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"I&039;ll not tolerate your lies," the spirit of Markwart stated bluntly, his expressionBoth Markwart and De&039;Unnero were amazed by the coes this ti Markwart&039;s spirit, seeible, almost physical, had merely walked into De&039;Unnero&039;s pri-vate room and struck up a conversation with the Bishop!

Despite the i presence, the confident Marcalo De&039;Unnero only smiled and rested back calmly in his comfortable chair

"Do not doubt that I can reach you," Markarned

"Oh, but I do not, Father Abbot," the Bishop replied "I only doubt that you would desire to strike out against oals are the same and I aer you"

"It is your lies," Markwart growled

De&039;Unnero held up his hands innocently, as if he didn&039;t understand what Markas talking about

"The gemstone confiscation," Markwart clarified, "the pretense of it I do not disapprove of your handling of the merchants - they are not men of the Church and thus should not be in possession of the sacred stones We agree on this point"

De&039;Unnero studied the man closely He knew they were both pleased by the prospect of strengthening the Church&039;s hold and power over the king-doh to understand that the Father Abbot shared this view - that his and Markwart&039;s ht not be similar

"Do not pretend that your work in Palmaris is directly related to the friends of Avelyn Debris," Markent on "You are well aware that they are not in your city"

De&039;Unnero conceded the point with a nod "My focus will change as I learn more about their whereabouts," he promised

"Your focus will remain on Palmaris," Markwart instructed "Your work here is even itives"

De&039;Unnero&039;s expression went suddenly griuard "Father Abbot," he said deliberately, "even while I strengtheninforitives They are north of the city but not beyond my reach"

"Yourreach?" Markwart echoed "Are we back to that, Master De&039;Unnero?"

De&039;Unnero lowered his eyes, not wanting the e reflected thereMaster De&039;Unnero? The word simmered in the bile at the back of his throat How crude a reminder of as the leader here and who the servant In the Abellican Order, referring to athe e this battle?" Markwart asked "How e the business of the legacy of Avelyn Desbris and that the business of Marcalo De&039;Unnero is of a higher matter?"

"And how many others must fail before you allow acy?" De&039;Unnero dared to reply "First Quintal, then the fools Youseff and Dandelion"

"Fools trained by De&039;Unnero," Markwart reminded

"And De&039;Unnero told you that they would fail," the Bishop retorted "These friends of Avelyn have proven theerous foes They have survived, noteverything we have sent their way And let us not forget our strong belief that these fugitives journeyed to Mount Aida, con-fronted Bestesbulzibar, and won!"

Markwart erowl

"We cannot underestimate them," De&039;Unnero countered "By all ac-counts, the woely powerful, and the h stopped the Bishop short, and De&039;Unnero real-ized he was being er in your eyes as you speak of worthy oppo-nents," Markwart explained, finally catching on to the Bishop&039;s real

"They coue you," Markwart corrected "You have coe Is it possible that Marcalo De&039;Un-nero is not the greatest warrior in the world?"

"Are we not to retrieve the stolen gee the focus, which of course only confirmed Markwart&039;s suspicions

"Of course, Bishop," the Father Abbot purred "Yet it seeemstones are not your prihtbird is concerned

"Be assured that I a you," Markwart added as De&039;Un-nero leaned forward to protest "Indeed, I admire your aspiration Ever since you first came to St-Mere-Abelle, you have been deter skills You heard the whispers that you are the finest warrior ever to come forth from the Abellican Order, and those whispers bother you profoundly"

"How so?" De&039;Unnero asked "If I am as full of vanity as you seem to believe, then should not those whispers thrill me?"

"No," Markwart answered bluntly, "because they are just whispers, and because not everyone agrees And because, reatest of theAbellican warriors You would not limit your reputa-tion so"

"Pride," De&039;Unnero replied "The deadliest sin of all"

Again Markwart laughed "The man who is without pride is without ambition, and the man who is without ambition is no better than a beast of burden No, Marcalo De&039;Unnero, bishop of Palhtbird is aes But only - " the Father Abbot paused, holding a skinny finger out threaten-ingly " - only if your contest is waged in the natural course of other, , and we are the harbingers of that change I&039;ll not risk acy and the potential do&039;s pride"

"But how htbird is no more?" De&039;Unnero protested loudly "I knohere to find the thieves; destroying the that which was stolen will prove but a minor task"

"No!" Markwart retorted sharply, and there was power in his voice that put De&039;Unnero back in his seat, silent, staring at the specter

"No," Markwart said again "There is no need to take such a chance now Your focus must remain the vital work in Palmaris"

"But - "

"Plot carefully, my friend," Markwart continued "There are better ways to proceed Gain the trust of Nightbird and the wouard"

"I doubt the disciples of Avelyn Desbris would ever trust the Abellican Church of Dalebert Markwart," De&039;Unnero replied bluntly

"You are fortunate, my servant," Markwart answered, "for I know that you are wiser than your words would indicate There are better ways for you to encompass the demise of Avelyn&039;s followers You will discover the in the darkened room, the spirit of Markwart faded

De&039;Unnero sat in his chair, his hands up before hiether as he considered his options The one as he had hoped, for Markas proving himself far more astute than the Bishop would ever have believed De&039;Unnero had thought that his assignment to Pal him some autonomy, but Markwart&039;s newfound tricks with the soul stone had put him more under the thumb of the Father Abbot than he had been at St-Mere- Abelle

That truth only rier, and he leaped up from his chair and storer&039;s paw and fell into its reat cat If he killed the two priry with hihtbird that the Church was still watching - only forced hi - then, De&039;Unnero realized, he would be better off if the dangerous warrior slew him in the forest

Better that than face the wrath of Markwart

And as thisabout Nightbird De&039;Unnero had known Dalebert Markwart for more than a decade and had been one of his advisers for several years, ever since he had trained the first brother justice, Quintal, to go after Avelyn Desbris Yet now, speaking with this spirit, feeling the deeper poithin the will of the Father Abbot, De&039;Unnero felt as if he didn&039;t know the man at all or at least, as if he had underestimated him all these years

That alone iven to hi his room, to an alterna-tive plan

Markwart soared back to his waiting corporeal for on his bed in St-Mere-Abelle He was pleased as he crossed through his outer roo that no one had disturbed the place