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"Oh, but by yer pardon,what ye&039;re wanting from poor old Pettibwa"

Father Abbot Markwart eyed the wo that she was not as di It htened She, her hus-band Graevis, and their son Grady, had been pulled from Fellow-ship Way, their small inn down in the poorer section of Palmaris

The Father Abbot made a mental note to speak with Brothers Youseff and Dandelion concerning their rough tactics Using brute force and threats instead of subtle coercion, they had put the three on their guard, and now garnering any inforht prove more difficult indeed In fact, had he not arrived on the scene to oversee the arrest, Markwart feared that his two overly rough lackeys ht even have killed the son, Grady

"Be at ease, Madarin "We are searching for one of our own, that is all, and we have reason to believe that he hter"

"Cat?" the woerly, and Markwart knew that he had hit a chord, though he had no idea of who this "Cat" ain "The one you adopted, as orphaned in the Timberlands"

"Cat," Pettibwa said earnestly "Cat-the-Stray, that&039;s e called her, ye know"

"I do not know the name," the Father Abbot admitted

"Jilly, then," the woman clarified "That&039;s her real name, part of it anyway Oh, but I&039;d love to be seein&039; ain!"

JillyMarkwart rolled the nahtsJillyJilseponie Pony Yes, he decided It fit nicely

"If you help us," he said pleasantly, "you ain We have every reason to believe that she is alive and well"

"And in the Kingsmen," the woman added

Markwart hid his frustration well If Pettibwa and her family knew no more than that old news, they wouldn&039;t be of much help

"But as I telled yer fellow priest, I&039;irl," Pettibent on

"Fellow priest?" Father Abbot echoed Had Brother Justice in-terrogated this woman already? he wondered, and hoped, for if that was the case, then Quintall must have also discovered the connec-tion between Avelyn and the Chilichunks "A monk, you mean? Of St Precious, perhaps?"

"No, I&039;m knowin&039; most of them from St Precious - me Jilly was married by Abbot Dobrinion himself, ye know," Pettibwa of-fered proudly "No, this one earing the darker brown robes, like yer own, and his accent was o&039; the eastlands St-Mere-Abelle, ye said ye were frouessin&039; that he was fro how he ht properly identify thisahen boisterous Pettibwa ra fat man, he was indeed!" she said "Ye h yerself could be using a bit o&039; fattening, if ye don&039;tye so!"

For a moment Father Abbot Markas confused, for there wasn&039;t an ounce of fat on the well-honed muscles of the first Brother Justice But then, suddenly, he understood, and he could hardly contain his excitement "Brother Avelyn?" he said breath-lessly "Brother Avelyn Desbris of St-Mere-Abelle ca the naht Brother Avelyn come a&039;askin&039; about me Jilly"

"And she ith you?"

"Oh no, but she was long into the ar to find her; he was asking about where she came from, and how she came to live with me and Graevis Oh, a nice and cheerful felloas, too!"

"And did you tell him?"

"Oh, but for sure," Pettibwa said "I&039;ht close to your heart," the Father Abbot said dryly It was all beginning to fit together, and quite nicely, he real-ized Avelyn had met this woman, Pony or Jilly, outside of Pireth Tulht through Palmaris and to the north, where they had then met the centaur The woman had survived the explosion at Aida, Markwart believed, and so had this other htbird, whom Bradwarden had unintentionally described, and they now had the ge them would not be easy, obviously, but perhaps Mark-wart could find a way to bring Pony and Nightbird to hi stew," Pettibas saying when the Father Abbot tuned back to the conversation Of course she was preoccupied with such things, Markwarther plump form

"I may just ask you to do that," he replied "But not now"

"Oh no, couldn&039;t be," Pettibwa agreed "But ye co the chance, and I&039;ll feed ye well"

"I a to the Way this day," Markwart explained, rising froe desk andin the shadows at the side of the large room "Or any-tier the Church," Markwart interrupted "I hold you to that, Madaent - more so than the health of your pitiful inn"

