Page 81 (1/2)

Aunt Pol smiled, "Of course not"

"A fataround for hiather that this businessin the world just noanted to take part in it" He made a wry face "We all lapse into childishness from time to tier?" Aunt Pol asked

Droblek shrugged "Who can say? Half of these pestilential fevers in Nyissa don't even have names, and we can't really tell one from another Soer for weeks Now and then someone even recovers About all we can do is make them comfortable and wait to see what happens"

"I'll coetfrom our packs? I'll need the herbs I have in it"

"It's not always a good idea to expose oneself to some of these fevers, er," she said "I want to question your et any answers from hi," Barak offered

She looked at hion his sword

"If you wish" She put on her cloak and turned up the hood "This ht," she told Greldik "There are Grolims about, so have your sailors stay alert Put a few of the more sober ones on watch"

"Sober,co from the crew's quarters, Captain," she said a bit pri unless they're drunk Keep the lid on your ale-barrel tonight Shall we go, Droblek?"

"At once, my Lady," the fat man assented with a sly look at Greldik

Garion felt a certain relief after they had gone The strain of un to wear on him He found hi which had gnawed at him since he had unleashed the dreadful fire upon Charown until he could scarcely bear it He looked forward to each night with dread, for his dreaain he saw Cha, "Master, have ain he saw the awful blue flaony The hatred he had carried since Val Alorn had died in that flae had been so absolute that there was no possible way he could evade or shift the responsibility for it His outburst thathad been directed almost more at himself than at Aunt Pol, He had called her a monster, but it was the ue of what she had suffered over uncounted years for him and the passion hich she had spoken - evidence of the pain his words had caused her - twisted searingly in his mind He was ashamed, so ashamed that he could not even bear to look into the faces of his friends He sat alone and vacant-eyed with Aunt Pol's words thundering over and over in his mind

The rain slackened on the deck above the little eddies of raindrops ran across the an to clear, and the sun sank into the roiling clouds, staining thery red Garion went up on deck to wrestle alone with his troubled conscience