The falcon soared high above the ground, looking for prey. It was beginning to get light. The terrain that spread out around looked like a huge sloping ridge or a desert, instead of dunes, dotted with hills on which not a single tree grew. The tops of the hills from afar resembled the bald humps of camels. A thick morning fog still reigned between the hills, reliably hiding the field mice and nimble lizards from the predatory eyes of the falcon. From time to time, human figures flashed in the fog - a small detachment of horsemen slowly moving along the road laid in the hills. From a distance, the riders resembled bathers - they plunged into the fog, then resurfaced.