"Pitiful?" Pettibwa echoed, growing concerned and angry

"Brother Dandelion will acco so!" the woman snapped "I&039;ot me life and me family"

Father Abbot Markwart didn&039;t bother to reply, had grown quite bored with the woman, actually, and quite frustrated, since she really had only confirain to Brother Dandelion and the man stepped up to Pettibwa&039;s side and took her thick elbow in his hand

"Ah, but ye just be lettin&039;away

Dandelion looked to Markwart, who nodded Then he grabbed the woain,rip was like iron

"Understand, Madame Chilichunk," Father Abbot Markwart explained in a deadly serious voice, and o with Brother Dandelion, whatever tactics he odly one, replaced by simple fear She tried to pull away once ers and popped her hard on the forehead, stunning her Then the ers under his grasp, and pressed in, forcing the fingers back on their knuckles

Waves of pain washed over the wos Brother Dandelion hooked his free arainst his side, keeping the pres-sure on her fingers every step of the way

Markwart just went back to the desk, unconcerned with her pain

As the pair left the roo none too pleased

"This is how you treat ation?" he demanded of Markwart

"This is how the Church deals with those ill not coop-erate," the Father Abbot coolly replied

"Will not?" Dobrinion echoed doubtfully "Or cannot? The Chilichunk family are an honest and decent lot, by every report If they could help in your search - "

"In to his feet and sla the desk "You believe that this is my search alone? Can you not understand the implications of all this?"

Abbot Dobrinion patted his hand in the air as Markwart fu action only fueled the Father Abbot&039;s ire, though

"We have found Avelyn the heretic," Markwart growled "Yes, we found him, dead as he deserved in the devastation of Mount Aida Perhaps his ally, the fiend dactyl, turned against him, or per-haps he merely overestimated his oorth and power; pride was ever one of his many faults!"

Abbot Dobrinion could hardly reply, so stunned was he by the infore in Father Abbot&039;s voice as he relayed it

"And that woer at the door Pettibwa and Dandelion had exited, "and her wretched fa the whereabouts of our stones Our stones! God- given to St-Mere-Abelle, and stolen by the thief and murderer Avelyn Desbris, curse his evil name! And such a cache, Abbot Dobrinion! If those stones fall into the hands of enereater scale, do not doubt!"

Dobrinion suspected that Father Abbotthere He had already spoken to Master Jojonah concerning the stones, and Jojonah wasn&039;t nearly as worried about them as was Markwart But Dobrinion, too, was an old , and he understood the iacy That hy he was so desperate to see Brother Allabarnet canonized while he presided over St Precious, and why he was able to accept Markwart&039;s need to retrieve the stones

He would have said as iven the chance, but the Father Abbot was on a roll then, spouting Church doc-trine, telling of Master Siherton, so good aabout how the Chilichunksto this treasonous woemstones

"Do not underesti his voice to a threatening tone "If you hinder me in any way, I will repay you a thousand times over"

Dobrinion&039;s face screwed up with incredulity; he was not accus-to threatened by one of his own Order

"As you know, Master Jojonah is already on his way to St Honce to further Brother Allabarnet&039;s canonization," Father Abbot Markwart said calmly "I can recall hiether"

Dobrinion set his feet firmly in place and squared his shoulders By his estiible line! "You are the leader of the Abellican Church," Dobrinion conceded, "and thus hold great power But the canonization process is greater still, and an issue for all the abbots, not just the Father Abbot of St-Mere- Abelle"

Markas laughing before the man even finished "But the stories I could tell of Brother Allabarnet," he said with a wicked chuckle "Long- forgotten tales unearthed from the catacoe through the eastlands, a journey filled with tales of debauchery and wo and even one case of petty theft"

"Impossible!" Dobrinion cried

"Quite possible," Markwart replied grimly without hesitation "To fabricate and to make them look authentic"

"The lie will not stand the test of time," Dobrinion countered "Similar lies were told of St Gwendolyn of the Sea, yet they did not defeat the canonization process!"

