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Thehis stomach, sat, and took off his hat to fan hi I’ll spare hi a ht If he really has lost his senses, it’s still the kindest thing to do Then Auron paused--so his hair away froht his eye The h had a familiar bray to it

"Auron," Naf said in thick Parl "I’ve not touched the treasure yet, so you have no cause to kill ’ "

After Auron washed hi a camel, trapped in the fallen tent The beast was in no mood to be quieted, and Naf beat it into a corner with the flat of his scimitar and tied it securely

He returned to Auron covered in bites and spit "That caht as you did last fall, drake," Naf said

"I hope that is meant to be a compliment If it is an insult--"

"No, no insult intended I don’t know dragons, but it’s sad to learn they have no sense of hu--"

"Wrak! That’s not what I h when they encounter the unusual, the ridiculous The unexpected" Naf poked his head into a tent, entered it, and caain with some sacks over his shoulder and a waterskin oat

"I don’t understand," Auron said "The unexpected h"

"How do you explain color to the blind? It’s an unexpected ending to a story, perhaps Here’s an exa by the fire One says, "I hate my wife’s brother" So the other one says, "Then try the potatoes" ’ Do you see?"

Auron stuck out his tongue and tried to smell the hu with these wretched elves?"

Naf began to fill the sacks with food Sides of meat wrapped in paper, flat loaves of bread, a pot of cheese, dried fruit and nuts disappeared into the sacks "I didn’t know the kind of robbers they hen I joined them After I split fro around about an attack on the Golden Road I thought I’d try for the loot, but all they got was a caravan on its way back We missed the sack"

"I was there They didn’t sack the dwarves"

"I’m happy for the dwarves They dealt honestly"

"We were attacked by soure of a man inside a circle"

Naf paused "The Andam were involved? If I’d--"

"Andam?" Auron asked

"It translates into Parl as ‘true’ I think they’re lieges of sousted with the dwarves and wanted to go north and join them That’s one of the reasons we parted"

"You fear them?"

"They have some unusual beliefs I don’t ht well," Auron said, re you won They don’t take prisoners Well, women, they take One of their practices is that the ard They don’tas they do"

"These waste elves were not kind to their captives"

"I had nothing to do with that"

"You did nothing to stop it, either"

"Why should a drake care? You’d eat thery, and there was no easier meal, yes But I wouldn’t kill six if one would fill my belly Nor would I torture thery now?"

"I’ve had , drake I’d like to part on better terms than before," he said, and went to a so netting He found a e into the top of the barrel He lifted out the lid and said soue A pair of hands wrapped theirl-child Her skin was stained purple ine, and she squinted in the sun as she trembled in Naf’s ar her since we hit the caravan I hid her from those bastards this past week You solved my probleue The dark-haired girl smelled of wine "You will take her out of the desert?"