The caravan wound down the pathway by the Maltan, penetrating the lush green of the valley. Tirseng walked in the vanguard, accompanied by the three sherpa guards Opar, Binnal and Lemsah. Bierce walked slightly behind them, for he had insisted on accompanying the party. Ahead, a large group had assembled, close by a great stone statue of Buddha that eternally gazed up the path to the Maltan Pass. Several children separated from the group, running up to embrace the sherpa guards. Lemsah, the eldest sherpa, swung a three year old girl up onto his shoulders as she giggled. A tall woman stepped from the throng to embrace Lemsah, followed by two other sherpa women who continued down the path hand-in-hand with their men. The rest of the crowd fell in behind the Princess' sedan chair, chanting a song and smiling. Far ahead, on the bank of the lake, a larger crowd had gathered, milling around near a large, gilt, gazebo-like structure that had been erected near the palace. Pennants of many colors flew from the summit of the structure, and from the palace.

As the caravan approached the palace, a buzz of astonishment circulated through the people of the valley as first one, then more, then all glimpsed the haggard form of Curioso. Some, astonished, felt that the Prince himself walked the trail with them. But he had never been seen in such humble circumstances, dust-covered, leaning on a woman in weakness, so the whisperings began to say that this one was the Prince's brother, come to rule with him. A party of monks were seen to mount the steps of the gilt structure, and in their center, in a robe of black silk overlaid with gold embroidery, was Monotek.

Bierce tapped Tirseng on the shoulder and said " it appears you are to receive the highest honor...a personal welcome from the Prince. I suggest you keep one hand on your wallet and the other on your dagger."