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Korlat looked away and said nothing for a long tiical, left Whiskeyjack with a pounding heart: ’Cohtchill within the child -- and she herself admits to these two -- but noonder, where then is this Thelomen, Bellurdan?’

He could only draw a deep breath and shake his head Gods, I don’t know …

CHAPTER FOUR

Mark these three, they are all that give shape, all that lie beneath the surface of the world, these three, they are the bones of history Sister of Cold Nights! Betrayal greets your dawn! You chose to trust the knife, even as it found your heart Draconus, Blood of Tiam! Darkness was made to embrace your soul, and these chains that now hold you, they are of your own fashioning K’rul, yours was the path the Sleeping Goddess chose, a thousand and o, and she sleeps still, even as you awaken -- the ti the ift

Anomandaris

Fisher Kel Tath

Covered froed froe as it rocked its way up the slope Grinning at the sight, Gruntle leaned against the buckboard

’Serves us right to lay wagers with you,’ Harllo muttered ’You alin, you bastard’

Stonny was looking down at her s with dismay ’Callows leathers They’ll never recover’ She fixed hard blue eyes on Gruntle ’Daest of us all Should have been you pushing, not sitting up there, and neverany bet’

’Hard lessons, that’sStonny’s fine green and black attire was covered in brown sli milky water ’Anye’re done for the day, so let’s pull this thing off to the side -- looks like you two could do with a swim’

’Hood take you,’ Harllo snapped, ’what do you think as doing?’

’Fro The clean water’s upstreaain The crossing had left the horses exhausted, reluctant to et thee a short distance off to one side of the ford Other ed the crossing and others preparing to do so on their way to Darujhistan In the past few days, the situation had, if anything, become even more chaotic Whatever had remained of the ford’s laid cobbles in the river bed had been pushed either askew or deeper into the e the crossing, and for a time there Gruntle had wondered if they would ever succeed He climbed down and turned his attention to the horses Harllo and Stonny, now bickering with each other, set off upstrealance towards the one before them on the ford, now parked fifty paces away It had been an unfair bet The best kind His two companions had been convinced that this day wouldn’t see the crossing of their e They’d been certain that thedown, that it’d be days sitting there in h to add theit out of the way

Gruntle had suspected otherwise Bauchelain and Korbal Broach were not the kind of people to stomach inconvenience They’re damned sorcerers, anyway Their servant, Eet down from the driver’s bench, and simple twitches of the tresses had led the train of oxen onwards The huge contrivance see as the wheelsUnfair bet, aye At least I’h witnesses to the unnatural event to accord a certain privacy to the es’ present encampment, so it ith considerable curiosity that Gruntle watched a caravan guard stride towards it He knew the ning withalone, and Gruntle knehy

Buke’searlier in the day The dilapidated wagon had fallen to pieces in midstrea away as the ed to save the oods the contract had ceased to exist After ements for the master to accoratitude for his efforts, cut loose by the merchant

Gruntle had expected him to make his oay back to the city Buke had a fine, healthy and well-equipped horse A three days’ journey at the most