Suddenly, however, Khantur snapped his fingers and pointed out behind them, and they saw someone riding up.

  The priestess riding up towards them must have been in a hurry, her clothes were the same as they had been in the tent, but her hair had been undone. A respected aide pulled the horse by the reins, and another was there to catch her if she started to slip, both young women.

  "I half expected not to be able to find you!" She had to raise her voice so she could be heard over the distance, but still, the joy at seeing them was present in her voice.

  Smiling, Khantur waved, and Toghrul also smiled at the sight, only Batir remained his stoic self, wondering why she had come looking for them. Toghrul frowned before saying, "Are you sure it's wise to ride when so pregnant?"

  Rubbing her stomach with some love, she said, "This child will be a strong one, it's fine so long as I don't take it too far. Besides, I would need to ride down when traveling anyway. It will be fine so long as I am careful and slow, and I had my reasons for needing to come after you lot."

  "And what reasons are those?" Batir said with some concern.

  "It's to prevent you from running away!"

  Turning to face the two young women, she asked if they could walk over so she could have a chat in private. The women seemed happy to do so, but it put Batir and Toghrul on edge. Toghrul was worried over how important the conversation would be if she needed privacy, and Batir scanned the surroundings in case they were attacked.

  He had taken advantage of similar circumstances when attacking the mountain people without bows and horses. It wasn't that concerning for him, really, but he still took a greater interest in his surroundings.

  "You lot are planning to run away and not listen to the old men, aren't you?" she said in a tone that showed she wasn’t cross with them for thinking it but still added, "Like fools?" after a pause.

  Looking at her with a flat face of no expression, Khantur said, "No, are you dumb? Why would we run away from the tribe over such a minor thing? What, you think we would throw our families away over a spat?"

  "Don't play coy with me! I am far too old not to see through you, and I know with certainty that you wouldn't be 'running away from the tribe.' With how beloved the three of you are, I am certain you think you could get away with murder!" She looked them up and down, seemingly becoming certain with herself that she was right.

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  Toghrul was a terrible liar. She glared at him, seemingly soaking up all she needed from his failed attempt to act natural. Instead, he looked stiff, and his eyes didn’t reach hers — something she knew from watching him grow up only happened when he was feeling guilty.

  Smiling, she said, "The ivory can wait. In truth, I have some extra from the last few years I plan on using. Hehe, my request to get some ahead of time was to make them think I didn't have any at all." She puffed up her chest with pride at her ruse, before looking back at them, saying, "Still, it was really aggravating that they didn’t listen at all. I thought with certainty they would spoil the three of you by at least pretending to consider it."

  Looking at Toghrul and seeing the same thing she saw, Batir sighed inside before saying, "No, it won't happen, Zangil. We didn’t plan to sneak off all the way to Salman."

  "Batir!" shouted Khantur. He acted surprised, as if on some level he had been betrayed and was in shock. Zangil had never really be able to see though Khantur but felt that she didn't need to as she had uncovered the truth.

  "No, we only planned to make it to the river and buy some ivory from a merchant we know travels this time of year. We had learned of him and waited to either trade or take from him," Batir said.

  Smiling to herself, she said, "Well then." Giving herself a pause for effect before yelling, "Don't!" then frowning before adding, "My position is a lot more shaky than yours. I don't know why they are so hostile to me. I am doing what's right. After all, didn't the dragon say that virtue is found in the deeds we are grateful for later? In time, they will see the gods are too distant to hear the cries of mortals. We should focus on what is so close — the dragon that favored our tribe over any other!"

  Seemingly needing to add to the weight of her words, she said, "The elves surely agree! And who are wiser than elves?" Nodding along, the three of them agreed that the elves were wisest of all.

  Smiling to herself as if she had averted disaster, she said, "Anyway, if you listen to me, I will find a way to make it worth your time. Just please stick around until after I have honored the dragon with ivory."

  Having said her piece, she summoned her two attendants back, and then with the help of Batir and his brothers, they helped her dismount safely. Then the three of them started to walk back towards the camp.

  "Should we go with them?" Toghrul asked.

  Batir said, "We will follow them from a distance just to make sure they are safe."

  The three brothers followed the three women, from a distance so they couldn't be heard.

  Eventually, when the three women reached sight of camp, Khantur turned to Batir and asked, "Just to make sure, we are totally still going ahead with the plan, right?"

  Toghrul looked uneasy at Batir, but before he could say something to convince them to quit the escapade, Batir said, "After all, virtue is found in what we are grateful for later, right? Sorry, Aunt Zangil, but this is for the good of the tribe, so it’s not immoral what we are doing."