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Brau fro the top floor of the abbey&039;s northern wing He was collecting candlesticks, of which there were a multitude in the dark stone abbey, but specific ones, ones froun and that he had spent the weeks since Jojonah&039;s death finishing All the candlesticks in this wing had a single sunstone set in thee stu-dents, and the masters had devised the sunstone syste with clear quartz, the stone of distance sight, or even heentle and calm elderly man, had shown Brother Brau-min how to determine which candlesticks were enchanted - no easy task with sunstone! Brother Brauress with a story about so candlesticks The iven Brauht after studies
Master Engress had no idea of the extent of Brother Brauof the disciples of Avelyn, strategically placing the candlesticks in adjoining roo eyes The only hope for his group was in secrecy, Braumin knew, for if the always-suspicious Markwart ever realized how subversive their rhetoric had become, they would likely share the fiery fate of Master Jojonah
This night, Braued the others to make it less obvious that some had been taken, then rushed away
To Brother Francis, though, the altered count of candlesticks was obvi-ous He crept through the study rooms even as Brother Brau the empty, dusty corridors four levels down
Francis did not i the top level to the private quarters of Father Abbot Markwart He knocked softly, afraid to disturb the Father Abbot Then, hearing Markwart&039;s call, he entered to find him at his desk, a jumble of papers before him and the rem-nants of his dinner off to the side
"You should takemeal, Father Abbot," Francis offered "I worry that you - " The young lared up at hiht," Markwart replied, shoving the papers about
"St-Mere-Abelle requires a large staff," Francis replied "And abonds who leave as soon as they have collected enough h a few meals"
"A few drinks, more likely," Markwart said sourly "If that is the case, then why did you not separate the various groups represented in this list in a more orderly fashion? Those who left before the invasion and escape on one page, perhaps Those who left soon after on another, and those who remain on the third"
"You insisted that I hurry, Father Abbot," Francis meekly protested "And many of those who left before the intrusion, returned soon after it I found it alorize the workers unless I used ories"
"Work on it, then!" Markwart roared, shoving the papers forward; lided to the floor "We must ensure that Jojonah and those others who invaded the abbey did not leave a spy behind Discern likely suspects and watch them closely If you decide that one, anyone, is possibly a spy, then arrest hiht torture hiht, but he wisely kept silent Still, he realized that his sour expression betrayed his feelings when Markwart&039;s glare intensified
"Have you been watching Brother Braumin closely?" the Father Abbot asked
Francis nodded
"I do not trust hi around the corner of his desk, "though neither do I fear hie with ti needed for the rank of master"
"You will promote him?" Francis blurted, eyes ith shock - and er, for Francis believed that he would be promoted because of loyalty to the Father Abbot By that sa, it seemed impossible that Brother Braumin Herde, friend of the heretic Jojonah, would also rate a promotion!
"It is the best course," Markwart replied without hesitation "In De&039;Un-nero and Je&039;howith I have strong allies, but many of the other abbots, andclosely to ensure that ainst Jojonah were not personal"
"And were they?" Francis asked He knew he had made a mistake as soon as the words ca only a step fro his wrinkled old head slowly, his eyes flaring with an intensity that fright-ened Francis and made him think that Markould strike him dead where he stood - and the old man&039;s shaved head and pointed ears only accentuated that frightening visage In that fleeting second while Markwart held his gaze, Francis believed that the man could do it, could simply strike him dead, and with hardly an effort!
"There are those who quietly question - quietlybecause they are cow-ards, you see," Markent on, going back to his pacing "They wonder if the sudden turn against the heretic Jojonah was in the best interest of the Church, if the evidence of conspiracy was strong enough to so quickly con-vict and condemn I have heard more than one who murmured that it would have been better if we had extracted a full confession from the man before we burned him"
Francis nodded, but he knew, as did Markwart, that Jojonah would never have confessed to anything evil The bravethe prisoners, excusing his actions by trying to turn the accusation against Markwart But the confession Markanted - one in which Jojonah admitted that he had conspired with Brother Avelyn to steal the stones and o - would never have happened And they both knew that the conspiracy so envi-sioned had never actually happened
"But enough of that," Markent on, waving his skinny arm briskly - and Francis understood then that so on "There has come a shift in the balance of power," Markwart explained
"A Danube needs help in restoring order to Palmaris With the Baron and his sole heir dead, the city is in turmoil"
"And they are without their beloved Abbot Dobrinion," Francis added
"You do testthat awful glare on hier leader in Abbot De&039;Unnero than ever they realized in Dobrinion"
"They will co hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice
"They will come to respect him!" Markwart corrected "To fear hi, is the true power in their lives, their hopes beyond this mortal coil, their only chance of redemption or true joy Marcalo De&039;Unnero is the perfect man to teach them, or at least to cow them until they understand the truth"
"Abbot?"
