Enis took up a watch position nearby, carefully scanning the steep path down which they had approached, the Wasted Land that stretched between this scree-slope and the louring walls of the Pale in the distance, and the tentative outreach of vegetation that had begun to invade the disturbed soil this side of the ravine. He saw a couple of flying fowl flap eastwards against the darkening orange sky, and a fat lizard, marked all down its back with virulent blue diamonds, scurry from cover to cover among the broken rocks. He would have taken his chances at catching that juicy reptile, but for the fact that Mashtuk stayed so alertly still, his eyes fixed on the face plates of the humachine. Enis maintained his vigilance, occasionally repositioning himself to avoid cramps and stay alert. It was
