight.

«That has to be Mount Grolin!» she said. «There's nothing else like it. If you can see what you've seen, we'll be there the day after tomorrow!»

Riyannah was right. They hadn't gone far on the fourth day before the trees began to thin out. By noon they had the three snowcapped peaks of Mount Grolin continuously in sight. By mid-afternoon they were out on the bare mountainside, with nothing growing around them but wiry grass and gray-blue lichens. If the spaceship was much higher, they'd have to spend a night in the open without the warm clothing they'd need.

At least the ground ahead offered plenty of cover. It was rugged and scarred, with enough boulders and ravines to hide a small army. It would be rough going, but it would also take a lot of luck for a pilot to spot them.

They spent the night huddled in the shelter of a boulder. Blade stuffed handfuls of lichen into their boots for extra insulation, and somehow they managed to not only survive but even sleep. They both woke feeling stiff, half numb, and generally wretched, but the first few hundred yards of climbing thawed them out and limbered them up.

A mile farther on, they spotted the enemy camp.

Fortunately they spotted it from a particularly rugged stretch of mountainside, one where Blade would have been glad to have some climbing gear. Taking off his pack and boots he crawled silently forward until he could get a good look at the camp. Then he returned to Riyannah.

«It could be worse. I saw only one complete shelter. They must still be setting the camp up. I don't think there will be more than twenty soldiers.»

Riyannah tried to smile, not very successfully. «Do you think this camp means they've found the ship?»