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The village was even worse than Lelldorin's description had led thears stood in the ly and their voices shrill The houses were nothingss rooted in the muddy streets, and the stench of the place ful

A funeral procession slogged through the e The corpse, carried on a board, rapped in a ragged brown blanket, and the richly robed and cowled priests of Chaldan, the Arendish God, chanted an age-old hyeance, but little to do with co infant at her breast, followed the body, her face blank and her eyes dead

The inn smelled of stale beer and half-rotten food A fire had destroyed one end of the co The gaping hole in the burned as curtained off with a sheet of rotting canvas The fire pit in the center of the room smoked, and the hard-faced innkeeper was surly For supper he offered only bowls of watery gruel - a ," Silk said sardonically, pushing away his untouched bowl "I'm a bit surprised at you, Lelldorin Your passion for correcting wrongs seeest that your next crusade include a visit to the Lord of this de overdue"

"I hadn't realized it was so bad," Lelldorin replied in a subdued voice He looked around as if seeing certain things for the first tian to show itself in his transparent face

Garion, his stoo outside," he declared

"Not too far," Aunt Pol warned

The air outside was at least somewhat cleaner, and Garion picked his way carefully toward the edge of the village, trying to avoid the worst of the ed, "have you a crust of bread to spare?"

Garion looked at her helplessly "I' for soan to cry and turned away

In the stued boy about Garion's own age was playing a wooden flute as he watched a few scrubby cows Theunnoticed a rays of the pale sun The boy saw hi Their eyes nition, but they did not speak

At the edge of the forest beyond the field, a dark-robed and hooded man astride a black horse cae There was souely familiar as well It seemed somehow to Garion that he should knoho the rider was, but, though his ly eluded hi tih the horse and rider stood in the full light of the setting sun, there was no shadow behind the tried to shriek at him, but, all be to Aunt Pol or the others about the figure at the edge of the woods because there was nothing to say; as soon as he turned his back, he would forget

The light began to fade, and, because he had begun to shiver, he turned to go back to the inn with the aching song of the boy's flute soaring toward the sky above him

Chapter Six

DESPITE THE PROMISE Of the brief Sunset, the next day dawned cold andthe trees and loomy They left the inn early and soon entered a part of the wood that see than even the oh which they had previously passed The trees here were enornarled oaks lifted their bare li the dark firs and spruces The forest floor was covered with a kind of gray moss that looked diseased and unwholeso, and Garion assu with the proble, wrapped in his heavy green cloak, his reddish-gold hair da in the steady drizzle Garion pulled in beside his friend, and they rode silently for a while "What's troubling you, Lelldorin?" he asked finally