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Sorgi’s ships were standing at anchor some few yards off the beach by now, and the plans they had all drawn up the night before proceeded s had not taken into account Khalad had ridden to the edge of the cliff to look to the north, and he rode back with a slightly worried frown

‘Well?’ Sparhawk asked hih,’ Khalad replied, dis up fro’

‘Why is that a probleot a little carried away It looks as if the leading edge of that current is boiling’

‘So?’

‘What do you get when you pour boiling water on ice, Sparhawk?’

‘Stea the ice out there, right enough, but it’s raising a lot of steam in the process What’s another word for steam, my Lord?’

‘Please don’t do that, Khalad It’s very offensive Just how big is this fog-bank?’

‘I couldn’t see the end of it, my Lord’

‘Thick?’

‘You could probably walk on it’

‘Could we possibly stay ahead of it?’

Khalad pointed out to sea ‘I sort of doubt it,across the water in a thick gray blanket, its leading edge a solid wall obscuring everything in its path

Sparhawk started to swear

‘You seem melancholy, hed ‘I don’t like being separated from Sparhawk,’ she said ‘There were too many years of that when he was in exile’

‘You’ve loved hi ti Sparhawk It’s really more convenient that way You don’t have to waste ti about other possible husbands You can concentrate all your attention on the one you’re going to marry and make sure you’ve closed all his escape routes’

There was a knock on the door, and Mirtai rose, put her hand on her sword-hilt, and went to answer it

Stragen entered He earing rough clothes

‘What on earth have you been up to, Milord?’ Melidere asked hied ‘I’uise ood toas an e the street outside the Cynesgan eht to sit on a roof-top to keep watch I get to trundle wheelbarrow-loads of cobblestones to the pavers’

‘I gather that souessed

‘Yes, ure out what All the chi smoke that doesn’t look like wood sn of incipient flight’

‘Don’t they know that they haven’t a chance of getting out of town?’ Mirtai asked hi to uess, but I’d say they’re planning so to seriously offend the authorities, and then they’re going to try to make a run for it’ He looked at Ehlana ‘I think we’d better tighten our security arrange serious, and we don’t want to be caught off-guard’

‘I’ll have a talk with Sarabian,’ Ehlana decided ‘It was useful to have that e as Xanetia was here to eavesdrop Now that she’s off with Sparhawk and the others, the eht be time to send in some Atans to nullify it’

‘It’s an eo in and round everybody up That’s against all the rules of civilized behavior’

‘So?’

‘We don’t have ravely ‘When you’re out in deep water and this kind of fog comes up, all you can do is put out your seaanchor and hope you don’t run aground on some island You’d never be able to pick your way around the end of that reef with those rafts, and I’d rip the bottoms out of half the ships in the fleet if I tried to slip through the channel between the reef and the ice We’re going to have to wait until this lifts – or thins out at least’

‘And how long will that be?’ Sparhawk asked

‘There’s no way to tell’

‘The air’s colder than the water, Sparhawk,’ Khalad explained ‘That’s what’s causing the fog I don’t think it’s going to lift until the air warms up We won’t be ready to leave here until to to raise those rafts up out of the water a bit before we load men and horses on the to et started on that, Khalad?’ Vanion suggested ‘Sparhawk and I’ll go have a talk with Sephrenia and Aphrael We , Sparhawk?’

The two of them went back on down the beach to the fire Kalten had built for the ladies

‘Well?’ Sephrenia asked She was seated on a driftwood log with her sister in her lap

‘The fog’s creating soet around the end of the reef until it lifts, and we’re a little crowded for time We’d like to reach Tzada before the Trolls start to march Any ideas?’

‘A few,’ Aphrael replied, ‘but I’ll need to talk with Bhelliom first There are certain proprieties and courtesies involved, you understand’

‘No,’ Sparhawk replied ‘I don’t, really, but that doesn’t matter all that much I’ll take your word for it’

‘Oh, thank you, Sparhawk!’ she said with a certain false ingenuousness ‘I think Bhellioive it to me’

‘Whatever you say’ He took out the cask and touched it with his ring ‘Open,’ he told it Then he handed the box to the Child Goddess

She slid down off Sephrenia’s lap and went down the beach a little way Then she stood looking out at the fog-enveloped sea So far as Sparhawk could tell, she was not speaking aloud to the Sapphire Rose

It was about ten minutes later when she returned She handed the box back to Sparhawk ‘It’s all taken care of,’ she told him in an offhand way ‘When do you want to leave?’

‘To?’ Sparhawk asked Vanion