Without further word, she turned and strode northward out of the campsite. Rejji turned and looked at Brontos as the merchant was hitching his horses to the wagon and then he scampered after Mistake. As he caught up to Mistake he reached out to grab her to get her to stop and explain what was going on. His hand felt her muscular arm, but as it did, she leaped sideways so quickly that Rejji’s eyes could not follow her movements. She stood several paces away and faced him with her hands on her hips.

“Brontos is not good at farewells,” explained Mistake. “It is easier on him if we just go quickly. Besides, we have a long trek ahead of us.”

“What did he whisper to you?” questioned Rejji.

“He said to take care of you,” smiled the thief. “I believe he is quite fond of you. In fact, I would wager he loses a fair amount of gold on those teeth you sold him.”

Rejji shook his head and turned to look back towards the campsite. The merchant’s wagon was gone. Mistake turned and started northward again and Rejji put the merchant out of mind and caught up to her.

They crossed the ford as the first rays of sunshine sprayed over the land. As they continued north away from the stream, the short scraggly trees and small brush began to disappear. Within a few hours, the landscape was barren. There was not a plant or weed in sight. The soil was like baked clay occasionally broken by gullies caused by torrents of water that had existed at sometime in the past.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the temperature rose significantly and soon they both were drenched with perspiration. As the sun reached its zenith, Mistake halted. She raised a hand to her eyes and looked in each direction before sitting down on the baked soil.

“A little shade would have been nice,” she grumbled. “We should take a bite to eat though or our bodies will suffer for it.”