"They delayed it for nearly two hundred years," Markwart not so gently reminded "No, perhaps the lies will not stand the test of time, but neither, my friend, will your old bones"

Dobrinion sluh he had been physically beaten

"I intend to gather my information," Markwart said evenly "By whatever means necessary As of this moment, Graevis, Pet-tibwa, and Grady Chilichunk are to be held under suspicion of treason against the Church and God And perhaps I will speak with this Connor Bildeborough, as well, to see if he is a part of the conspiracy"

Dobrinion started to respond, but decided to hold the thoughts to hih was the favored nephew, treated practically as son and heir, of the Baron of Palmaris, a man of no small means and influence But Father Abbot Markwart could find that out for hiht just make a very powerful enemy in the process

"As you wish, Father Abbot" was all the abbot of St Precious replied, and he gave a curt bow, turned on his heel and left the rooave a derisive snort when the door closed behind Dobrinion, thinking he had put the ht in the sky, the dashing young h And besides, Connor Bildeborough was often able to use her die The Baron&039;s nephew had coh, in truth, the relationship between Connor and Pettibwa Chilichunk had been more than a little strained since the annule to Jill Still, Grady Chilichunk was more than pleased to call the nobleman a friend, and even Graevis couldn&039;t really blae; Jill had refused hihts, after all

And so Connor continued to frequent Fellowship Way, for though a man of his station elcomed at the most exclusive taverns in Pal the common rabble in Fellowship Way, he felt important, superior in every way

He was surprised, as were ht The only light showing through the win-dows cauest rooms on the second floor, from the kitchen and fro, the rooed to Dainsey

Connor called to her softly as he knocked lightly on the door "Do come and answer, Dainsey," he bade her

No answer

"Dainsey Auco restless in the street We cannot abide that, now can we?"

"Dainsey&039;s not here," cauised

Connor rocked back on his heels, surprised by the note of fear he detected in that voice What was going on here?

"Dainsey, it is Connor Master Bildeborough, nephew of the Baron," he saidmy every word, and I demand that you speak with

Connor grew e had happened, perhaps so ye, Mr Bildeborough," the wo, and I&039; what crier the Church No sins on me own door, and me bed&039;s been slept in by none but meself - well, except for yerself, and just those two three tiainst the Church? The Chilichunks? "I hard on the door He stopped hihtened, and apparently with good cause If he frightened her et any inforly "You know me, and know that I am a friend of the Chilichunks"

"The hly of ye," Dainsey replied bluntly

"And you know that story," Connor said, fighting hard to hold his cal mad at me Yet I still come to the Way, still consider the place as a home I am no enemy of the Chilichunks, Dainsey, nor of you"

"So ye&039;re saying"

"Consider that I could be in there if I so chose," Connor said bluntly "I could have half the garrison with me, and that door would offer you little protection"

"Dainsey&039;s not here," ca about what ye&039;re saying"

Connor groaned and banged his forehead against the door "Very well, then," he said a , and you should be, as well, before those ht outside the door, Connor lifted his feet alternately, clunking his boots against the wood, h he alking away Predictably, the door cracked open a few seconds later, and the younghis shoulder against the wood and pushing hard

Dainsey was a spirited lass, and strong froht, but finally he forced hi the door behind hihtened wo pan as she passed it sitting on her night table, spilling the drippy eggs down her side in the process "Ye keep yerself back!" she warned, waving the pan

"Dainsey, what is wrong with you?" Connor asked, advancing a step and then quickly retreating and holding up his hands unthreat-eningly as the pan started swinging "Where are the Chilichunks? You !" the woman accused "Suren that yer uncle&039;s part of it all!"

"Part of all what?" Connor de down her soft cheeks