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eruptions'. This must be it."
      I didn't like the way his fingers were twitching around the hilt of his sword.
      I went on quickly, "You've been a huge help. I'll make sure to mention that to Moaradrid and skim lightly over how obstructive you were earlier."
      I bounded to the flap and ducked under it before he could decide that chopping my head off might be worth the subsequent aggravation.
      "Look, Saltlick," I cried, "we found the medicine. Your agonies will be over in just a minute."
      I heard the tent flap rustle as my watchdog came out behind me. I darted towards Saltlick, who was where I'd left him, thankfully, still kneeling on his colossal haunches.
      With his bulk between the guards and me, I made a noisy show of emptying the contents of the flask into the mud, calling, "Just a dash, old friend, this has to go round your companions as well."
      I pocketed the bottle, leaped up, and hauled myself back to my perch upon his shoulder. I was gratified to find that both guards had resumed their posts and were glaring back at me. As long as they weren't trying to kill me, that was just fine.
      "Gentlemen," I shouted, "your help has been indispensable." To Saltlick I added, "Hurry, back up the hill."
      He did as instructed, and moments later we'd reached a point where other tents obscured the view between Moaradrid's pavilion and us. I let out a shuddering breath, and realised how terrified I'd been, how close I'd come to gambling my life away. It was worth it. Revenge and wealth both in one, and all for five minutes work! No one would take Easie Damasco lightly ever again, not now that I'd proven myself the greatest thief in all the lands.
      I knew our departure was long overdue. But I could feel the moneybag bulging against my stomach, and what difference could a few seconds more make? A glance around told me that neither the main force nor Moaradrid's guards were on our heels.
      I reached in and drew it out. It was satisfyingly weighty in my hand. I loosened the drawstring, pried wide the opening, gazed inside.
      I nearly choked.

CHAPTER 4
     
 
 
    I avoided looking in the pouch for the next few hours. Nothing was worth the way it made my heart palpitate.
      It would have been difficult, in any case. Saltlick pounded along the road for mile after mile, seemingly immune to fatigue or distraction, and I hung on for dear life, bemoaning the sore spots multiplying across my body and trying not to think about what was inside Moaradrid's moneybag.
      We passed alongside rice paddies at first, endless expanses of green rising out of mottled water. Farmers sloshed amongst their crops, old men with their wizened chests bare and women with sodden dresses scrunched around their thighs. Their skin was tanned to leather and regardless of sex they wore widebrimmed hats, leaving every face disguised by shadow. They hardly looked up at our passing, showing the traditional peasant aptitude for ignoring things that were none of their business.
      The rice fields began to peter out towards noon. We'd travelled mostly across the flat until then, with the road always within sight of the Casto Mara, flowing bloated and sluggish on our right. As we drew closer to the region called the Hunch, that wide offshoot of hillside that splits the whole eastern portion of the Castoval in two, the river began to drop out of sight. It would only be for a moment at first, when it was obscured by a turn; but the periods soon became longer, as our path took us further inland or the waters disappeared into a stretch of gully.
      I was glad to reach the Hunch. A man riding by on a giant was the kind of thing the locals would pick up on, however much they feigned disinterest, and there hadn't been a speck of cover amongst the paddies. While the lower slopes of the Hunch weren't much better, there were dips and rises on the top that would hide us. The more the day wore on, the more I was convinced we were in need of