alongside Bernibus the Canitaur, with his fellows Wagner and Taurus
before and behind us, respectively, the former leading the way, the
latter covering our tracks, and both on the lookout for an ambush. An
entire lifetime of guerrilla warfare and privations of all kinds had
instilled in the Canitaurs a strong and prevailing sense of caution,
which sometimes rendered their lighthearted and almost spiritually
frivolous nature to the casual observer a dense, deceiving demeanor used
to conceal their true selves. But that was not the case, I believe, for
they were, or at least Bernibus was, truly amorous in personality.

The sky was then in its deepest dark, and in the few breaks in the
canopy above large enough to be seen through, there were few celestial
lights to illuminate the depths of that mountainous forest. The forest
itself sprawled like a great metropolis along the lands above the large
central lake of Daem, Lake Umquam Renatusum, which was close beside the
Canitaur outpost where we had narrowly escaped discovery and capture.
However deficient in sight the forest was, it was abounding with sounds,
everything from the call of the owl to groan of the bull frog, it was as
if the whole of the forest had congregated about us, drawn to us by some
unknown scent of interest and intrigue.

Continuing on for some time in the same way, I found myself growing
weary, nodding my head slowly towards the oblivion of sleep, until I was
brought to an instant liveliness by Wagner's announcement that we had
reached our destination. I looked around carefully, yet I saw nothing at
all to indicate the entrance to a large, covert military establishment,
much to my companions delight. Their whimsical sense of humor surfaced
once again as they laughed with seemingly infinite pleasure, both at my
wondering expression and with a sense of satisfaction at their own
cleverness. After the outburst had been subdued and a certain level of