Lucius left the abandoned settlement before the sun climbed too high.
The stranger’s directions stayed in his mind as he moved through the trees. East. Follow the river. Cross the rocky hills. Then continue toward the forest beyond them.
For the first hour, he found nothing. Then he noticed a broken branch. Lucius stopped and looked down.
A footprint was pressed into the soft ground beside it. He crouched.
Another footprint appeared a few steps ahead. Then another.
Someone had passed through here.
He followed the signs carefully. Soon, he found more tracks. Some were older than others, but they all moved in the same direction.
Lucius studied them. “There were several of you,” he murmured.
The thought made him straighten.
The stranger had said three women and a child. Now Lucius co
