Sorceress of Darshiva

"Keep in touch," he suggested even as he began to change form.
    They rode along at a careful walk, and Garion buckled on his shield.
    "Do you really think that's going to help if we run into an entire army?" Zakath asked him.
    "It may not help much, but it won't hurt."
    Belgarath rode now with his face lifted toward the murky sky. Garion could feel the old man's thought reaching out.
    "Not so loud, father," Polgara cautioned. "We’ve got Grolims all around us."
    "Good," he replied. "None of them will be able to tell who's making the noise. They'll all think it's just another Grolim."
    They rode on slowly with all of them watching the old sorcerer. "North!" he exploded finally. "Beldin's found the gorge where the ambush is. It's behind us. A little hard riding now and we'll be completely clear of both armies."
    "Why don't we just sort of step right along, then?" Silk suggested.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
    They galloped south through the desolate countryside of western Darshiva with Velvet once again leading Ce'Nedra's horse. The little queen clung to the side of the carriage with one hand and kept the other on her amulet. "The Darshivans still don't know that Urvon's waiting in ambush for them," she called.
    "I'd imagine they'll find out before too long," Silk called back.
    "How far is it to the border of Gandahar?" Garion asked Zakath.
    "I'd guess about twenty leagues."
    "Grandfather," Garion said, "do we really have to go that far south?"
    "Probably not," the old man replied. "Beldin's on up ahead. As soon as we're well past Urvon's scouts, he'll lead us up into the mountains. I don't have any particular urge to explore Gandahar, do you?"
    "Not really, no."
    They rode on.
    The overcast grew perceptibly thicker, and Garion felt the first drops of a chill rain striking his face. They crested a hill, and Belgarath rose in his stirrups the better to see what lay ahead. "There," he said, pointing. "He's circling."
    Garion peered out across the shallow valley on the far side of the hill. A solitary bird, hardly more than a minuscule black speck in the distance, swung almost lazily in the air. They plunged down the hill, and the bird veered and flew off toward the west with slow strokes of his wings. They turned and followed. The intermittent rain turned to a chilly drizzle, obscuring the surrounding countryside with its filmy haze.
    "Don't you just love to ride in the rain?" Silk said with heavy irony.
    "Under the circumstances, yes," Sadi replied. "Rain's not quite as good as fog, but it does cut down the visibility, and there are all manner of people looking for us."
    "You've got a point there," Silk admitted, pulling his cloak tighter about him.
    The terrain grew increasingly rugged with outcroppings of weathered stone jutting up out of the ground. After about a half-hour of hard riding, Beldin led them into a shallow gully. They rode on, and the gully walls grew progressively steeper and higher. Soon they were riding up a narrow, rocky ravine.
    It was midafternoon by now, and they were all thoroughly soaked. Garion wiped his face and peered ahead. The sky to the west appeared to be growing lighter, giving promise of clearing. He had perhaps not even been aware of how much the prevailing gloom hanging over Darshiva had depressed him. He urged Chretienne into a run. Somehow he seemed to feel that once they reached the sunlight again, they would be safe.
    He rounded a bend in the ravine and saw Beldin standing in the trail ahead of them. The dwarfs matted hair hung in scraggly wet strands about his shoulders, and his beard was dripping. "You'd better slow down," he growled at them. "I could hear you coming for a mile, and we're not alone in these foothills."
    Regretfully, Garion reined Chretienne in.
    "Exactly where does this ravine lead?" Belgarath asked the hunchback.
    "It twists and turns a lot, but eventually it opens out onto a ridge top. The ridge runs north and south. If we follow it north, we'll come to the main caravan route. That's the fastest way down into Dalasia."
    "Everybody else knows that, too."
    "That's all right. We'll be at least a day ahead of them. They still have a battle to fight."
    "Are you going to scout ahead again?"
    "Not until the rain lets up. My feathers are wet. It'd take a derrick to get me off the ground again. Oh, one other tiling. When we get to that ridge, we're going to have to be careful. A couple leagues north, it runs just a few miles above the spot where Nahaz has his ambush set