The two old people were picking themselves up, chattering excitedly to one another.
“Efas era yeht!” cried the old woman.
“Egamad on!” her companion agreed.
“What are they talking about?” muttered Jasmine. “I cannot understand a word they say.”
Lief glanced at her. Her face was thunderous.
“Do not frown at them so, Jasmine,” he whispered urgently. “They saved our lives!”
“They nearly took our lives, with their foolish ‘Ring and Enter’ sign,” she snapped. “I do not see why I should be grateful to them!”
“They may not have put the sign there,” Barda pointed out calmly. “It may have been here longer than they have. It looked very old — broken and battered.”
Suddenly, Lief had a terrible thought. He looked down at the piece of wood he held in his hand. It, too, looked very old. And it, too, had a jagged edge, as though it had been broken away from something larger, a long time ago.
Slowly he rubbed away the moss that still clung to one side. His face began to burn as faded words and letters became visible.
In his mind’s eye he fitted this piece of wood to the sign on the other side of the quicksand.
Silently, he held up the piece of wood so that Jasmine and Barda could see the words. Their eyes widened and they groaned as they realized how they had made the mistake that had nearly been their death.
The two old people were bustling up to them. When they in their turn saw the piece of broken sign, they exclaimed and looked shocked.
“Ti was yeht!” cried the woman.
“Ti wonk ton did yeht. Sloof!” growled the man. He took the piece of sign from Lief’s hand and shook his head. Then he pointed across to the other side of the quicksand and made breaking movements with his hands.
Lief nodded. “Yes, the warning sign was broken,” he said, though he knew they could not understand him. “We were fools for not realizing that, and for rushing forward as we did.”
“The sign has been broken for years!” muttered Jasmine, still angry. “The piece that has fallen off is covered in moss. They must have known. And why is there a bell hanging from the tree?”
“If a ring of quicksand surrounds their land, perhaps they rarely leave it,” Barda murmured. “If that is so, how could they know what is beyond?”
The old woman smiled at Lief. Her smile was sweet and merry. She was pink-cheeked, with twinkling blue eyes, and she was wearing a long blue dress. Her apron was white and her grey hair was tied in a knot on the back of her neck.
Lief smiled back at her. She reminded him of a picture in one of the old storybooks in the bookshelf at home. It made him feel warm and safe just looking at her. The old man was also comforting to look at. He had a kind, cheery face, a fringe of grey hair around a bald patch on his head, and a bushy white mustache.
“Nij,” the woman said, patting her chest and bowing slightly. Then she pulled the old man forward. “Doj,” she said, tapping him.
Lief realized that she was telling him their names. “Lief,” he said in return, pointing at himself. Then he held out his hand to Jasmine and Barda and said their names as well.
With each introduction, Nij and Doj bowed and smiled. Then they pointed to the little white house, mimed washing and drinking, and looked at the three companions questioningly.
“Certainly,” beamed Barda, nodding vigorously. “Thank you. You are kind.”
“Yrgnuh era ew,” said Doj, patting him on the back. He and Nij both roared with laughter as if at some great joke, and began walking together towards the house.
“Are you forgetting the Ralad man?” asked Jasmine in a low voice, as the three companions followed. “He will wake and find us gone. He may look for us. What if he falls into the quicksand, too?”
Barda shrugged. “I doubt that he will try to find us,” he said comfortably. “He will be too eager to make his way home again. Though Ralads have always traveled to do their building work, they hate to be away from Raladin for too long.”
As the girl lingered, looking back over her shoulder, his voice sharpened. “Come along, Jasmine!” he complained. “Anyone would think that you enjoyed being wet and covered in slime!”
Lief was hardly listening. His feet were quickening as he approached the little white house with the smoking chimney and the flower gardens. Home, his heart was telling him. Friends. Here you can rest. Here you will be safe.
Barda strode beside him, as eager as Lief was to reach the welcoming house and to enjoy the comforts inside.
Jasmine trailed behind, with Filli nestled against her hair. She was still frowning. If either Lief or Barda had paid attention to her, had listened to her doubts and suspicions, they might have slowed their steps.
But neither of them did. And they did not realize their mistake until long after the green door had shut behind them.
Nij and Doj led the three companions into a large, bright kitchen with a stone floor. Polished pots and pans hung from hooks above the big fuel stove and a large table stood in the center of the room. It reminded Lief of the kitchen in the forge, and he would have been happy to stay there — especially as, like Barda and Jasmine, he was wet and muddy.
But Nij and Doj seemed shocked at the idea of their guests sitting in the kitchen, and bustled them into a cosy sitting room beyond. Here an open fire burned, and there were comfortable-looking easy chairs and a woven carpet on the floor.
With many nods and smiles, Nij gave Jasmine, Lief, and Barda rugs to wrap themselves in, and made them sit by the fire. Then she and Doj rushed away again, making signs to say they would return.
Soon Lief could hear clattering and murmuring in the kitchen. He guessed that the two old people were heating water for baths and perhaps preparing a meal. “Retaw liob,” Nij was saying busily. And Doj was laughing as he worked. “Noos taem hserf! Noos taem hserf!” he was chanting in a singsong voice.
Lief’s heart warmed. Whatever these people had, they would give to help the strangers in trouble.
“They are very kind,” he said lazily. He felt relaxed for the first time in days. The fire was cheery, and the rug around his shoulders was comforting. The room, too, made him feel at home. There was a jug of yellow daisies on the mantelpiece — daisies exactly like the ones that grew wild by the forge gate. Over the fireplace hung a framed piece of embroidery, no doubt made by Nij’s own hands.
“Yes, they are very good,” murmured Barda. “It is for people such as these that we wish to save Deltora.”
Jasmine sniffed. Lief glanced at her and wondered at the restless look on her face. Then he realized that, of course, she had never been inside a house like this, never met ordinary people like Nij and Doj before. She had spent her life in the Forests, among trees, under the sky. No wonder she felt uncomfortable here, instead of at peace as he and Barda did.
Filli was hunched on Jasmine’s shoulder with his paws over his eyes. He was not happy, either, though Nij and Doj had made him welcome, smiling and trying to stroke him.
“Lief,” Jasmine whispered, as she saw him looking at her. “Is the Belt safe? Is the topaz still in place?”
Lief realized with a small shock that he had forgotten all about the Belt until this moment. He felt for it, and was relieved to find that it was still securely fixed around his waist.