The sun was now high in the sky, and it was time to move on. Telli listened carefully to the sounds of the forest around him as he detached himself from the branch and stood on it to look around. Detecting no signs of danger and feeling refreshed from his sleep, he decided to try to continue on his way by flying. Having been forced to stretch his capabilities to their limits during his escape from the caves, when there had been a real danger of falling to his death, he had gained in understanding and control of his flight. He was now more confident in attempting short journeys between trees in the forest's canopy, with the relative safety of branches below him to break a fall should he lose concentration. Identifying a likely looking branch on another tall tree about twenty feet away, he set off in the direction of the eastern mountains.

Flying below the height of the tallest trees so as not to be visible from a distance, Telli started to develop an efficient way of moving through the forest. He rested for half a minute, and sometimes more, after each short flight, concentration being very tiring. While this meant that he moved far more slowly than a man would at ordinary walking pace on an open path, he made better progress than when walking on the forest floor. There he would have to march around thickets, up and down gullies, and could seldom continue for any great distance in a straight line. He started to enjoy the novelty of the process, and having stopped for lengthy rests twice, eating a little both times, by mid-afternoon found himself near to the eastern side of the valley, approaching the lower slopes of the mountains he must climb. He had had no sight or sound of the Khrelling during the day and, while resting in the branches of a tall tree which offered a clear view ahead, began to turn his mind to other problems.

The air was humid, and the summer sky had started to cloud over, threatening one of the thunderstorms which descended on the valley every ten days or so. Telli had to think of shelter for the night, and with this in mind, set off in the direction of a rock face he could see ahead. He also needed to make a bow and arrows, and stopped several times to cut lengths of wood for this purpose. Reaching the rocky cliff, he searched its length for a likely place to pass the night. There were several recesses at the base deep enough to offer some shelter, but Telli's forest instincts warned him that he might be disturbed in these by animals looking for shelter if and when the storm broke, so he decided to investigate three possibilities he had seen higher up. Flying about fifteen feet up to the first, although it would have been an easy climb, he received a shock that nearly led to a fall back to the earth below. Grasping a ledge and peering into the small cave above, he found himself looking into a pair of yellow cat's-eyes, just two or three feet away. Keeping his presence of mind, he concentrated quickly, and managed to fly to the ground. Looking back up he saw a Snow Leopard, now on the ledge staring down at him, and probably just as surprised by the encounter as he had been.

Telli was relieved to see the relatively small leopard, feeling he was in enough danger from the Khrelling and hardly wanted meetings with large predators to add to his troubles. Questioning Seth about the animals of the valley, he had been pleased to find that the white leopards were the only cats known in the area. The great lizards he had seen at the barrier were the only beasts he had to fear, and these stayed near water on the valley floor, another reason he had moved through the wooded lower slopes of the mountains, apart from the cover of the trees. As Telli moved away from the now growling cat, he realised he had just made his first emergency flight. Necessity had forced him to discover more about his flying, once again.

His second choice of cave was higher up above an overhang he thought would be too difficult for a leopard to climb, and this proved to be a perfect place to pass a night under the circumstances. A small, semicircular tunnel with two entrances had been weathered out of the soft rock. Telli could enter it by the largest hole, and crawl round a bend to a chamber, from which the second small hole opened like a window. There were no signs of animal habitation in the cave except for two small bats clinging to the ceiling, not surprising, as Telli could not have reached it without flying. Although nowhere in the cave was high enough for him to stand it suited the purposes of a fugitive almost as if it had been designed for one. Telli realised that he could even light a fire in the bend of the tunnel at night without risk of advertising his presence, something he had assumed he would not be able to do until well clear of the valley.

With this in mind, he made several flights down from the cave, collecting much more wood than necessary for that night. He knew that he might find no dry wood the next day, and could possibly be trapped in the cave for more than one night by the weather. Then he set to work making his bow and arrows, something he had done many times before, so that he had fashioned a serviceable set of weapons in less than an hour. Had he taken the time to do this before, he would easily have made a kill during his journey that day, as the valley was rich with wildlife. The knowledge that he could now safely light a fire lent urgency to his work. The more food he had for the days ahead the better, and although there would normally be several hours of daylight left, the sky was darkening quickly with the gathering storm.

Telli set out to hunt, leaving his pack in the cave and flying out directly into the trees opposite. Moving from treetop to treetop, and searching the forest floor, he was soon rewarded by the sight of a pair of wildfowl pecking at grass seeds in their clumsy manner, unaware of the predator in the trees. He flew down silently to a branch above them, and managed to shoot both. Collecting the birds and his arrows, he set off in the direction of the cave, not a moment too soon. A flash of lightening was reflected from the clouds above, and the distant rumble of thunder warned him that the storm had nearly arrived. Telli flew up to the cave mouth just as he felt the first few raindrops on his head, and a few minutes later he could scarcely see the outline of the nearest trees through the downpour.

