Chapter 3

An hour before sunrise we set out,and before long our thin leather boots were soaked throughwith the morning dew that covered the grassy path leading from Aslyn.Since the theft of my horse—my father’s,an irreplaceable steed—I had grown wary and didn’t want to attract undue attention by requesting the town’s gates to be opened early for our departure.So we left through the meadow on the other side of town,and by noon we had managed to circle aroundAslyn,and were heading due north toward Tasnin.