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"We were co down the trail out of the mountains," Gallon said, "anda lot of smoke out on the plain Is there some kind of trouble out there?"

"The worst kinda trouble there is, friend," the old ain "You're not one of them Mal-or-eens, are you?"

"No," Garion assured him, "not Mallorean I come from farther west"

"I didn't know there was anythin' to the west of the Mal-or-eens Anyhow, there's whole bunches of people down there on the plains havin' soion?"

"I don't hold much with it myself," the Karand admitted "There's them as do and them as don't, and I'm one of them as don't Let the Gods take care of theirselves, I say I'll take care of me and mine, and we're quits on the whole business"

"Seeood way," Garion said carefully

"Glad you see it like that Anyhow, there's this Grolim named Zandramas down in Dar-sheeva This Zandramas, she come up into Voresebo and started talkin' about this here new God of Angarak--Torak bein' dead an' all, y'kno, I' is He's a s and he knohen people is talkin' nonsense"

Garion patted the pig's muddy flank, and the plureed "Peg, that is"

"I'ainst on a cold night--and he don't hardly snore none at all Well, sir, this Zandramas, she come up here and started preachin' and yellin' and I don't knohat all The Groliives out a moan and falls down on their faces Then, a while back, a whole new bunch of Grolims comes over theThey says that there's gonna be a new God over Angarak, right enough, but that this Zandraht of it That's what all the smoke down there on the plains is about Both sides is a-burnin' and a-killin' and a-preachin' about their idea of who the new God's gonna be I'onna have anythin' to do with either side Me and o back up in the et it all sorted out, we'll coo by"

"You keep calling this Zandramas 'she,' " Garion noted

"Would you believe it's a wo I ever heard tell of Woot no business mixin' up in men's affairs"

"Have you ever seen her?"

"Like I say, I don't , we just kinda keep to ourselves when it co," Garion said to hih that plain down there, though Are Grolier," the Karand said, suggestively looking down into his eet another one" He fished another coin out of the pouch at his waist and signaled the serving arrulous owner of the pig went on, "is that in this part of the country, them Grolims always has troops with 'eot the ar, he didn't hold with none of this religious stuff, but he got hisself de-posed His son decided the old ettin' too silly to run the country, so he set his pa aside and took the throne for hisself The son's a squinty-eyed sort and he's lookin' to put hisself on the side most likely to win He's throwed in with Zandraot this whole army out of Jenno and Ganesia and folks in ars with him--not to mention all the Grolims It's mean down there on the plains, friend They're killin' and burnin' and sacrificin' prisoners on this altar or that If it wasway around all that foolishness"