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He was notSyer turned south as soon as he understood the truth of the disaster at the plateau: the power of Avelyn had not coer had no idea what he should do
He thought of trying to sneak into the caainst the powries in Caer Tinella, after all, had stolen prisoners and food right out froer dis of Honce-the-Bear and hisunit Worse, this was Father Abbot Markwart and Bishop De&039;Unnero and a host of geet into the encaet away And even if he did et theood They had been armed, after all, when they had first encountered this force, and it see&039;s or Father Abbot&039;s minions had even been injured!
So he rode, hard and fast, the great stallion easily outpacing the troop He came into Dundalis and learned, to his continued distress, that Tomas, too, had been taken
Still he rode, past Caer Tinella and Landsdown, down the road toward Palht accomplish there, he did not know Lost and alone, the rove, and only then did he learn that not all his friends were caught or dead Belli&039;mar Juraviel found hi that Nightbird had so his counterstrikes
With a heart that grew heavy as soon as the initial joy and relief at seeing Juraviel faded, Roger recounted the events at the Barbacan The elf listened with , profound sadness, for it seeer asked when he had finished, Juraviel olden eyes
The elf looked at hi Lady Dasslerond&039;s instructions
"Witness?" Roger said incredulously "Witness to what? A mass execution?"
"Perhaps," Juraviel adh Caer Tinella?"
"I know not," Roger adh Dundalis only a day behinda lower trail Yet that was nearly a week ago Their course was south, to Palmaris, I expect But they cannot pace Syht be"
"Are Nightbird and Pony still alive?" Juraviel asked Roger winced, for he, too, had pondered that question often over the last few days
"It is likely that the King ant theht to Palo," Roger reasoned
"Outside the gates," Juraviel replied "I wish to witness their entrance to the city, that we ht determine if our friends are still with them, and still alive, and, if we are quick and clever, where they er Lockless looked forlornly to the north The night-, and thewas in bloorand procession, prisoners in tow, ate of Palmaris The only concession Danube had won from Markwart on the entire journey south was to allow the prisoners to ride upright, with sonity until the trial could coht posture brought little coh Mark-as careful to keep the dangerous ranger and his equally dangerous wife far apart, both during the day&039;sthem no opportunity to speak They did er opportunity to stare lovingly at Pony, toat all to ry with her, not only that he had forgiven her, but that he understood that there was nothing to forgive
One thing did perplex hiht him more than a little worry: Pony was obviously not with child A er, all the et the answers Had the child been born? Had she lost the baby? And if it was alive, then hom? And if not, then who had killed it?
He could not know, and no one would speak with him He had been placed in the care of the Allheart line, moved far away from Pony, and Markwart and Danube had been very specific to the soldiers guarding hie hier&039;s disencies at all confronted them all the way to Palmaris
He took sou-ment that ensued once they were inside the city He, Pony, the five monks, and Bradwarden were to be jailed at St Precious Colleen and Sha with Tomas and the folk of Dundalis, fell under the care of Duke Kalas at the house of Aloysius Crueons of the abbey, he saw Pony briefly, passing her more closely than at any time
"I love you," he said quickly, before the nearest ether"
And then twohi around his ht
He did hear Pony say, "I love you," and heard, too, her charge that Markwart had ed to his cell and thrown inside, the heavy door slaer collected hih the filth to his door and call out for Pony
To his surprise, a voice answered
"Pony?" he asked desperately
"Brother Braumin," came the distant response "Pony is far down the corridor, the furthest cell from your own Except for Bradwarden; he is in another corridor, for none of these cells would hold hiainst the door, thoroughly defeated
"My brothers and I are all in line between you, my friend," came Braumin&039;s voice "We will relay your words to her, and hers to you, if you do notthem"
Elbryan chuckled at the absurdity of it all, but he did take Braumin up on the offer He told Pony of all his adventures since she had left hih Braumin Pony&039;s response, most pointedly the tale of the disaster on the field outside Palmaris, when she had lost her - their - baby
"They will try thethe next ossip; no two people in the city passed by on the street without an exchange of news
"Those four re Danube reasoned "Markill surely condeh he will not likely execute thehtbird and the wo and evil affair," Constance dared to say
King Danube didn&039;t disagree
"Is there nothing we can do?" she asked
The King only chuckled helplessly "We are to hold our own trials," he explained "And our sentencing will probably be no less harsh than the Father Abbot&039;s Both the woman Kilronney, soldier of the forhtfully so by their own actions"
"Yet they acted out of conscience, against what they perceived as injus-tice," Constance reranted such permis-sion?" he asked
"Are we to try them first?" Constance continued "At the sa?"
