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hoarsely,
    dropping more rocks down at him. The thief- takers closed the distance
    rapidly. Leifr plunged over the lip of the flat barrow, looking
    murderously for Gotiskolker, who had taken cover inside a ring of
    sagging black stones. Leifr went after him, since he was the closest.
    The thief-takers surged over the edge of the barrow,
    whirling their axes above their heads, mouths agape in savage bellows
    of derisive fury. The stone circle offered better protection than where he
    stood, so Leifr dashed for its limited safety. Dodging behind the
    largest stone in the center of the ring, Leifr gripped his favorite
    weapon, his steel sword, and waited for his enemies to come within
    reach. He did not have time to pay Gotiskolker any further attention,
    but he had the impression that the scavenger was hurrying around the
    circle, muttering, and touching each stone as he passed.
    The thief-takers came to a plunging halt at the edge of the ring,
    looking around with expressions of dumbfoundness and bewilderment,
    and sudden apprehension. Leifr tried to make a rush at them while they
    appeared to be at a disadvantage, but a wall of mist rose suddenly
    between the hunters and their prey, and Leifr felt the ground sinking
    beneath his feet, as if he were unexpectedly walking downhill on a dark
    night. Missing his footing, he tripped and rolled down a grassy slope,
    entangled with his sword and shield and a swearing, sputtering
    Gotiskolker.
    By some miracle, they reached the bottom of the hill without
    being cut or stabbed and disengaged themselves from a tangle of
    cloaks and weapons and Gotiskolker’s barrow loot, which had
    administered some breathtaking buffets to both of them in its career
    down the hill.
    Leifr gripped his sword in both hands, his eyes upon the hilltop,
    where he expected to see the thief-takers plunging down at any second.
    Gotiskolker chuckled drily as he got to his feet. “You can relax.
    They’re not coming. They’re standing on a windy barrow in the
    Scipling realm, wondering where we’ve gone. As far as they can tell,
    we vanished right before their eyes.”
    Leifr slowly lowered his sword, his awareness of his
    surroundings gradually expanding to include a warm green hillside
    and a few speckled sheep, who stared at the intruders in wild surmise
    a moment before scampering away among mossy boulders. The
    barrows were gone, with their wind-swept rocks and browned
    mounds of autumnal grasses. The sun shone warmly, and the earth
    exuded the fragrant, sweet gases of spring growth.
    Gotiskolker apparently found nothing noteworthy in the
    extraordinary changes as he stooped and wearily slung his pouch with
    its cargo of barrow findings over his shoulders.
    “Where are we?” Leifr demanded. “What happened to the
    barrows?”
    Gotiskolker did not waste any time stopping to talk. “There are
    aplenty, and you’ll see some of them shortly. This is the
    barrows here
    Alfar realm. We’ll talk more later.”

Chapter 2
    Leifr could scarcely take his eyes off the unfamiliar landscape
    long enough to follow Gotiskolker, but he had no desire to be left
    behind.
    “We’ll talk now, you scavenging thief,” he declared. “I said I
    wouldn’t help you with your mad scheme. I don’t like what seems to be
    happening here. You’ve taken me someplace I didn’t want to go.”
    “I saved your life for you, didn’t I? Would you rather go back
    to the thief- takers?” Gotiskolker found a faint path leading along the
    side of the fell and started away on it at such a hasty rate that Leifr had
    to lengthen his stride to stay close enough to hear the words
    Gotiskolker flung over one crooked shoulder. “It’s not safe to linger
    in this area. My house isn’t far from here. Once we’re safe behind a
    closed door, I’ll tell you all you need to know. Hasten along, or
    something a lot worse than thief-takers might find us.”
    The scavenger had lost his furtive, humble attitude. Now his
    entire lean frame