It was a massive storm, the fiercest he had ever witnessed, spectacular in every way. It seemed to be trapped in the circle of mountains surrounding the Khrelling valley, and determined to wreak havoc there in revenge for its imprisonment. Although sheets of rain limited his vision to a few yards for the most part, when lightening flashed overhead he would glimpse the outline of the great peaks, miles away to the west, through the water. Each huge clap of thunder reverberated round the mountains for so long that its noise would be interrupted by the next, causing a continuous rumbling for hours on end. Crouching in his cave, Telli wondered if his Gods were truly at war, so great was the power of the storm.

He had not planned to make a fire until nightfall, because of the risk that smoke rising from the cave might be seen. It now seemed perfectly safe, as even Khrelling eyes would see nothing in these conditions, in the unlikely event of the creatures emerging from their caves in such weather. The temperature had dropped dramatically, and he was pleased to be able to get a good blaze going before setting to work plucking and preparing his wildfowl.

As he worked, Telli had plenty of time to think. It occurred to him that, as the men from the kingdom to the east seemed never to have discovered this valley over the centuries, his way ahead must be very difficult; sufficiently hard to deter man, with his natural curiosity and inclination to explore. He was now convinced that his ancestors had passed over the mountains to the south of the valley and the Khrelling caves, this way probably seeming easier if approached from the east. In planning his escape, he had thought it wise to assume that the Khrelling watched all ways into the valley with care in order to protect the secret of the slave camp from the knowledge of other men. He now realised this to be impossible. The mountains encircling their valley were so vast that it would require constant vigilance on the part of thousands of the creatures in order to do this. Even if there were such numbers of Khrelling, the effort required would be such as to negate any advantages in keeping slaves in the first place. Following this train of thought, he came to the conclusion that, unless he was very unlucky, his chief danger ahead would not be from the Khrelling, but from the hostile nature of the terrain he must cross in order to reach the eastern Kingdom.

Such sound and thorough thinking, one of Telli's great strengths, led him to make a slight change in his plans. He had no direct experience of high mountains, only the knowledge gained from viewing them at distance, and from his reading; Brenen's account of his people's journey to Drakisland in particular. His assessment of the difficulties was, however, accurate and intelligent. Physical barriers could be overcome (especially with his unusual talents), but to do so required time. To buy time on the mountains he must have all that was necessary to live, and at present there were two obvious weaknesses in his preparations. He needed to be sure that he had both food and warmth. In this way he came round to the idea that he should stay another day and night in the valley in order to equip himself as best he could for the next stage of his journey.

Telli expected the wildfowl to be good eating, as the slaves had domesticated large numbers of the birds and he was therefore familiar with their taste. They proved to be excellent, and he ate well for the first time since he had left the camp for his last shift of work. He was warm and cosy in his cave hideaway, watching and listening to the ferocity of the storm outside only adding to his sense of comfort. Having passed the evening improving the weapons he had made that afternoon, Telli settled down early to a much needed night's rest.

The storm died down eventually in the early hours of the morning, leaving the air in the valley much cooler than usual. Telli waited patiently in his cave until mid-morning, when the shadows of the mountains had drawn back from the forest and the Khrelling would hopefully be sheltering in their caves from the bright sunlight. He then flew out to the nearest trees. It was a beautiful day, the forest feeling alive in a way that can only be experienced in sunshine after a heavy summer rain. Telli needed to hunt a little for food, but too much meat killed now would be of no use to him after two or three days, as he had no way of preserving it. Finding edible plants was therefore more important, especially those he could eat uncooked, because he would not have a source of fuel above the tree line. Perhaps most important, he was searching for signs of wild goat, having spotted several on the slopes of the mountains the day before. A hairy highland species, these, like the wildfowl, had been domesticated by the slaves. One would provide the good coat or blanket he needed for the journey ahead.

It took several hours' work until Telli was satisfied that he had all he needed, within the limits of the weight he could reasonably carry. He returned to the cave, and spent the evening sorting out his pack and finding the easiest way to carry his belongings. Finding sufficient food had not been too difficult, and most of the afternoon had been spent hunting down a goat. Having finally succeeded in this, he had skinned the animal where it had fallen as quickly as possible, fearing that the smell of the kill might possibly attract one of the great lizards, even though he was above their usual habitat. He had stretched the skin out to dry on a treetop near to his cave, careful that it was invisible from below. When it was dark enough to light a cooking fire he retrieved it and completed the drying process overnight in the cave.