"Bishop," Markwart corrected
He could have knocked Brother Francis over with a feather Francis was a the finest historians at St-Mere-Abelle, a raphy and politics of the various regions of the knoorld He knehat the title of bishop entailed, and knew, too, that such a title had not been bestowed in more than three hundred years
"You seem surprised, Brother Francis," Markwart remarked "You do not believe that Marcalo De&039;Unnero is fit for the task?"
"N-not that, Father Abbot," thewould relinquish the second city of Honce-the-Bear to the Church"
Markwart&039;s laughter mocked that notion "Thus I need you to be my eyes and ears in St-Mere-Abelle," the Father Abbot said
"You will be leaving?"
"Not yet," Markwart replied, "but I will be looking elsewhere more often than not So keep watch over troubleso these new additions and subtractions to the staff" He waved his skinny hand at Francis then, turning away to resuer monk bowed and quickly left
The news had stunned Francis, and he tried hard to sort it out as hethe sa supporter of Marcalo De&039;Unnero, mostly because he, like almost everyone else, was deathly afraid of the volatile and unpredictable ht De&039;Unnero beco to be controlled by Father Abbot Mark-wart? Francis shook his head, trying to dis notion Markwart seemed pleased by the develope role in facilitating thee of De&039;Unnero after the powrie attack against St-Mere-Abelle, the man wild-eyed and covered in blood, most from his enemies, but- in fighting that De&039;Unnero had invited, for no better reason than his desire to kill powries, by opening the loharf gates!
The monk shuddered Had this new development put De&039;Unnero in line for the position of Father Abbot? And if it had, would Francis, or any of the others so loyal to Markwart, survive?
Those were questions for another ti the shadows of the lower levels, and heard the whispered prayers
It began, as always, with a prayer to Jojonah and one to Avelyn The group went unusually quiet after that, fourfor Brother Brau of the story ofWindrunner and the voyage to Pimaninicuit
Braumin understood their excitement and their fear To speak openly of Pi Father Abbot, was a serious crie to the island to collect the stones, Pelli three brothers, had rambled on about his adventures
He had not survived the winter
And now Braue - was, in effect, placing upon the his stand against Markwart in ainst the demon dactyl Braumin conjured thatheaven-ward through the devastation as if in defiance of death itself
Then he began his tale, recounting the story in vivid detail, as Jojonah had told it to hi on the teasing story he had given the Braumin had pre-pared himself well for this most important speech, and he spoke with pride of the battle the crew - particularly the four ainst a powrie barrelboat, focusing on Avelyn&039;s heroics in that fight
"Theforth his clenched fist, "empowered it and tossed it - tossed it, I say - into the open hatch of the powrie vessel, only releasing its energies within the bowels of the craft!"
A gasp ca hiical release, but it was considered an almost impossible feat, particularly with a stone as powerful and de as a ruby
"It is true," Braumin insisted "And Brother Avelyn did not even under-stand the significance of his action When he recounted the tale to Master Jojonah upon his return to St-Mere-Abelle, the master bade hie clearly illustrates Avelyn Desbris&039; powers"
"And ould Master Jojonah want that to remain a secret?" Brother Dellht also be construed as heretical, a demon-inspired burst of power," Brauh to understand that inertia guides the Abellican Church, that anything beyond the ordinary ht be construed as a threat to those insecure in their power" He let the words settle in their thoughts, then went on to the rest of the journey, his voice softer now, all pride gone from his al raine, at the behest of Brother Quintal, because that young man, beyond all reason, leaped froain of Thagraine&039;s falling from faith on the island, a disastrous lapse that lefthim out in the open when the stone showers commenced, to be battered, and finally killed by a blow to the head - hit by the same stone that would eventually destroy the demon dactyl
And then, in even more somber tones, Brother Braumin recounted the journey ho apart the leader of the er, he told of the phony payh use of the sacred ge holy, detailing graphically the ultimate destruction of theWindrunner and her crew
When it was over, the fivewhile