Both Claire and Sonja insisted on at least preparing a meal for the men before they left again. The kitchen was noisy, and Ceallach was curious, so he sat politely aside to watch the two young women prepare a soup. Sonja was wearing a man's suit, stiff from disuse, out of lack of clothes that fit her, and it seemed altogether too garish for the earthy kitchen.

"Turnips, carrots, celery," she said, picking up each vegetable and turning them over in her hands. "Don't we have anything else?"

"There are potatoes in the pantry," Claire said.

"But all of that is...! I should go get something meatier. It'll only take an hour or two to rustle up something," Sonja turned around and started to head out.

"What are you going to hunt with?" Ceallach asked.

Sonja stopped, stared at her hands, looked about to groan, but instead buried her fingers into her hair and turned back to the soup pot.

"If they are traveling afterwards, something complex won't sit well with them. This should be perfect," Claire said, giving her master a small pat on the shoulder. "If you'd like to help, you can chop the vegetables with that knife over there."

The soup was chunky, with loosely-peeled carrots and potatoes, but it was warm and hearty regardless. While Claire was picking up the emptied bowls, Sonja asked, "You three are headed to the north, is that right?"

"Eventually, yes. Winter's Mouth, to be precise," Rowan said.

Sonja folded her hands together and put her chin on them, her expression even. "Could Claire and I come with you?"

Claire seemed about to drop the stack of bowls she was holding, but regained her composure a second later and swept herself into the kitchen.

She posed this question while looking at Ceallach, so he spoke first. "I...would like that, actually. Though wouldn't it cause some trouble?"

"I am not well-traveled, but I still have some of my father's fortune. If money is an issue, then -"

Ark tilted his head. "That is fine, and appreciated, even. As long as the two of you don't hinder our progress too much. I am also concerned about the length of the journey for you both..."

Ceallach frowned. "I was thinking about the Keep. Who will mind it if both Sonja and Claire leave?"

"Heh! If that's what's preventing us from coming along, you don't need to worry about that," Sonja folded her arms and smiled to herself. "Is it decided, then?"

Rowan shrugged, though Ark did not seem to notice or care. The angel mirrored Sonja's smile. "Your company would be appreciated in our envoy."

A little squeak came from the kitchen.

----

Sonja reinforced the locks on the front and back gates and sprinkled some seeds in front of the doors. "Snare vines," she explained. "They'll look like regular growths of ivy - so someone will think this is just some abandoned, overgrown keep, but if they try to get in, swipe! They'll have plenty of time hanging out to change their mind!" Then they were off.

With its new additions, the celestial envoy commanded more respect than ever - not only was an angel heading the group, but a noble was among them. Because of her form of dress, strangers often referred to Sonja as a young man or master, which she seemed ambivalent about correcting. Rather, she seemed amused by it.

"I for one appreciate the fact we always seem get the biggest room, don't you think -- good heavens! Claire!" Sonja said, leaning over a wooden dresser next to the bed in the inn. "There's so much dust here! Who takes care of these rooms?"

"Someone who works very hard and has many things to do, no doubt," said the maid, laying down their bags in a corner.

"Look at this!" Sonja put her face very close to the top of the dresser. "Ceallach! Come over here!"

Ceallach crossed the room and had a glance. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "Dust happens," he offered.

"That is a very sensible way to think about dust," Claire said, busying herself with tidying up the various clothes and objects in her bag.

Sonja continued to stare. Ceallach realized that the dust was in an even layer, unlike the patchy spots that had formed in the tower. "Someone cleaned it a while ago and the dust came back. Just brush it off, with your hand perhaps."

Sonja dragged a finger in a loose circle on the dresser, studied her dusty fingerpad as if wondering what to do with it, and wiped it on her nose. After a second or two, she sneezed.

In the evening, around the presence of food, either Sonja or Claire would ask if any of the others had stories to tell. Ceallach recounted some tales he remembered from the tower's books, while Rowan shared stories about the places he had visited, such as the abandoned desert cities in the South and the thickly forested eastern mountains, which they were rapidly approaching.

One night when they were camping outside, Ceallach noticed that the rock he was leaning on was not quite a rock, but rather some kind of carved stone that the elements had worn down some. "It looks like the ones we see on the road, just bigger," he remarked.

Sonja looked up from the pot of soup she was minding. "That's right! If I'm not mistaken, they're supposed to be the same. They're meant to be the footprints of the road gods."

Ceallach looked up and down the statue and realized that the shape of it was vaguely foot-like. "So gods walked here..."