That night Telli ate all he could, consuming all he had that could not be carried with him, including most of the meat from three wildfowl he had shot that day. He stuffed himself like a pig being prepared for slaughter, reasoning that the more nourishment he carried inside himself, the less he need carry on his back. His last work of the night was to fashion a belt from a strip of the goatskin, with loops on it to hold his knife and arrows. When all was ready, bloated with food and content with his achievements of the day, he settled to sleep his last night in the hidden valley of the Khrelling.

The next morning Telli began his climb, this being about twenty times greater than the highest he had made before (from the base of Horn Hill, to its crown). He started at first light, and as the evening sun slipped behind the snows of the higher peaks in the west, was marching on the high, barren shoulder of a mountain above the tree line. He stopped at the last point where there was a clear view back into the valley, placing his pack on the ground for a few minutes to look down on his home of the last few weeks. The camp was visible in the distance below. Telli could see the circle of the barrier wall and the huts of the slaves as tiny squares within it. He saluted in a gesture of farewell, thinking of Brakis, whose company he already missed. Picking up the pack he trudged on, hoping that he would soon see the valley again in the company of an army of men come to liberate the slaves.

Telli had mixed flying and walking in about equal measure on his way up, finding that he was not greatly hampered in the former by the extra weight he was now carrying. Because the chief difficulty of flying was the intense concentration involved, the weight he carried seemed to make little difference. For the same reason, flying downwards was just as difficult as up. Telli's ability was not really flying, but willing himself to move between two points, and the length of time he was able to concentrate was the main restriction on his movements through the air.

Making the climb had been like travelling in time from summer to winter in just one day, and Telli already wore his new goatskin. He was walking now on the bare bones of a mountain only recently exposed by the melting of its snow cover. It was a world in complete contrast to the one he had just left. Rounding the shoulder of the mountain, he could see a seemingly endless vista of cold, grey, barren peaks, looking alien and forbidding in the fading light. Shuddering at the thought of the comfortless journey ahead, he started to look around for somewhere to pass the night. A pile of large boulders proved adequate for his needs, offering shelter from the wind and concealment from Khrelling eyes. After eating sparingly, he wrapped himself completely in the thick-haired goatskin, and huddled between two boulders to sleep.

Telli set off at dawn the next day, threading his way through clefts and ravines between the rocky peaks, heading due east whenever possible. Around midday, he flew in stages to the pinnacle of a high mountain on which patches of snow still lay, with the idea of replenishing his water bottle. From this vantage-point, he gazed around for some time, almost enjoying the strange impression given by his surroundings that he was the only living thing on the face of the earth. He could see absolutely nothing but rock, snow and the sky. The only sound, if he made no noise himself, was the wind, and when this lulled the silence was complete.

Looking back the way he had come, Telli could see the higher, snow-covered peaks above the Khrelling caves. It seemed as if the lower mountains led straight to them, and no one approaching from this direction would suspect the existence of the lush, green valley in between. Surrounding him was a strange mineral beauty, the bare bones of the earth. Seen in the light of the midday sun, the mountains were far from being the sinister grey they had seemed the night before, but clearly contained all colours, as rocks do. Just ahead, he must pass between a yellow peak of sandstone, and a reddish one, perhaps containing iron ore like the stones used in the Krelling forge.

This reminder of his recent work place spurred Telli on his way. He continued eastward with dogged determination until nightfall, when he chose a sheltered spot and curled up in his goatskin, hoping that he would find a way down to lower altitudes the next day because the mountains became bitterly cold once the sun had gone down. This was not to be, however, and it took another day of slow progress in the rocky desert, followed by another cold and uncomfortable night, before he came to the first signs of a descent.

Early in his crossing of the mountains, all the streams he had passed flowed to the west, back to the Khrelling valley. He had then passed through terrain where the watercourses flowed neither west nor east, as might be expected in a mountain range running from north to south. Water here seemed to disappear, presumably seeping into the rock, leading Telli to speculate that there might be caves beneath, like those of the Khrelling. On the third morning of his trek across the mountains, he found himself on the edge of a steep cliff, with a drop of several hundred feet before him. At the bottom, he could see exactly what he had been looking for. Not only was there a sizeable stream, but it was flowing very definitely in the direction of the rising sun; and perhaps even more important, there were scattered patches of green along its banks. Life at last!

Telli followed the cliff eastwards, until it became less steep and he could make his way down. Reaching the bottom, he could feel a definite rise in temperature and sat down on a patch of grass by the banks of the stream feeling considerable relief. He had been forced to consume his food rations at a far greater rate than he had anticipated, the cold nights sapping his energy, leading to constant hunger. The sparse little blades of grass growing here told him that there would be other forms of life not too far away, and he was confident enough to feed himself well, eating more than half of his remaining rations before setting off downstream.

