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And with that, he reon Renald watched the north Renald watched for a long ti numb

The distant thunder cracked, like the sound of a whip, sainst the hills

The door to the farray hair in a bun It had been that color for years now; she’d grayed early, and Renald had always been fond of the color Silver, ray Like the clouds

"Was that Thulin?" Auaine asked, watching the distant wagon throw up dust A single black chicken feather blew across the roadway

"Yes"

"And he didn’t stay, even to chat?"

Renald shook his head

"Oh, but Gallanha sent eggs!" She took the basket and began to transfer the eggs into her apron to carry them inside "She’s such a dear Leave the basket there on the ground; I’m sure she’ll send someone for it"

Renald just stared northward

"Renald?" Auaine asked "What’s gotten into you, you old stump?"

"She polished up her pots for you," he said "The ones with the copper botto on her kitchen table They’re yours if you want them"

Auaine fell silent Then he heard a sharp sound of cracking, and he looked over his shoulder She had let her apron grow slack, and the eggs were slipping free, plopping to the ground and cracking

In a very cal else?"

He scratched his head, which hadn’tand they had to head north Thulin said we should go too"

They stood for anotherthe lance for those that had fallen She was just staring northward

Renald turned The storrown darker soht to listen to theo fix up e’ll need to bring with us froather the one?"

"No," he said "They didn’t even really say why Just that we need to go north for the storm Andthat this is the end"

Auaine inhaled sharply "Well, you just get the men ready I’ll take care of the house"

She bustled inside, and Renald forced himself to turn away from the stor the farood ht their fortunes elsewhere, but his six workers were nearly as close to hiathered round Still feeling dazed, Renald sent two to gather up the anirain and provisions they had left froone into the village for soone bad on account of their stores

The five men scattered Renald stood in the farhtweight forge and pull it out into the sunlight It wasn’t just an anvil, but a full, co He had it on rollers; you couldn’t work a forge in a barn All that dust could take fire He heaved the handles, wheeling it out to the alcove set off to the side of the yard, built froood bricks, where he could do minor repairs when he needed to

An hour later, he had the fire stoked He wasn’t as skilled as Thulin, but he’d learned fro able to handle a little of your own forgeworkdifference Sometio to town and back just to fix a broken hinge

The clouds were still there He tried not to look at thee and headed into the barn Those clouds were like eyes, peeping over his shoulder

Inside the barn, light sprinkled down through cracks in the wall, falling on dust and hay He’d built the structure hi to replace so planks, but now there wouldn’t be time

At the tool wall, he reached for his third-best scythe, but stopped Taking a deep breath, he took the best scythe off the wall instead He walked back out to the forge and knocked the haft off the scythe

As he tossed the wood aside, Veshir--eldest of his faroats When Veshir saw the scythe blade on the forge, his expression grew dark He tied the goats to a post, then trotted over to Renald, but said nothing

How toa man off his horse Well, he would have to replace the snath with a longer straight shaft of ashwood The flanged end of the shaft would extend beyond the heel of the blade, shaped into a crude spearpoint and clad with a piece of tin for strength And then he would have to heat the blade and bang off the toe about halfway,a man off his horse and maybe cut hi coals to heat it, then began to tie on his apron

Veshir stood there for aRenald by the ar?"

Renald shook his ar and we’re going north"