An open mind, she says. Privately (what a joke; we're all reading this), Wake thinks he could do with having it a little more closed.

"I can take it. How long?"

They make their way down and the weather bends away from them, the lantern bobbing across the dark like a driver's helmet light passing through deep water. Does the waterskin he has slung across his shoulder start to feel heavier when they turn off the path in the direction of that valley, or is it just his imagination? Probably the second one. Let's see how long that lasts.