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In the teeks following the speech of the new bishop, Paled considerably Every fourth day, St Precious was filled to overflowing,the holy rituals Few dared question why those rituals involved several collec-tions of the silver and gold bear-stadom, or even, if the person had no
Outwardly, there were few signs of discontent The Bishop&039;s show of power -the streets daily - kept the peace, kept a smile, however strained, on the face of every ation In the words of Pony, it was "faith by intihborhood, the situation wors-ened Since De&039;Unnero had taken charge, the soldiers and iven free rein to harass the of hurling an insult, a ball of spit, even a rock, at the "foreigners" The Behrenese, with their dark skin and different ets for De&039;Unnero&039;s scape-goating, Pony noted She spent ; and it seeh they showed no outward signs, had begun to put together an organized plan of coiven day, though they followed no schedule, most of the weaker Behrenese - the elderly, the infirreat with child - seemed to have disappeared
And always, Pony noted, the sa the insults to pride and to body
Another fellow caught her attention, and Pony watched hi a ship called theSaudi Jacintha - a man of some renown, apparently, one even the monks did not bother Pony knew Captain Al&039;u&039;met by name, for he had been the one to ferry her and Elbryan, Bradwarden, and Juraviel across the Masur Delaval on their return froone to him onMaster Jojonah&039;s recommendation; and with that monk&039;s writ in hand, had secured transport with no questions asked
Al&039;u&039;met was much more than a pirate, Pony and the others had realized, and much more than captain of a ferry for hire He was Jojonah&039;s friend; the Master&039;s recohest order, words based e Outwardly he appeared re the decks of his ship, but Pony saw hi nods with the leader of the Behrenese on several occasions
Pony&039;s ith Belster was going fairly well - most of his substantial netere, to Pony&039;s relief, not enamored of the new bishop - not at all Now she drearoup to the Behrenese, but that, she kneould prove a far ht prove to be the key
"I shall accoitated De&039;Unnero explained to Brother Jollenue and several soldiers as they prepared to leave the abbey on their daily rounds of the earnet, had detected soe from a particular mansion, a house the monks had visited before The ic stones
Brother Jollenue eyed De&039;Unnero suspiciously and fearfully Jollenue had been Bishop De&039;Unnero&039;s leading collector of stones There had been whispers in the abbey - though mostly fro fro deals with thethe only those of lesser power
"I shall not fail, my lord," the monk, a fifth-year brother, reh"
De&039;Unnero&039;s look was incredulous
"It d-does not please me to bother a man as i under that gaze "I endeavor to fulfill my duty"
De&039;Unnero continued to stare at thesquir to do with distrusting him but was more a matter of his own boredoless than exe ned - " a nervous Jollenue started
"Should I have heard such?" De&039;Unnero interrupted, unable to resist The young brother was tre on his forehead
"No, no, my lord," the man replied immediately "I meanthey are just the false accusations of jealous brothers"
De&039;Unnero was enjoying this; in truth, he hadn&039;t heard a single coainst Jollenue
"Every stone collected," Jollenue went on, a hint of desperation in his voice He grewhis hands "Never would I allow a man not of the Church to keep even a tiny diamond, even if his house was bereft of candles," Jollenue declared "Pray in the darkness, I would tell him Reveal your sins to yourself Let God - "
The ht one of his swinging hands and bent his thumb back Faster than the brother could react, the Bishop stepped beside Jollenue&039;s shoulder and drove his index finger up under poor Jollenue&039;s ear on the pressure point
Paralyzed with agony, poor Jollenue could only whi for mercy
"Why, dear Brother Jollenue," Bishop De&039;Unnero re asped "I have not"
"Are you lying?" De&039;Unnero casually asked, pushing so hard with his finger that Jollenue&039;s legs buckled
"No, ive you one last chance to speak that truth If you lie, I shall push ht into your brain, a most painful death, I assure you" Jollenue started to answer, but De&039;Un-nero pushed harder "One last chance," De&039;Unnero repeated "Have you cheated ed to say, and De&039;Unnero released hi and clutching the side of his head
De&039;Unnero raked his eyes over the soldiers, and each of them backed away respectfully
That reaction pleased the new bishop immensely
After Jollenue recovered, they set off - a half dozen soldiers and the two monks At first, Brother Jollenue remained a respectful stride behind De&039;Unnero, but the Bishop beckoned the man to his side
"You have been to this house before - or perhaps it was one of the other groups," De&039;Unnero explained "It does not row nervous, probably for so, it would see his ether"
"But only for a short while, it would seem," Jollenue said hopefully
De&039;Unnero&039;s lip curled, as lanced at Jollenue He picked up the pace, walking deter a cobblestone road, neatly trireat stone houses set far apart, each a fortress of its own, co wall
"That one," De&039;Unnero explained, pointing to a rather plain brownstone dwelling
Brother Jollenue nodded and lowered his gaze
"One of your inspections?" De&039;Unnero asked
"Aloysius Cru of body and of spirit A trader of fine cloths and furs"
"He refused your right of inspection?"
