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"Then they&039;re dead in the bogs and all the better for us," Athrogate replied

"They arequite a reputation in short order," said Canthan "Every day they coer groups, by all reports, and indeed have long since surpassed the amount of coin handed out at the Vaasan Gate for bounty in so short a time - a performance until very recently pinnacled by yourself, I believe"

Athrogate gruh I would have hoped that you would trail theh all their daily routines," said Canthan

"Ye thinking they got contacts in the wastelands?"

"It remains a possibility Perhaps the drow elves have risen from their Underdark holes to find a spot in Vaasa - they have been known to seize similar opportunities"

"Well, if that Jarlaxle fellow&039;s got drow friends in Vaasa, then I&039; there" He fixed Canthan&039;s surprised expression with a fierce scowl "I&039;rowled, "but I&039; a bevy o&039; the da tie if there was any sarcasreeth, "Hobart&039;s boys been seeing them often, as&039;ve others Ruoblin scout what&039;s leadin&039; hirounds"

"That cannot sit ith Hobart," Canthan reasoned "The Kneebreakers view goblins as verith Hobart of late, so I&039;reed "See about the ears Entreri and Jarlaxle&039;re bringing in Sees lost a bunch o&039; their own earned ears"

"A pair of thieves? Interesting"

"It&039;d be a lot ure it all out if yer friends would get us some history on them two They&039;re a powerful pair - it can&039;t be that they just up and started slaughterin&039; things Got to be a trail"

"Knellict is fast on the trail of that infor the planes of existence themselves in search of answers to the dilee drow, Jarlaxle We will have our answers"

"Be good to kno nasty we should ruo Indeed, he suspected that Knellict would send hierous pair

So be it

Olgerkhan grunted and sucked in his breath as poor Arrayan tried to eat the soup he&039;d brought Her hand shook so badly she spilledbefore the large spoon had coain she tried, but by the time the spoon reached her mouth and she sipped, she could barely wet her lips

Finally Olgerkhan stepped forward and took Arrayan&039;s shaking hand

"Let me help you," he offered

"No, no," Arrayan said She tried to pull her hand away but didn&039;t have erkhan easily held on "It is quite"

"I ae half-orc reue, as the prideful woman almost always did when soerkhan&039;s eyes and her words were lost in her throat Olgerkhan was not a handsoe more than his human, with aall over his head and face He stood crooked, his right shoulder lower than his left, and farther forward While hissupple or typically attractive about them

But his eyes were a different e brown orbs, and a level of understanding well beyond Olgerkhan&039;s rather liht not be able to decipher mystical runes or solve complex equations, but he was not unwise and never unsy at her friend - and he truly was the best friend she had ever known

Olgerkhan&039;s huge hand slid down her forearm to her wrist and hand, and she let him ease the spoon from her As much for her friend&039;s benefit as for her own, Arrayan sed her pride and allowed Olgerkhan to feed her

She felt better when he at last tipped the bowl to herher drink the last of its contents, but she was still very weak and overwhelmed She tried to stand and surely would have fallen had not her friend grabbed her and secured her Then he scooped her into his powerful arently lay her down

As soon as her head hit her soft pillow, Arrayan felt her consciousness slipping away She noted a flash of alarm on her half-orc friend&039;s face, and as blackness closed over her, she felt hiently but insistently, several times

A moment later, she heard a thump, and so But that hardlyher far, far away froerkhan&039;s arms flailed wildly as he scra to one door then another, changing direction with every other step Palishchuk was not a close-knit community; folk kept to theer Olgerkhan didn&039;t have many friends, and all but Arrayan, he realized, were out hunting that late-su his way south He banged on a couple more doors but no one answered, and it wasn&039;t until he was halfway across town that he realized the reason The sound of the carnival caerkhan sprinted for the southern gate and to the wagon ring He heard Winghaed in the direction of his voice Pushing through the crowd he inadvertently bu that kept the barker up was Olgerkhan&039;s grasping hands

Large guards ham, as his senses returned, waved theerkhan gasped

As he paused to catch his breath, the half-orc noticed the approach of a hulance that it was a full hu the race Thebrown hair that covered his ears and tickled his neck He was lean but finely arb that showed hiht brown eyes, so striking against his ruddy coerkhan had not seen hinized the hureat reputation in the Bloodstone Lands In addition to his work at the Vaasan Gate, Mariabronne had spent the years since Gareth&039;s rise and the fall of Zhengyi patrolling the Vaasan wilds and serving Palishchuk as a courier to the great gates and as a guide for the half-orc city&039;s hunting parties

"Arrayan?" Winghaasping half-orc to look back at hierkhan explained "She&039;s sick"

"Sick?"

"Weak shaking," the large half-orc explained

"Sick, or exhausted?" Winghaerkhan stared at hiic," Mariabronne whispered at Winghaical protections," said Wingha of," said the ranger, and Winghaerkhan," Wingha to us"

He shouted so them to take over his barker&039;s spot, and he, Mariabronne, and Olgerkhan rushed out fro and back into Palishchuk