"After several long, tense minutes, one of the hounds began to bark excitedly somewhere in the trees upstream. The other dogs rushed in that direction and resumed the deep-chested baying that meant they were in close pursuit of their quarry. When the clamor had receded, Roran slowly rose to his full height and swept his gaze over the trees and bushes. "All clear," he said, keeping his voice subdued. As the others stood, Hamund--who was tall and shaggy-haired and had deep lines next to his mouth, although he was only a year older than Roran--turned on Carn, scowling, and said, "Why couldn't you have done that before, instead of letting us go riding willy-nilly over the countryside and almost breaking our necks coming down that hill?" He motioned back toward the stream. Carn responded with an equally angry tone: "Because I hadn't thought of it yet, that's why. Given that I just saved you the inconvenience of having a host of small holes poked in your hide, I would think you might show a bit of gratitude." "Is that so? Well, I think that you ought to spend more time working on your spells we're chased halfway to who-knows-where and--" Fearing that their argument could turn dangerous, Roran stepped between them. "Enough," he said. Then he asked Carn, "Will your spell hide us from the guards?" Carn shook his head. "Men are harder to fool than dogs." He cast a disparaging look at Hamund. "Most of them, at least."