He leaned forward and put another branch on the fire. Sparks drifted upwards into the cold night air.

"You are saying we must continue on," said the Baron. His voice was weak and reminded Felix of the crackle of dry leaves. Dieter nodded.

"Perhaps we should go west," said Manfred. "Seek out land there. That way we could miss the hills, assuming there is anything there to fear."

"There is," said Hef. Even in the cheery glow of the fire his features looked pale and strained.

"Going west is a foolish idea anyway," said Frau Winter. Felix saw that she was glaring right at Manfred.

"Oh, how so?" he asked.

"Use your brain, boy. The mountains to the east are the haunt of goblins, now that the dwarf realm is sundered. So the best land will be that furthest away from Thunder River, safest from raids. It will be held by the strongest of the local rulers. Any place to the west will be better defended than Akendorf."

"I know my geography," sneered Manfred. He looked around the fire, meeting the gaze of every watcher. "If we continue south we will come to Blood River, where the wolf-riders are thicker than worms in a corpse."

"In every direction lies peril," wheezed the old Baron. He looked straight at Felix and his blue eyes were very piercing. "Do you think that the Lord of Akendorf warned us to keep to the river simply to make us a tempting target for any raiding greenskins?"

Felix considered for a moment, weighing his judgement. How could he be expected to tell whether the man had been lying or not on the basis of a few minutes' conversation? Felix was acutely conscious that he would influence the destiny of everyone in the caravan by what he said. For the first time in his life he felt a vague glimmer of the responsibilities of leadership. He took a deep breath.

"The man seemed sincere, Herr Baron."

"He was tellin' the truth," said Hef, tamping some smokeweed into the bowl of his pipe. Felix noted the way the man's fingers played nervously with its stem. Hef leaned forward and pulled a twig from the fire, using it to light his pipe before continuing.

"The Geistenmund hills are an evil place. Folk say that centuries agone sorcerers came out of Bretonnia, necromancers exiled by the Sun King. They found the barrows of the folk who passed here in Elder days and used their spells to raise an army. Came very near to conquering the whole of the Border Princes afore the local lords made alliance with the dwarfs of the mountains and threw them back."

Felix felt a shiver pass up his spine. He fought an urge to look back over his shoulder into the shadows.

"Folk say that the sorcerers and their allies retreated into the barrows. These were sealed with dwarven stonework and powerful runes by the victors."

"But that was centuries ago," said Frau Winter. "Strong though their sorceries were, can they endure?"

"I don't know, mistress. But tomb robbers never return from the Geistenmunds. Some nights unnatural lights can be seen in the hills and when both moons are full the dead lie unquiet in their tombs. They come to take the living so that their blood can renew the life of their dark lords."

"Surely that is nonsense," said Dr Stockhausen.