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I used the map of the castle that I had copied in my journal to find the library It was awith books The s with a sense of abandone that this tre to waste because the Co themselves beyond as necessary for their jobs

Within his military structure, a person was trained specifically for their position only Learning just for the sake of learning was frowned on, and greeted with suspicion

Once I had ascertained that the library was truly a forgotten place, I brought the pods and beans there instead of carrying the heavy books back to my room I found a small nook tucked away in a corner The nook had a wooden table which faced one of the large, egg-shaped s that randoht strea the table of dust, it beca one of the yellow pods in half, I discovered it was filled with a white inous pulp A taste of the pulp revealed it to have a sweet and citrus flavor with a taint of sour, as if it was starting to rot The white flesh contained seeds I cleaned the pulp from the seeds and uncovered thirty-six of them They resembled the beans froainst bean in the sunlight The pod seed was purple instead of brown, and when I bit into the seed, I spit it out as a strong bitter and astringent taste filled htly tart and earthy taste of the brown beans

Assu that the pods were a fruit and the beans edible, I pulled out every botany book I could find in the library and piled theain This tirabbed any volume with information about poisons Aones back to his office My third trip through the shelves was an effort to find books on

I paused by an ehtly packed library, and wondered if it had contained ic, it was logical to destroy any pertinent information On a whim, I explored the lower levels of the bookcase under the e that a book from the empty shelf could have slid back behind the other books, I took out all the texts on the lower shelves My efforts were rewarded by the discovery of a slied the book tothe library, I made sure no one was there With sweaty palms, I hid the book in my backpack I planned to read it later, preferably in my room with the door locked

Giddy with my illicit acquisition, I searched the various rooms of the library until I found a co it back to my nook, I beat the dust froant seat I had seen in the castle, and I wondered who had used it beforebeen a bibliophile? The considerable collection of books said as reat favor

I spent h the botany books and discovering nothing I planned to decipher the pod and bean puzzle while I researched information for myself The tedious as at least broken into s the Commander’s meals and by my afternoon strolls around the castle

It had been four days since the exercise, and that afternoon my walk had a purpose I scouted for a place with a view of the east gate, but where I wouldn’t be obvious to the flow of people passing through

Valek still hadn’t returned fro cereht before at the fire festival, ending the weeklong celebration Rand, looking hungover, had infor that Brazell and his retinue would finally leave the castle, via the east gate, to go ho back with my own eyes had driven me to seek the perfect position

The barracks for the Commander’s soldiers filled both the northeast and southwest corners of the castle co extended froular training area had been built next to the east leg of the building There was a wooden fence around the yard and, when training was in progress, the fence attracted the castle’s various residents to stop along it to watch the exercises That afternoon I joined in with a group of observers, who not only had a clear view of the fighting drills, but the east gate as well

Rand’s inforreen-and-black–clad soldiers I could see Brazell on his dappledhis most trusted advisers, at the end of the procession Brazell’s retinue ignored the people around thehost appeared next to oodbye to his father A shudder vibrated down roup of people that I had been standing with had dispersed Had Reyad scared theone

A hand touched my arm I flinched

"Good riddance to that lot," Ari said, tilting his head toward the east gate Seeing hiht, I noticed that Ari’s eyes were such a pale blue that in the darkness his eyes had seemed to hold no color

Ari stood with Janco on the other side of the fence Both wore the sleeveless shirts and short pants that the soldiers liked to train in Sweat-soaked and streaked with dirt, their faces and bodies sported new cuts and bruises