And so I continued eastwards until I came upon a small settlement. I hid in a thicket near the road into town until a pleasant-looking young woman about my age arrived, carrying a crude basket filled with what appeared to be scabby wild apples. The late morning sun cast its short shadow on the earth and cobblestones. I stored my sword, my sleeping bag, and my two goatskins under the brown leaves of late autumn. I came out from behind a tree, perhaps a little too hastily, because she took a step or two back, perhaps mistaking me for a man. I often forget how tall I am for a girl. Besides, my hair still hadn't grown and looked, I knew, like it had been cut with a few stones. I immediately feigned innocence and ignorance, asking if the village was terribly far away. She looked me up and down. and her sudden ease made me believe that she had assessed from my figure, although slender, that I was indeed a woman. She smiles; Playing myself as the traveler in difficulty, I hoped she would. “It’s only a few miles from here. I really can't miss it. She wasn't as attractive up close, with all her missing teeth and little open sores. Looking at me again, she added, “Are you on the run?” Slavers after you? I rubbed a bug on my cheek. “What does the local authority do here? » “Sheriff. Rothing County Sheriff. But don't count on this brute to help you. » “And why?” » “He is a corrupt man, like them all, and he imposes little pity on us. Worse still, he exercises the right of sheriff of the first bed every spring at the wedding ceremony of his choice. And he's not very nice about it. His men – six in all – are ruthless thugs who stink of wine and rotten meat and who... middle of paper... attack the ankle with a quick and graceful movement. I went towards the father with my stick and hit him across the temple, knocking him unconscious and off his horse. I gathered up the throbbing stallion and led him towards the man. The sheriff's crowd was within earshot. And then it happened. I started to become visible. The man, once again on the stallion, looked at the mare, then at me, with his mouth open. I looked down at my own shimmering, naked body. The sheriff's men were almost upon us now, closing in quickly. “Ride, man,” I shouted. I turned the mare around and rode like I had never ridden before. It was a magical mount. I looked over my shoulder and saw the handsome man going the other way, into the river, only to lose track of him. And then they started chasing me. Exactly as I had hoped. Exactly as I had planned. And now I'm going to lead them all to hell.