The stream, only a few feet across, wound unhurriedly through the great gorge it had cut over tens of thousands of years, as if making an example of what can be achieved with patience and enough time. Although it bent sometimes towards the north, and sometimes south, the prevailing direction was to the east, and Telli decided to follow it until he reached lands inhabited by man, unless he should find a very good reason to take another course. Around midday he saw another encouraging sign, a hawk hovering high overhead, and the hunter in him wondered what prey the bird searched for, and whether it would serve him as food also. Towards the end of the afternoon Telli, forest dweller all his life, was delighted to see his first trees east of the mountains.

The gorge widened, and the stream entered a wood of sparse and stunted conifers. This was the moment when Telli felt that he had truly achieved his childhood dream, and passed the barrier which separated the Elnesiders from the lands of their ancestors. He continued on his way, finding great joy in the sighting of birds in the trees, and of small fish in the first sizeable pond formed by the stream as it was joined by other trickles of water. The woods became denser, and he collected dead wood for a fire as he started to look for a place to pass the night.

This he found in a small hollow a short way from the stream, and feeling that he must now be safe from the Khrelling, Telli threw caution to the winds, and made up a large fire, surrounding it with stones to retain the heat. He ate the remainder of his food supplies, and settled to sleep, luxuriating in the warmth of the fire and the relative comfort of a soft pine needle bed after three nights spent on solid rock.

Survival dictated that the next day must be a hunting day for the young traveller. After reviving the embers of his fire in the first light of day, Telli took a much-needed wash in the freezing water of the stream, before returning to his camp to warm up. When the sun was shining directly on the trees around him, he selected the tallest, and flew up to its highest branches to gain his bearings. He found himself to be in a long, long valley, which stretched eastwards as far as the eye could see, sloping very gently down to the point where it disappeared on the horizon. Although the way looked easy, he guessed that he would not reach its end that day. Returning to the ground, he picked up his pack and weapons, and took the precaution of covering the evidence of the fire, before setting off on his way downstream.

The forest floor was nearly free of obstructive bushes and shrubs at this altitude, so Telli walked rather than using the flying method he had developed in the Khrelling valley. He moved silently, on the lookout for tracks, droppings or other animal signs. Every few minutes he would stop and listen to what sounds there were in these quiet highland woods. The stream became larger as more tributaries joined it, and it was in the water that Telli saw the first possibility of a good meal, but was unfortunately prevented from exploiting it.

Stopping to look in a deep pool, he spotted the movement of fish that seemed large enough to be worth attempting to catch. He had put down his pack and was wondering what he could use for bait when a noise from further downstream alerted him to the fact that he had company. A large brown bear was coming towards him, lumbering on all fours, and clearly becoming aware of Telli's presence as he hastily picked up his pack and flew up to the branches of the nearest tree. The creature, after stopping for a moment and sniffing the air, did not seem very interested in Telli, but like him had its mind on food, in particular the fish in the pool. It came on to the stream bank below his tree, and plunged into the water, demonstrating a crude fishing method to the watcher above. This seemed to involve making as much disturbance in the water as possible, then attempting to swat the frightened fish with its paws as they jumped above the surface. The bear had no success as Telli watched, and deciding that it was not worth waiting for its departure to take his own turn at the pool, he moved on his way, flying cautiously from tree to tree until he was a safe distance from the animal.

This incident turned out to be a serious setback. There was not much life in the high forest, and Telli had found nothing to eat by sundown, so was forced to pass a cold and hungry night that night, not daring to light a fire now that he was aware of the presence of large and hungry bears. He thought of Brakis as he tried to sleep, travelling alone being so much more difficult merely because it was impossible to keep a watch at night.

The next day, a tired and hungry Telli reached the end of the long valley, and a new terrain. The stream became a small river, which wound in and out of tree-covered mountains. He was descending fast to lower altitudes, and could sense the increasing warmth. It was starting to seem like summer again, and this meant more life. Around midday, Telli managed to break his involuntary fast, having shot a wood pigeon after several attempts at bringing down one of the birds. He made a fire on the riverbank, and although there was not much meat on the bird, felt some strength return as he set off downstream, still on the lookout for more food. Unlucky again during the afternoon, he passed another hungry night in the woods near the riverbank, having tried fishing during the last hour of daylight, but without success. He set off the next day knowing that finding food must be his first priority, but his next meal was to come from an unexpected source.

By mid-morning, Telli reached a point where the river ran through a small gorge, its sides rising sheer from the water on both banks. The easiest way forward was high above the stream until the gorge widened and he could see a way back down to the riverbank. As he descended, looking down on the river, Telli saw the first man he was to meet east of the mountains.