Two excruciating weeks passed quickly, and Finley granted Abrial her long-awaited freedom from the infirmary tent. The two of them began to attend the early morning and afternoon drills of the raiding regiment, which were a piece of cake for Abrial — except the part about waking up early. Finley practically had to pour a bowl of cold water on her face every morning to wake her up, reminding Abrial that this was what she'd been so excited about, wasn't it? So get out of bed.
As Abrial and Finley were heading to the eastward dining tent for dinner, feeling very sore from all of the drills and horseback riding Sir Niklas had enthusiastically forced the regiment to practice for hours, Lyra ran up to them, waving wildly.
"Hey! Where are you two going? Aren't you heading to the Autumn Festival?"
"What Autumn Festival?" Abrial puzzled, stretching her aching back. "I'm starving. We're heading to get food."
