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Elswyth turned oncese those landings," Farold said "And gnats and es? Why couldn't you haveto let her go before you have a plan? That doesn't sound very sone and let her go?"

Finally, soot Elswyth's attention "Do you need another spell?" she asked, couess where that conversation was heading "No," he assured her

"Yes," Farold said, settling once more on Selwyn's shoulder

Selwyn snapped at hieic," Farold said "You do" Before Selwyn could object, Farold continued, "I can walk - so to speak - right into Penryth, and not a person is going to recognize me Is that your plan? To have me listen outside people's s and hope to overhear so to himself, 'Ho hum, last Tuesday 1 murdered Farold and nobody knows it What will I do for fun next Tuesday? Maybe I'll murder Bowden,' and then I can tell Bowden that whoever-it-is is going to , and then he'll ad me, and so everyone will know you weren't the one, and you can come back? Is that your plan? Because as soon as anybody sees you, how do you think they're going to react? I think they're not going to listen to a thing you have to say, and they'll decide they can't risk putting you back in a cave you obviously are capable of getting out of, so they're just going to go ahead and stone you or burn you or chop off your head - which they ht the first time, since they don't have any experience at it"

Elswyth said, "The bat makes sense"

"Well, that wasn't my plan," Selwyn said

"What is?" both Elswyth and Farold asked together

Selwyn tried to think

"He needs a disguise," Farold said

"That doesn't have to be uise withoutto be sure people don't see through it unless she es you?"

"Fine," Elswyth said "For another year"

"I didn't say yes," Selwyn protested quickly

"I suppose you could go back in there" - Farold waved a bat wing back toward the burial cave - "and get different clothes by stripping one of the bodies Anda hat, and you could pull it down over your face and hope nobody wonders why"

"Six years, seven years," Elswyth said "Not that ht for you torushed

"Maybe you could shave your head," Farold suggested "Do you think anybody would recognize you if you shaved your head? Not that I have a blade, of course, excepting the one in my back if no one removed it But someone probably did, or my body wouldn't have lain flat I could pull your hair out, one strand at a tis to do," Elswyth said It seeive hi supplies for a very iru pressured into a too-hasty decision, Selwyn knew it

"I have an idea," Farold said eagerly to Elswyth "You could make the two of us look like wealthy old"

"I a up a year of my life so that you can try to impress people with fancy clothes"

"Fine," Farold said, "have her disguise you as a wealthy merchant, if you think no one onder why a wealthywith hiuise you as a person anyway," she told Farold "You're a bat You're this big" She gestured with her two hands not very far apart "There's not enough of you to stretch out" - she spread her arms - "to human size"

"Hmpf," Farold said

Elswyth looked at Selwyn "I couldclothes for you, but I can't actually make you rich"

And ould a richly dressed , all alone, without any e like Penryth? Selwyn said, "Why don't you just give estured helplessly

"Different eyes," Elswyth finished, "bigger nose, smaller mouth"

Selwyn nodded

"For a year's service?"

She was deterive hiain "For a year's service," he agreed

"People will get suspicious if you have a bat with you," Farold warned

He just wanted a disguise, Selwyn thought "Let theet suspicious," he said If he was lucky,his neck

Chapter Eight

Selwyn asked for pilgrim's clothes, whichinto his ear, "Rich ust and flutter away But Selwyn felt his choice was sensible In all of his life, he had rarely seen strangers Penryth was too small to attract newco through on their way to soers he had seen had ade soldiers, bandits who occasionally turned up in the most heavily wooded section of the road to Saint Hilda's, the two feuding wizards - banished fro's court for incoh to nearly level Orik's tavern But Selwyn rerines of the Lake They'd worn rough-spun robes and sandals, and those who'd been on pilgries and emblems and necklaces of seashells to shohere they'd been

Now at the last ririms aren't known for cleanliness"

"They're cleaner than this," Selwyn said, otten used - he had thought - to the smell of death But now that he was out of the cave and within hope of onces intolerable "A little road dust is fine"

"We need water for the spell, anyway," Elswyth told him