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She collapsed to her knees, but he refused to relinquish his grip on the garrotte, stalwartly absorbing each elbow she thrust behind her It was a valiant effort, Lenk thought, awestruck by the rogue’s tenacity, though not enough to avoid a sudden thought
Wait … where’d he get the rope?
The question lingered only as long as it took for the hate to leak out of the netherling’s eyes, whereupon Denaos loosed his grip and let her drop Lenk stared down at the rope, recognising it as far too furry to be anything but what theperception for Lenk to realise the ier resolve not to scream when he invariably did
Denaos certainly didn’t helpa triu’s back
‘Take it all in, gentle his foot ‘What do you suppose? The biggest one here?’
Gariath stalked past hi a snort
‘I’ve seen bigger’
‘Well, this is all highly disturbing,’ calanced over to see Dreadaeleon sitting upright, looking at them inquisitively ‘I assu chase?’
‘Were you not dead a o?’ Denaos asked
‘Coh for Gariath to shred his bonds and hoist hi of the senses, not unlike deeply inhaling a pot of mustard’
‘Mustard doesn’t do that,’ Denaos pointed out
‘Surprisingly enough, I use these childish metaphors for the benefit of your diminished comprehension,’ the boy spat back, ‘not so we can waste tiface’
‘They’re out at sea,’ Lenk muttered ‘We don’t knohere’
‘We will shortly,’ Denaos replied
Before anyone could ask, the rogue slipped behind a nearby bone and returned, shoving what appeared to be a walking, bound, bruised u did not raise his head, his yellow eyes cast down Shaht, or perhaps just out of a sense of protection as Denaos drew his loincloth-turned-garrotte tightly between his hands and looked to Lenk for approval
‘No,’ Lenk said, sighing ‘We’ve got to find out what he knows first The sea is a vast place, his ship could be anywhere and--’
‘Two leagues that way,’ Dreadaeleon interrupted, pointing out over the shore
‘Huh?’
‘He leaks ic,’ the boy replied ‘He’s a skunk in linens to ed ‘Go nuts, then’
‘STOP!’
The Gonwa chased his own voice, elooarded hih he seemed to be under no delusions that the sharpened stick in his hand was any match for the bloodied sword in Lenk’s Still, his eyes carried a suspicious forthrightness that Lenk instantly recalled
‘Hongwe,’ he muttered the creature’s name ‘If you’re here to finish the betrayal …’
‘He’s not,’ Gariath grunted
‘I’d believe that if anyone else had said it,’ Denaos replied
‘Whata brow
‘I know,’ the dragona speaks the truth, cousins,’ Hongwe said softly ‘I au ‘And neither is Togu’
‘He sold us to thewe replied sharply ‘He had choices … He h to kill hiwe replied, ‘and don’t ask u saved the lives of me and my people I trusted him, and if you want my help, I ask you to spare hi ‘We knohere the ship is We’ve now got our weapons back as well as ourlacking is a loose end which I’ve already tied up and awe shrugged ‘You got no boat’
‘He has a point,’ Dreadaeleon replied, eyeing Denaos ‘What do you care, anyway? Death is nearly assured Not really your ideal situation, is it?’
‘Prepubescent men in loincloths,’ Denaos replied, ‘are in a universally poor position to choose their help’
‘Postpubescent’
‘So you say’
‘Shut up, shut up, shut up,’ Lenk snarled He whirled a scowl upon Hongwe ‘You can get us to the ship?’ At the Gonwa’s nod, he looked to Gariath ‘You co?’
‘People will die,’ Gariath replied
‘They will’
‘Then yes’
‘Great, fantastic, good,’ Lenkan arm about in swift instruction ‘Get the boat Get ready We sweep in, start killing, hopefully coht’
‘That’s a plan?’ Denaos asked ‘Not to prove the boy’s point, but a fire-leaking wizard is so to attack this’
‘Faith fades, steel shatters, bodies decay,’ Lenk replied, hurrying to the palanquin ‘Duty remains’
‘What does that even mean?’