The Road Back (4 of 4)

The bandit horse galloped fast, but the animal was already exhausted. The bandits must have ridden them hard.

Sweat dripped off the horse's dark flanks and its breathing came in puffs of steam.

Krow spotted the herbalist carts at the same time that red flickered on his Map.

He reined the horse in, ignoring the lookout who tracked him with a nocked arrow.

The scout-mark on the Map was ahead of them.

Obviously an ambush.

But they were also…underground? Krow exhaled a breath.

He'd left out the spirit-worm to scout for more of those pebbles as they traveled. It was only luck that it passed through the correct section of tunnel and managed to detect the rest of the bandit riders.

  "It's Krow!" called one of the herbalists.

He blinked at the sound of his name, then waved sheepishly.