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embraced him warmly. "No, Eriond," she told him, "I don't mind at all."
    "Just exactly what is the task UL set for you?" Belgarath asked.
    "He said that I'd recognize it when I came to it."
    "Is that all he said about it?"
    "He said that it was very important and that it was going to change me."
    Belgarath shook his head. "Why does everything always have to be in riddles?" he complained.
    "It's another one of those rules Garion mentioned," Silk told him, refilling his goblet from one of the flagons. "Well, what next, old man?"
    Belgarath thought about it, tugging at an earlobe and looking up at one of the faintly glowing lamps. "I think it's fairly safe to say that this meeting was the thing that was supposed to happen here at Prolgu," he said, "so I expect that it's time for us to move along. It might not hurt for us to get where we're going a little early, but I'm positive that it's going to be a disaster if we get there late." He rose from his seat and put his hand on the Gorim's frail shoulder. "I'll try to get word to you from time to time," he promised. "Could you ask some of your people to lead us through the caves to Arendia? I want to get out into the open as soon as possible."
    "Of course, my old friend," the Gorim replied, "and may UL guide your steps."
    "I hope somebody does," Silk murmured.
    Belgarath gave him a hard look.
    "It's all right, Belgarath," Silk said expansively. "The fact that you get lost all the time doesn't diminish our respect for you in the slightest. I'm sure it's just a bad habit you picked up somewhere—probably because your mind was on weightier matters."
    Belgarath looked at Garion. "Did we really have to bring him along.?"
    "Yes, Grandfather, we really did."
    It was shortly after sunrise two days later when they reached the irregularly shaped cave mouth that opened out into a birch forest. The white trees lifted their bare limbs toward an intensely blue sky, and fallen leaves covered the ground with a carpet of gold. The Ulgos who had guided them through the caves winced visibly and drew back from the sunlight. They murmured a few words to Belgarath, he thanked them, and then they retreated back into the protective darkness.
    "You have absolutely no idea how much better I feel now," Silk said with relief as he emerged from the cave and looked around at the frosty morning sunlight. Here and there back among the trees were patches of frozen snow, crusty and sparkling in the slanting rays of the morning sun; somewhere off to the left, they could hear the rush and babble of a mountain brook tumbling over stones.
    "Have you any notion of exactly where we are?" Durnik asked Belgarath as they rode out into the birch trees.
    The old man squinted back over his shoulder, gauging the angle of the new-risen sun. "My guess is that we're in the foothills above central Arendia," he replied.
    "South of the lower end of the Arendish forest?" Silk asked.
    "That's hard to say for sure."
    The little Drasnian looked around. "I'd better take a look," he said. He pointed at a hill rising out of the forest. "I might be able to see something from up there."
    "And I think some breakfast might be in order," Polgara said. "Let's find a clear spot and build a fire."
    "I won't be too long," Silk said, turning his horse and riding off through the white trunks of the birches.
    The rest of them rode on down the slope, the hooves of their horses rustling the deep-piled carpet of golden leaves. Several hundred yards into the forest, they reached a clearing on the banks of the brook they had heard when they had emerged from the cave. Polgara drew in her horse. "This should do," she decided. "Garion, why don't you and Eriond gather some firewood? I think some bacon and toasted bread might be nice."
    "Yes, Aunt Pol," he said automatically, swinging down from his saddle. Eriond joined him, and the two of them went back in among the white trees in search of fallen limbs.
    "It's pleasant being back out in the sunlight again,"