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‘I’m not sure He has asked for weapons Tords I am inclined to accede to his request’

The Ceda slowly nodded ‘Agreed No doubt you were thinking of finding so in the armoury But for an individual such as this, a noro to my private hoard’

‘I wasn’t aware you had one’

‘Naturally Now, alarge tongs, he retrieved the crab, the shell now a fiery red ‘Ah, perfect Of course, it can cool down soht he knew virtually every area of the old palace, but the series of subterranean chambers the Ceda led hile hidden door was passed through on the way By the Finadd’s internal map, they were now under the river

They entered a low-ceilinged chamber with rack-lined walls on which were hundreds of weapons Brys had collected a lantern along the way and he now hung it from a hook in a crossbeam He walked to a rack croith swords ‘Why a private collection, Ceda?’

‘Curios,techniques, particularly those used by foreign peoples Also, there is sorcery invested in these weapons’

‘All of them?’ Brys lifted one particular weapon from its hooks, a close match to the description relayed to him by Kettle

‘Yes No, put that one back, Finadd It’s cursed’

Brys replaced it

‘In fact,’ Kuru Qan went on in a troubled voice, ‘they’re all cursed Well, this could prove a probleular armoury-’

‘Patience, Finadd It’s the nature of curses that allows us to possibly find a reasonable solution Tords, you said?’

‘Why would sorcerors curse a weapon?’

‘Oh, most often not an intentional act on their parts Often it’s simply a matter of incompetence In many cases, the sorcerous investment refuses to function The iron resists the i technique the more resistant the weapon is Sorcery thrives on flahether structural in the physical sense, or lazing over, Finadd Never mind Let’s peruse the antiques, shall we?’