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"Abbot Dobrinion grows increasingly uneasy," Brother Francis of-fered to Father Abbot Markwart The younger itated; every word that ca theht somewhere between fear and horror Of course Abbot Dobrinion was uneasy, he real-ized, for they were torturing the abbot&039;s subjects in the very dun-geons of this holy place!
"It is notoften, trying to gauge impassive Markwart&039;s reaction, "but I fear - "
"That St Precious is not friendly to our cause," the Father Abbot finished for hiive?" Markwart echoed incredulously "Forgive your per-ceptiveness? Your wariness? We are at war,fool Have you not yet realized that?"
"Of course, Father Abbot," Francis said, bowing his head "The powries and goblins - "
"Forget theiants, and the dactyl deerous than anymereand hard at Markwart
"This is a war for the heart of the Abellican Church," Markent on "I have explained this over and over to you, and yet you still do not understand This is a war between traditions which have stood for millennia, and usurpous ideas, petty conteood and the nature of evil"
"Are those not timeless concepts?" a very confused Brother Francis dared to ask
"Of course," Markwart replied with a disar them, seem to believe they can rede-fine the terms to fit their own perceptions"
"And what of Abbot Dobrinion?"
"You tell me of Abbot Dobrinion," Markwart instructed
Brother Francis paused, conte the implications He wasn&039;t quite sure how the Father Abbot viewed Dobrinion, or anyone else, for that ued often with Master De&039;Unnero, and often violently, and yet, despite their differences, it was no secret that De&039;Unnero was the Father Abbot&039;s closest adviser, next to Francis himself
"Brother Avelyn the heretic used to analyze every question," Father Abbot Markwart remarked "He could not simply speak as in his heart, and that, I fear, was his undoing"
"Abbot Dobrinion will fight us," Brother Francis blurted "I do not trust him, and think hiood and evil than to yours ours"
"Strong words," Markwart said slyly
Brother Francis paled
"But not wholly untrue," Markent on, and Francis breathed easier "Abbot Dobrinion has ever been an idealist, even when those ideals fly in the face of prag for the sainthood of Brother Allabarnet would allow reater weak-ness than I believed"
"He will fight us," Brother Francis said more firmly
"Even as we speak, Abbot Dobrinion petitions for the release of the Chilichunks," Markwart explained "He will go to the Baron of Pal hiht to hold them?" Brother Francis dared to ask
"Is the Abellican Order more important than the fate of three people?" came the curt response
"Yes, Father Abbot," Brother Francis replied, bowing his head once more When Markwart put it that simple way, it was easy for Francis to put aside his private feelings about the treath here, too high for hiet in the way
"And what, then, shall we do?" the Father Abbot asked, though it was obvious to Brother Francis that the old ain Brother Francis hesitated, thinking through the proble of all the Church hierarchy, a process necessary if the Father Abbot meant to re," Markwart replied "But it will not convene until mid-Calember"
Brother Francis considered the words Calember was the eleventh month, still more than four months away "Then we uessing, cor-rectly, that the Father Abbot was fast running out of patience with him "We must take our prisoners to St-Mere-Abelle, where Abbot Dobrinion shall have no say in their treatratulated "Indeed, we one from St Precious tomorrow, the centaur and the Chilichunks in tow See to the arrangeht run," Brother Francis assured hi," the Fa-ther Abbot went on "And see to it that Connor Bildeborough is taken, as well, for that is nehich will spread wide"
Brother Francis wore a doubting expression "That may invite trouble from the crown," he warned
"And if so, ill release hiossip may reach the ears of the woh," Brother Francis reasoned "Their union was short, and unpleasant, so it is said"
"But she will coly half-horse creature The arrest of Master Bilde-borough will only serve to publicize our other prisoners"
Brother Francis considered the reasoning for a moment, then nodded "And what of Abbot Dobrinion?" he asked
"A smaller thorn than you would believe," Markwart replied quickly, and it seemed to Francis that the man already had a plan in mind for the venerable abbot of St Precious
Connor Bildeborough paced the small rooh the man was of noble blood, he preferred the exciteher taverns The only adventure he found at his uncle&039;s palace was the occa-sional fox hunt, and those he considered foolish, an ego-proppingexercise that did not even qualify, in his mind, as sport No, Con-nor, quick with his wits and quick with his sword, preferred a good fight in a tavern, or a brush ould-be ers in a dark alleyway
To that end, he had been spending a considerable a to earn a warrior&039;s reputation in skirmishes with the many monsters to be found up there His uncle had presented hiift at the outset of the war, a slender sword of unleamed of so its golden basket ponetites so the weapon could be used beautifully for parrying, practically attracting an opponent&039;s blade Its name was Defender, and where his uncle had ever found such a blade, Connor could not know The rumors about the sere ed in the s of Honce-the-Bear - so poho had deserted its kindred on the Weathered Isles Other tales claimed that the mysterious Touel&039;alfar had helped in its creation, and still others clai with the best human weaponsmiths of the day
Whatever the truth of the blade&039;s origins, Connor understood that he now possessed a most extraordinary weapon With Defender in hand, just a week before he had led a contingent of Kingsh the re-sults had been soiants - Connor had done quite well, could even clailories he had found in the north!
