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After they rode in under the trees, Vanion called a halt

‘Why are we stopping?’ Flute deht,’ Vanion explained, ‘and our eyes need a little time to adjust to the shadows here under the trees We don’t want to blunder into anything’

‘Oh’

‘Her night isn’t going too well, is it?’ Berit murmured to Sparhawk ‘She seeets over-confident sometimes, and a little too much impressed with her own cleverness’

‘I heard that, Sparhawk,’ Flute snapped

‘I rather thought you ht have,’ he replied blandly

‘Why is everyone ht?’ she co you, Aphrael,’ Sephrenia assured the little girl, ‘clumsily, of course, but they’re Elenes, after all, so you can’t really expect too s start to turn ugly?’ Vanion said

They rode at a walk through the shadows, and after about half an hour they reached a narrow, rutted track They turned eastward anda little faster now

‘How far is it to Jorsan, one a ways

‘About fifty leagues,’ Vanion replied

‘A goodly ways, then’ Bevier looked inquiringly at Flute

‘What?’ she said crossly

‘Nothing, really’

‘Say it, Bevier’

‘I wouldn’t offend you for the world, Divine Aphrael, but could you speed the journey the way you did ere traveling across Deira with King Wargun’s ar for so to fly past it just because you’re in a hurry to get to the taverns of Jorsan’

‘That will do,’ Sephrenia told her

Since it was still early autuht tents with them, and after about another hour’s travel they rode back into the forest and spread their blankets on beds of fallen leaves to get a few hours’ sleep

The sun ell up when they set out again, and they travelled through the forest until late afternoon without encountering any local people

Once again they moved back into the forest about a quarter of a ht in a narrow ravine where an overhanging bank and the thick foliage would conceal the light froly, Ulath did the cooking without any of his usual subterfuge ‘It’s not as ,’ he explained

‘I e to be travelling without all those suggestions of his’

‘This cooking business has co?’

‘Sir Ulath normally keeps track of it, my Lord,’ Talen replied ‘It’s a very complicated system, so none of the rest of us really understands hoorks’

‘Wouldn’t a simple roster do just as well?’ Vanion asked

‘I’m sure it would, but Sir Ulath prefers his own h Once Kalten cooked every single meal for an entire week’

Vanion shuddered

They had s, and Ulath received some hard looks from his companions about that Flute and Sephrenia, however, coht their ht when Talen shook Sparhaake, laying a cautious hand across hisout ‘There are some people back near the road,’ the boy whispered ‘They’ve built a big fire’

‘What are they doing?’ Sparhawk asked

‘Just standing around waiting for so’

‘You’d better rouse the others,’ Sparhawk told hi for his sword

They crept through the forest in the darkness and stopped at the edge of a stue bonfire in the center of the clearing and nearly a hundredfroround near the blaze Their faces were ruddy froht and fro around

‘Strange place to be holding a drinking-party,’ Ulath murmured ‘I wouldn’t co as ordinary as that’

‘Is this it?’ Vanion asked Flute, as nestled in Sephrenia’s arms, concealed by her sister’s dark cloak

‘Is this what?’

‘You knohat I mean Is this e’re supposed to see?’

‘I think so,’ she replied ‘I’ll know better when they all get here’

‘Are there ?’

She nodded ‘One, at least The ones who are already here don’t rew progressively more and e of the clearing, near the road The newcomer wore a dark cloak and a slouch hat pulled low over his face

‘Not again,’ Talen groaned ‘Doesn’t anybody on this continent have any iination?’

‘What’s this?’ Vanion asked

‘The one they call Sabre up in Astel wore the same kind of clothes, et h’

The ht, disly , pock-marked face and narrow eyes He stepped up onto a tree-stuather around him ‘Hearnews’

The half-drunk babble of the peasants faded

‘Much has happened since last we met,’ the speaker continued ‘You will recall that we had determined to make one last try to resolve our differences with the Tamuls by peaceful means’

‘What choice did we have, Rebal?’ one of the peasants shouted ‘Only arrison – no matter how just their cause’