"He allowed us entry," one of the soldiers explained "The man cooper-ated fully, my lord, as much as a proud nity as an inspection"
"You speak as if you know the uarded a caravan on which he was a principal," the soldier admitted "A journey to the Timberlands"
"Indeed," said the Bishop "And tell me of Master Crump"
"A warrior," the soldier said, obviously impressed by the ht, no matter the odds Twice he was left for dead on a field, only to walk back in hours later, very er, and it is a name, I assure you, that is well earned"
"Indeed," the Bishop said again, obviously not impressed "You trust and respect this man?"
"I do," the soldier adment of the man hindered Brother Jollenue&039;s inspection," the Bishop sur the man on the defensive The soldier started to protest, but De&039;Unnero held up his hand "Our discus-sion of this matter ait until a more convenient time," he said "But I warn you, do not hinder my inspection Indeed, you shall wait out here in the middle of the street"
Theout his chest De&039;Unnero marked his defiant attitude and realized he could enjoyably put that pride to the test later
"Co, and quickly," the Bishop ordered the others "Let us pay the es," Brother Jollenue warned, but that hardly slowed De&039;Unnero He rushed to the gate, leaped and grabbed its top, then pulled hi of hounds began, and the gate swung open wide Jollenue and the soldiers ran to join the Bishop, but De&039;Unnero didn&039;t wait for theuard and the two barking dogs, their short black coats shining, their white teeth glea sprinted for the Bishop and, barely ten feet away, leaped high for his throat
De&039;Unnero quickly dropped into a sudden squat Over his head went the the dog, and up snapped De&039;Unnero&039;s hand to grab its hind leg Up went the bishop and out snapped his other hand, catching the dog&039;s other hind leg His hands were crossed, left holding the dog&039;s right leg, right holding the left He lowered the dog down to its front paws, the beast trying to turn and bite hi&039;s legs wide, beyond the tolerance of its pelvic bones Hearing the crack, De&039;Unnero dropped the howling, crippled dog to the ground and spun in ti like an arrow for his throat
Up snapped the Bishop&039;s forear in the air The beast slaed to nip his forearm, but De&039;Unnero&039;s free hand shot out to clasp the dog&039;s throat
With a feral growl, the Bishop held the hundred-pound dog out straight with seeuards gasped in ae to a walk, mouth open
De&039;Unnero held the pose for just a moment, then crushed the aniround at the feet of Cruuard
The man uttered some low threat and advanced a cautious step, sword extended
"Stop!" Brother Jollenue yelled at him "This is Marcalo De&039;Unnero, the bishop of Paluard stared hard at the man, obviously unsure how to proceed De&039;Unneroboldly to thehim aside "There is no need to introduce me to Master Cruh"
Up to the door he went, Brother Jollenue and the soldiers falling into line behind hi blankly at the intruders A kick had the door swinging wide, and the Bishop walked right in
Servants, who had come into the foyer to see what the disturbance was about, scraerousfelloith thick curly black hair sprinkled with gray, entered froe
"What is the lanced back at Brother Jollenue
"Aloysius Cruer monk confir over his face, to regard theas if he meant to lift the Bishop and throw him out into the street Certainly this Crump was an impressive specimen, closer to three hundred pounds than to two, De&039;Unnero estiarish scars were clearly visible, including a scab on the side of the ?" De&039;Unnero echoed softly, with a chuckle "There is a word heavy with connotationMeaning Theof life Perhaps the wordpurpose would have better suited your intent"
"What nonsense do you spout?" Cru couard froht by De&039;Un-nero and his entourage, up to his- the identity of the intruder, the Bishop knew
"My lord," Cru a bow "You should have warned ht have properly - "
"Hidden your gemstones?" De&039;Unnero finished
Aloysius Cru ions of the Timberlands and the Wilderlands Once he had been a trapper, but then he learned how much more money he could make as a middleman for the other trappers and the markets in Palmaris and the more civilized lands
"I have already answered the questions of your Church," Cru his ar, words for lies"
Cru response He was not thee fists balled up at his sides
But then, without warning, De&039;Unnero closed the five feet between theer under the ht, fool Crump," he snarled into the rabbed De&039;Unnero&039;s wrist, but found that er was no easy task
"Words," the Bishop said again " &039;Prithee know that these stones, fallen to the ground of sacred Piifts of the one true God for those of his chosen flock&039; Do you know those words, er, and Cruered back a couple of steps