Now, though, in this rooood friend Abbot Dobrin-ion, Connor understood that he should be keeping his attention a bit closer to home
"It is about Jill," the abbot insisted "Father Abbot Markwart be-lieves she is in possession of the gemstone cache which was stolen froed at his memories and at his heart He had courted her for rate in a hts of consummation, Connor could have demanded her death
But of course he could not have done that, for he had indeed loved the spirited, though troubled, wo&039;s army, and how his heart had broken when his Jilly left Pal noble in the Coastpoint Guards"
"So she may be," Abbot Dobrinion conceded "Who can tell? The Father Abbot is searching for her, and believes she was in the north, back in Dundalis, and even farther, accoeain won-dering about this first monk who had visited Pettibwa Chilichunk
"Never met him," Abbot Dobrinion replied
"A description, then?" Connor pressed
"A largeof belly, as well," the abbot replied "So said Master Jojonah"
Connor nodded, digesting the infore, of bone and of belly Could it be that Jill had coh Palmaris in this man&039;s com-pany? Could Jilly, his Jilly, have been so close, without hireat trouble," Abbot Dobrinion re her, where she ht be, or if she is indeed in possession of the stones, the Father Abbot will seek you out And his techniques of interrogation are not pleasant"
"How could I know anything about Jill?" Connor replied incredu-lously "The last time I saw her was at her trial, when she was sent away to join the King&039;s arh - the last time he had seen Jill was on the occasion of their annulment, and her indenture - but of late Connor had traveled out of Palmaris often, to the north to do battle, todays of the war He had heard tales of a rogue band operating farther to the north, near the towns of Caer Tinella and Landsdown, using tactics and ht Jill and the eic?
Of course, Connor meant to keep his suspicions private, even from Abbot Dobrinion
"The Father Abbot means to find her," Dobrinion said
"If Jill has made more trouble for herself, then there is little I can do to rectify the situation," Connor replied
"But by the simple fact that you were once wed to the woman, you are involved," Dobrinion warned
"Ridiculous," said Connor, but even as he spoke the word, the door to the room burst open and four monks, Youseff and Dande-lion, Brother Francis, and the Father Abbot hiht for Connor; theof its own accord frorabbed at the handle, but when he caught it by the poh, and in a th and all his weight, he could not bring the sword back down to a defensive posture
Dandelion hit him a short, sharp blow, then yanked his hand fro The sword drifted aeightless, and Connor couldn&039;t comprehend it until he noticed that the fourth eh," the Father Abbot instructed "We wish to speak with you, that is all, on athe security of your uncle&039;s holdings"
Connor instinctively tried to break free of the hold, but found his efforts futile, for Dandelion was too strong and too skilled to allow hiat the ready, a small and heavy club in hand
"My uncle will hear of this," Connor warned Markwart
"Your uncle will agree with ave a nod to his two lackeys and they dragged Connor away
"You tread on dangerous ground," Abbot Dobrinion warned "Baron Rochefort Bildeborough&039;s influence is not to be taken lightly"
"I assure you that one of us is indeed treading on dangerous ground," the Father Abbot cal for Connor Bildeborough," Brother Francis accused, walking over to take the sword from midair "Yet you came out to warn him?"
"I came out to find him," the abbot corrected "To tell him that he ht have - and he has none, I can assure you -the war"
Father Abbot Markwart chuckled snidely throughout Dobrinion&039;s halfhearted protest "Words are often such pretty things," he re-marked when Dobrinion was finished "We use them to speak the truth of facts, yet to hide the truth of intent"
"You doubt me?" Dobrinion asked
"You havethis matter quite clear tofor Connor Bildeborough I knohat you wished to accooals and my own are not in accord"
Abbot Dobrinion huffed in reply and strode defiantly past the pair "The Baronto the door
Brother Francis grabbed hi in disbelief at the young man&039;s brazen action
Francis returned that look with a ht the brother would lash out at him A motion from Father Abbot Markwart ended the tension of the o of the abbot with his hand, if not with his glare
"Theis all important," Markwart said to Dobrinion "Do explain to the Baron that his nephew is not charged with any crime or sin, and had merely volunteered to answer our questions on this important matter"
Abbot Dobrinion stor," Brother Francis reed Connor away
"As he will," the Father Abbot conceded
"Baron Bildeborough could prove a difficult adversary," Brother Francis pressed
Again Markwart did not seem overly concerned "We will see what happens," he replied "By the tih is even informed, ill have discerned what Connor knows, and the mere fact of his arrest will publicize our presence and the iden-tity of our other prisoners After that, this man means little to me"
He started away then, and Brother Francis, after a short pause to consider the ra, to consider the strain be-tween Markwart and Dobrinion and the dire consequences that ri-valry ht hold for the abbot of St Precious, turned to follow
"Are we to do battle in the streets of Palmaris?" a frustrated Brother Francis fu Connor Bildeborough - using polite and friendlytactics - when a host of soldiers arrived at the gates of St Precious, de the nephew of Baron Bildeborough was no small matter," the abbot shot back "Did you not believe that his uncle would react with force?"
"Enough, enough, fro to ht settle this"
Both Dobrinion and Brother Francis started for the door, then stopped, glaring at each other
"And you, Abbot Dobrinion," the Father Abbot went on, draw-ing the o and com-plete the task "You are needed with the centaur He wishes to speak with you"
"My place is here, Father Abbot," Dobrinion replied