THE NEXT DAY, Saker turned north from Three Rivers Domain and headed upriver toward Pless, into Central Domain. He had consulted his scrolls at length the night before, and had mapped out a wandering course that would let him visit all the massacre sites in the songs Rowan had shared with him. It would take him weeks, but that was all right. He had time.
He would not mention to anyone that he had come from Carlion. He was just a stonecaster, traveling the roads looking for customers, as he had been so many times before.
He considered raising the ghost of his father, Alder, to tell him the good news about Carlion, but he was so tired. Too much blood had been needed for Carlion. He would raise his father next time, so Alder could watch the invaders die, and be proud of him.
It was a fine day, and Central Domain was pretty country. Saker hummed as his horse ambled along the dusty roads, and did not admit to himself that he was glad there would be weeks before the next deaths.