Crenshaw, Grandpaw and Stone saw them off. The chickens had already scattered according to the plan. They’d probably be back that evening. Crenshaw had his assignment, to find the scouts staging area, but really the chickens would find it well before he did.

Freya, Sela and River stood on the solid carved stone bridge.

"It's sturdier than it seems," Sela said.

"A mouse, a raven and an otter walk into a tea shop," Freya said as they walked past a rabbit guard, "the tea master says what will you have? The mouse says, 'A nice black tea.' The raven says, I will have the otter.'"

"Now you know that is not how it went down," Sela said, smirking.

The bridge looked ancient, but still Freya could see cracks along the pathway.

"This bridge has been repaired using red mist."

River crouched down to look at the golden red cracks. Where the bridge would have separated, what looked like an unguent had been applied. Solid red unguent appeared more frequently as they took the bridge across. To their left the other four bridges all shone with similar cracks.

Freya had wanted to ask why they hadn’t taken the middle bridge, but Sela had drawn a card from a dud deck to choose. Something about not testing fate.

A few Badgers passed them going from the furrows to Marwei. Most of them wore common clothes and carried things in baskets or packs. Several wore armor and brandished halberds, the sign that they belonged to a noble house guard or the Marwei home defense gendarmerie. The other options were possibly that they could be from the fraternal order of badgers, and Freya didn't know enough about their customs to want to ask.

They got some particular looks. But for the most part, they didn't see anything too out of order.

"It would be nice if these bridges had guardrails. Really."

Where there should be railings, the one traveler that could neither swim well or fly in her current state watched in horror. Step after step, where a normal mouse might have worked in safety measures, there were none.

"There's rails on the middle bridge," Sela said, "It's also wider."

"It's safer there, yes. But this is still a working bridge."

"Stone would be complaining about how it wasn’t really as good as beaver work or even otter work."

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"We'll see him soon," River said.

Underneath them the sounds of the Denoue river became a dull background noise.

The bridge felt long but after only ten minutes they were across.

The furrows guards looked at them suspiciously but after seeing something in Selas hand, let them pass without incident.

Ahead of them, the furrows reached up. Layers of homes packed themselves up to a small raised grassy knoll. Even from the waters edge, they could see many watchers up on top of the city.

“They can see around for a while,as Marwei is surrounded by water on three sides, they generally only concern themselves with the bridges and the mainland. The fact that I see several lookouts in each direction, means they’re on edge,” Sela said.

Freya realized that something else was different on this side of the river.

“There aren’t any birds flying around,” she said.

In Marwei, several flights of birds had been moving around in odd patterns, but they had been flying.

“There’s a reason. Cat archers have been firing at them relentlessly from the west. There’s no sense in wasting lives.”

Freya nodded. Birds could fly up high and get a good idea of the disposition of the enemy forces, but if they flew too close…

“I remember that they used the trees to climb and look out, and I see more woodlands rising up over there.”

Ahead of them, the tree cover reached far higher than the Furrow's highest point. She turned back to see birds flying above Marwei, and a similar tree cover.

“They can see the disposition from across the way, if they can get high enough, and their eyes are sharp,” Sela said.

“Okay, we’ve reached the furrows, now what?” Freya said, turning to River.

Ahead of them a wall rose to three times her height. A gate was partially lowered, just enough to give the impression that it could go down on command.

“Well, first, did you notice anything about the bridges?”

Freya frowned, turning back to look at the five engineering marvels.

“You could fit about four Soldiers across and still have room? There are weak points in the middle?”

“There’s always weak points in a structure.”

Freya looked beyond the question.

“We need a way out. There are only these, if we travel by boots. That is how cats travel.”

Freya pressed a paw to her boot knife. Thankfully it was still there.

River smiled.

“Now you’re getting it. Always have an out,” River said.

“What else?”

Freya scanned the peninsula’s shores.

“There are few boats? I actually thought there would be more,” Freya said.

“Perhaps on the south side, where the current is less harsh?” Sela nodded to their left.

A twinkle shone in his eyes.

“You know something, don’t you,” Freya said, “You told her something that is circle business and I haven’t yet learned what it is. Do I need to know it now?”

River nodded.

“We’ve long suspected that of all the races, the cats and particularly this Marquise, would flout the laws of the circle. For years they have sent fewer and fewer druids and we thought it was an ominous trend.”

River paused to gaze upon the land.

“It was a trend, but not the one we thought. And I pray that Sela has made a mistake. Tell her.”

River’s eyes closed.

“There is evidence that they’re using magic to aid their Army,” Sela said, his face dour, ”Something like your temporary bonds can be understood as a tool to help the common folk. I have seen the cats working together with beasts from the burrows.”

“Did you say, the furrows?”

“No,” he said reluctantly, “unfortunately.”