"I have not come across any like them," Bradan said. "Not even in Fidach. I have never met a dragon or any of the other mythical creatures with which mothers terrify their children." He looked northward across the well-tended land. "If there were any, I don"t doubt that the Picts would have hunted them down many years ago. They are notable hunters."
As they entered Fidach, the Pictish horsemen moved closer, escorting Melcorka and Bradan across their territory.
"They are very wary of two people, and one armed only with a stick," Melcorka said.
"The Picts are very wary of everybody who is not a Pict," Bradan told her.
They walked on, through lands that were increasingly populated, with small fields of already sown barley and oats on the lower ground, and dun cattle, goats and sheep on th