This talk apparently interested Ark, as he approached and placed his hands on the stone. He did not say anything, but opened his mouth slightly in wonder. Ceallach looked at the statue for a second longer before putting a hand on it as well. It was warm and smooth despite the grooves carved in it.

"In the Northwest, they're called travel paws," Rowan added idly. Claire nodded in agreement.

"But what happened to the gods? How come we don't see them anymore?" Ceallach asked, turning back towards the fire.

No one answered for a moment.

"They left their footprints, but then what?"

Claire held her folded hands to her mouth for a second. "The gods disappeared from the earth. Some people say it's because no one appreciated them enough...but that's not true. At least, I know I've always believed in them...and worship of them is not terribly uncommon..."

"Maybe they went somewhere and don't want to return?" Ark offered casually. Claire was visibly saddened by this. Rowan touched his hat to pull it down a little.

"If they notice they're missed..." Sonja wondered aloud, holding her chin, "they might come back, right? In that case, we should leave a token at the statues we pass."

Ceallach took his hand off the statue. "A token? Like what?"

"How about...this," Sonja said, taking a round stone from the fire pit and standing. She walked over to the footprint, placed the stone in front of it, and knelt to offer a prayer. "...That should do it!"

"Really?"

"My father used to tell me stories about this, though I can't say for certain how much of it is true...but it's better than nothing, isn't it?"

Ceallach looked back at the footprint, rooted around in the dirt for a stone large enough to be noticeable, and put it on top of Sonja's. He clasped his hands together and prayed for a good journey.

----

If the additions to the company slowed them down in any way, neither Rowan nor Ark did not mention it. So Ceallach felt like things had only gotten better.

Scaling mountain paths was like marching - putting one foot in front of the other while going uphill made a steady rhythm that he caught himself humming under his breath to. Sometimes, little conversations would strike up amongst the group to fill the space with something other than the sound of falling feet, but they were often cut short when a steep climb demanded breath and concentration.

It was on such climbs that Ceallach felt he needed a song, or at least some kind of noise, to help him keep going. It had always worked in the tower, when he had given himself a certain number of laps to do up and down the stairs and he felt his strength flagging. "I see you wing-ing overhead, avahaenn, avahaenn...Why don't you come and walk instead, avahaenn, avahaenn."

He thought he had been quiet, as to not disturb the others, but Claire looked up as if surprised. "What was that?"

Ceallach swallowed timidly. "I'm sorry; I just need something to listen to..."

"Speak up for the rest of us, why don't you?" Rowan said, glancing back at him. "Some kind of military cadence, I presume?"

"No, it's...it's a song I learned in the tower."

"I am interested in hearing it," Ark offered quietly.

Sonja gave Ceallach a little smile, so he felt emboldened to continue. "It is a funny thing you say, human being, human being...I'd like for you to fly this way, human being, human being."

"How peculiar!" Claire said, but she joined him when he next repeated the song.

There was the worry of winter, but the land they crossed spoke more of a summer pretending to be autumn. Leaves fell and crinkled under their feet, but when the sun was over their heads, it was hard to think of the upcoming cold or even of the snow they left behind. Most of the terrain was at an incline, which made walking even more difficult. Ceallach swallowed dryly and looked back at the others, whose pace had put them a little behind him. Sonja had her tongue hanging out and was breathing through her mouth.

"Does that actually help?" he asked.

Sonja pulled her tongue back into her mouth when she realized the others were staring at her. "Not really," she admitted.

Ceallach sighed and looked around for some kind of relief. There was the river, of course, which they were following, but...

The more he thought about it, the fewer reasons he could come up for not doing what he wanted to do, so he waded into the river.

"Ceallach, honestly, what are you doing?" Rowan called out.

Ceallach took a few steps further in and then had to paddle in order to keep his head up. He turned back to the others who were still on the bank and held up a hand above the water. "You should come in! This feels great!"

Claire stepped up with her hands over her mouth, hesitating just as her shoes were barely touching the water. Rowan and Ark didn't seem to want to come forward. Sonja looked at them all and tromped into the river, nearly dunking herself.

"Be careful, it gets deep," Ceallach said as she resurfaced.

"I noticed," she said good-naturedly, shaking her head free of droplets. "Wow!"

"How is it!" Claire called from the bank, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"It's fresh," said Sonja.

