Dark agreed. At night, his blindness would be less a handicap.

A day later, Dark sat with his comrades for the evening meal. They sounded more hopeful than they had the previous night, and Dark knew his decision had been the right one. By leaving, he told them that no matter how defeated they were, they could still resist the Obour family. By leaving, he gave them hope.

Two of Renze's band took Chardin and Dark as close to the border as they dared to go, then left them. Soon after, Dark heard horses galloping down the road; soldiers, no doubt, since commoners had no mounts and nobles would not be abroad during the uprising. Chardin pulled him into a stand of tall grasses and as they had agreed, hid some distance away from him. The soldiers went past, Chardin later reported to Dark, without even glancing in their direction. ^UA hopeful sign," she said.

Dark only shrugged. The real danger would come soon, when they entered the border zone, where the baron's patrols watched for those trying to flee Kislova.

Because of Dark's wounds, they'd chosen a dangerous spot for crossing-a high alpine meadow of tall grasses and low stands of rock that sloped gently down to the border. Their buff-colored cloaks would blend with the land. Falling flat before a patrol spotted them, they might pass for rocks or bare spots in the grass, or so they hoped. They also hoped that, by picking such an open spot for crossing, they might encounter fewer patrols.

As Dark traveled, he considered Baron Janosk's last words to him. "Tell your men that they fought well, but the fighting is over. Tell them to go home to their families and their fields, or they'll starve this winter. Tell them that my soldiers will be in Pirie and Tygelt and throughout the lands around the villages to help them." The baron had chuckled and added, "Tell them as best you can. An ingenious man such as you will find a way."