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’No, he doesn’t have any servants What he has is friends I don’t know about you, but knowing that -- realizing it as I did there with that giant wolf -- well, a god that finds friends instead of mindless worshippers … daht for hiht for me Horrible Elder Gods, bah! I’ll take hi fools with their temples and coffers and rituals any day’

Gruntle stared at her, disbelieving ’I ,’ he muttered

’Neverher rapier into its scabbard ’Keruli and his Elder God saved your life, Gruntle So we’re now going to hiize and if you’re se to stand with him, in all that’s to come-’

’Like Hood I am Oh, sure, I’ll say sorry and all that, but I don’t want anything to do with any gods, Elder or otherwise, and that includes their priests-’

’I knew you weren’t so, then Where’s Buke disappeared to?’

’Not sure He was just, uh, delivering me’

’The Elder God saved him, too And Mancy Hood knows those two necroive a damn whether they lived or died If he’s smart, he’ll quit that contract’

’Well, none of us are as smart as you, Stonny’

’Don’t I know it’

They left the co the effects of the last few days, but with a belly full of food instead of wine and ale and the momentary but efficacious attention of the Grey Sword priest, Karnadas, he found his walk steadier and the pain behind his eyes had faded to a dull ache He had to lengthen his stride to keep up with Stonny’s habitual march Even as her beauty attracted attention, her relentless pace and dark glare ensured a clear path through any crowd, and Capustan’s feed citizens scurried quicker than et out of her way

They skirted the ce on their left Another necropolis lay just ahead, evincing the Daru style of crypts and urns that Gruntle kneell frohtly to its left, taking the narrow, uneven passageway between the necropolis’s loalled grounds and the outer edge of the Tura’l Concourse Twenty paces ahead was a s the eastern edge of the Teh of stu in tow ’Listen,’ he growled, ’I just came from this quarter If Keruli’s caet me and save et you, but you stank like a pauper-tavern’s piss pit Is that how you wanted to show yourself to Master Keruli? You needed cleaning up, and food, and I wasn’t going to baby you through all that’

Gruntle subsided,under his breath Gods, I wish the world was full of passive, er, then scowled On second thoughts, what a nightmare that’d be It’s the job of a man to fan the spark into flames, not quench it …

’Get that dreamy look off your face,’ Stonny snapped ’We’re here’