Claire did not look terribly reassured, but dipped her foot into the water anyway. She gave a little yelp and backed off. Then she took a deep breath, dashed forward, and jumped into the water. The resulting splash submerged the other two for a moment. Ceallach bobbed back up in time to see Claire with her hair completely covering her eyes, which made him laugh. Soon all three in the water were laughing.

"Why did I do that!" Claire said between laughs, lifting her bangs out of her eyes.

"Because it was the best way to get in," Sonja grinned.

"Brrr," Claire shuddered, wading closer to the other two.

"You should come in, Rowan!" Ceallach called over his shoulder.

The doctor looked quite amused but hadn't moved. "I'm fine, but thank you for offering!"

"You too, Ark!"

"No," the angel said immediately.

Ceallach clapped the water to send a splash their way, which they both dodged. Seeing as he wasn't going to convince them that it was a good idea, he shrugged and started walking again, staying in the river.

Days were long, bright, and quiet other than the sounds of their own voices. They caught few glimpses of animals other than birds heading in the direction they went.

The lot of them were climbing a pebbled road leading up a sparsely vegetated mountain when the noises came. They were clear in the isolated air, and the sound of one would prompt others shortly afterwards. Ceallach stared after the sources of the sound, actually stopping in wonder.

"Wolves!" Rowan said over his shoulder. "They howl to communicate to each other. They're a bit like dogs --"

"I know what a wolf is," Ceallach answered, a bit sharply. "I know what they look like, but I've never heard one."

"Well, that is their cry. It makes things feel a little lonely, doesn't it?"

Sonja had been looking inward, holding her chin, ever since the noises began. She caught up to Ceallach, who noticed this and asked her if something was the matter.

"Nothing," she decided, dropping her hand to her side again. "I was just thinking, these must be lean times."

"For who?"

"The wolves." She waved to indicate the terrain they were in, but he couldn't imagine what she meant by that. He saw nothing but rocks and the occasional struggling tree.

There was a small valley with a few more trees and some grass before the next mountain. Sonja seemed to be getting increasingly more suspicious of something - she kept stopping and looking around. Claire was hanging back with her and called out to the others. "Wait! Something's wrong!"

The other three joined them. "Well?" Rowan asked. "What is going on?"

"There was a bird following us," Sonja said, still looking about. "You heard it, right? It whistled."

Everyone agreed they had heard it. It was then, in the resulting quiet, that Ark said, "...But it's not whistling anymore."

"Right. In fact, you can't hear any birds anymore," Sonja looked at the others, eyes narrowed. "Either they know something we don't, or..."

The quiet lasted for a few moments as the group began to look around them. It was broken by a barbaric battle cry, joined up with several yodels and the sound of crashing foliage from all directions. Ceallach felt something graze his cheek as his head darted from one side to the other. He took a defensive position. "Go! I'll fight!" he shouted. It took the appearance of a young boy wearing an animal pelt on his head running towards them to actually get the others to start fleeing, though. Ceallach rushed to meet the bandit and slammed into him, grabbing him and heaving him back into the brush. When Ceallach turned around, he saw he was surrounded by other young boys, most wearing necklaces with long fangs on them.

Pieces of flint and various kinds of shot fell from the treetops. Staying to fight was rapidly becoming a bad idea, so Ceallach charged towards his comrades, bowling over a few boys as he did so. More of the boys jumped out of their hiding places to shout and grab at the fleeing group. Every time Ceallach chanced a glance around him, it seemed like one of his traveling companions had disappeared or were heading in a different direction.

"Over here!" he yelled, waving. He saw Claire, who was running away from him, turn back, ducking her head under a projectile. "Stay toge--"

His words and his running were cut short when one of his feet would not land. He fell forward into a pit, tumbling for a few painful moments. It took him a few minutes before he realized he did not feel or hear anything else. There were no sounds of trampling feet overhead, no shouting, no scraping of dirt against his skin. He had landed somewhere. Slowly, he got up and dusted himself off, wincing when he got dirt in his open scrapes. He sighed through his teeth and looked up towards where he had fallen. A light glinted above, but the incline up to it was too steep and too crumbly to climb.

"Claire!" he bellowed upwards, cupping his hands around his mouth. There was no answer. "Rowan! Sonja! Ark!"

He waited, then realized his voice had echoed and looked away from the light. He put his hands in front of him as he walked and found part of a wall. It became clear that what he had fallen into was a tunnel, not just a hole. Since there was nowhere else to go, he went into the tunnel, stooping in order to go through it. After squinting uselessly for a few minutes, he started to see something other than black.