King Danube sat back in his chair and spent a long tih he was not sure that he would stick with the decision "Perhaps by that time, the peasants&039; taste for blood will be sated and soht be spared"
Constance turned away She wanted to yell at hi, that he could dishtbird and Pony Or could he? she suddenly wondered What would be the price of such an action, in addition to the obvious enmity of the Abel-lican Church?
"Thehis head, "he fell right before ht before he struck the stone"
"I a," she replied
"Sorry?" Danube scoffed "The h he knew that he was but an instant from death I will never understand these Abellican monks, Constance, so fanatical that they do not even fear death"
"But you riht settled heavily on both their shoulders There was little doubt that Markwart now held the upper hand Markwart, risen frorave Mark-wart, the valiant Father Abbot, so old and yet strong enough to travel all the way to the Barbacan to capture the erous cri about Markwart, the hero of the coer force within Palmaris, his position seemed hen compared to that of the Father Abbot
Duke Kalas entered the rooed
"The centaur is no criminal," he declared immediately
"You have interviewed the creature?" Danube asked, eyes wide
"Bradwarden is his name," Kalas explained "But, no, the monks would not let me speak with any of the prisoners held in St Precious"
King Danube banged his fist on the arm of his chair He had sent Kalas to the abbey to demand an intervieith any whose words would be rele-vant to the trial of Shaiven thean interview
And Markwart had denied hi his way from St Precious to Chasewind Manor," Kalas explained
"Je&039;howith," King Danube echoed in a wicked tone, for the King was not pleased with the old abbot
"He deigned not to speak with ether"
The King looked at hiive ly or I would cut it from his mouth," the volatile Kalas explained "I had ten Allheart soldiers with me, while Je&039;hoas accompanied by merely a pair of monks"
"You threatened the abbot of St Honce?" Constance asked incredu-lously, though she too, frustrated, didn&039;t seem too upset by the action
"I would have killed hiht there, on the open street, and let Father Abbot Markwart declare allows!"
"But you did not," the King prompted
"He spoke with one on the first journey to Mount Aida, the one during which Markwart first captured the centaur Bradwarden, and brought hi hihtbird and Pony rescued hi their own fates as criminals," he explained "But that premise is only valid if one considers the centaur a criminal, and from what I have learned, that is far frohtbird and Pony and several others, including the e of Abbots formally declared heretic last Calember"
"Thus they are criminals by association with the heretic," Danube reasoned
"They went, so the centaur claiainst Honce-the-Bear," Kalas explained "And, indeed, even the Church admits that the demon dactyl was there destroyed!"
"They saved the country, but are cri her head
"What are we to do?" Duke Kalas deaze on a distant point and then let-ting that point ness as he pondered the situation He understood Kalas&039; call for action, for a large part of hi and demand the release of all prisoners But Danube understood the truth of the situation, a dire truth that was rein-forced by what the lady of Andur&039;Blough Inninness had secretly told him, and doubly reinforced by his ht them noords if not with soldiers, but if he pushed too hard, Markould fight back, viciously
"I have just informed Constance that we shall delay the trials of Sha-mus and the others until after the Church co," Danube replied at length "And we shall show mercy to our prisoners Perhaps ill even find a way to exonerate so a dark shadow on the previous actions of the vengeful Church"
"And what of Nightbird, Pony, and Bradwarden?" Kalas asked "And what of the capturedDanube was quick to respond "If Markwart chooses to execute them - and I ae his actions"
"And the others?" Constance asked
The King paused for a long ain, we shall let Markwart do as he sees fit with therowled and banged his fist against the wall
"If he executes thean
"Which he surely shall," said Constance
The King nodded "But if the true story of Mount Aida then begins to circulate, if after the executions, the people of Palhtbird, Pony, and Bradwarden were not criminals but heroes, then Father Abbot Markwart must surely shoulder the vast a, though their expressions re innocent people, but both understood the prag Danube&039;s position
"In the on Bree Kalas, Duke of Wester-Honce, as baron of Palmaris"
"But there is already a Bishop," Kalas reasoned