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eyes. Fix your mind on Shadowfell .
    Last night I had thought Father quite gone, drifting away from me down that last shadowy path. Now I felt him walking along beside me, stooping to lift drooping foliage out of my path, holding my hand as I traversed stepping stones across a surging stream, telling bad jokes to lighten my spirits. Foolish; those memories were from long ago. Of recent times he had seldom had the heart for such gestures. For many moons now we had walked to the accompaniment of a muttered diatribe, a catalogue of the sorrows and injustices that had left us poor, homeless and outcast.
    I had wearied of his endless dispiriting talk. I had become expert at not hearing him. My blisters and empty belly had made compassion run thin. Now, as I picked my way along a barely discernable track under the pines, I felt his shade close by and regretted that I had not been more understanding. Perhaps, as I had long suspected, he would have preferred that I had died and my brother lived. But he had protected me in his own fashion. For my sake he had kept going.
    I hoped he was at peace now. ‘I love you, Father,’ I whispered. ‘I honour you.’ I tried to say: I forgive you . But the words would not come.

    Despatch: for the eyes of King Keldec only
    Darkwater district; early autumn
    My respectful greetings to you, my lord King. The Cull is under way in the west. Cleansing of all settlements in the area of Darkwater was completed with no resistance. I am confident that this district will cause us little difficulty in future seasons.
    Boar Troop has moved on to Clearwater and points south, with Stag Troop heading northward up the coast. As we discussed at the council, the Cull in the western isles will be delayed for another year. My investigations confirm that the likelihood of finding large numbers of smirched in that remote location is low, while the practical challenges of conducting the exercise in such difficult terrain are significant.
    You will recall, my lord King, a conversation we had on a matter of particular personal interest to yourself. I can tell you that certain intelligence has reached my ears concerning that matter. When last we spoke together, you generously indicated that, should this occur, you would give me leave from my regular duties to pursue that line of enquiry, provided the Cull proceeded to plan.
    Acting on this, I have placed responsibility for Stag Troop in the capable hands of my second-in-command, Rohan Death-Blade. I will operate alone for the foreseeable future. I will report direct to you whenever circumstances make it possible to send a secure despatch. The task I undertake may require me to travel widely through the autumn, and at times I will be beyond reach. Rest assured, my lord King, that I will return to court by the end of the season, or as soon as possible thereafter. I hope to bring with me an unusual weapon for your armoury, my lord, a weapon that should please you very well indeed.
    (signed) Owen Swift-Sword, Stag Troop Leader

CHAPTER THREE
    S EVEN DAYS walking, seven nights sleeping in the forest, and I crested a hill in late afternoon to catch my first glimpse of Silverwater, its broad expanse glittering in the sunlight some miles ahead. I moved from the still darkness of the pines into beech forest and found a camping spot by a rocky outcrop among the trees. A small stream gurgled its way down the hill. There was one great oak standing among the beeches, a dark-leaved, broad-armed goddess of a tree. I found a flat rock, set down my bag and spread the cloak beside it. I lowered myself to a sitting position and, wincing with pain, eased off my shoes.
    My feet were afire with blisters. These had been good shoes once, given to me by a girl whose family had sheltered us in a remote village up north. These shoes had carried me many miles, up hill and down, across streams, through bogs, over fields and along steep fells. They had been with me through spring rain and summer heat,