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Instead he followed Triuhts on his left They were the real Chae should have impressed Briar Instead it made his skin creep The city breathed exhaustion from its pores The stone was tired; Rosethorn had said the land was tired How long did tired places endure? On the day they had toured the city, just after their arrival, Rosethorn had coood earthquake would finish the place The Earth Dedicate as their guide had gone dead white, and begged her not to repeat it

Shaking his head, Briar nudged his horse into a trot The sooner he returned to the Street of Hares, the better he would feel

His ride up Palace Road to the a and expensive Each tiuard Briar surrendered a silver cham -- a coin equal to five silver davs -- as a bribe, so he’d be allowed to pass His purse was much reduced by the tiuided hi room

Once the servant retreated, Briar looked his clothes over He was the picture of a prosperous young man of the reen baggy trousers He’d worn his favorite overrobe again He was glad he was dressed as well, if not better, than s breathed wealth and prestige Stoneslicer’s ns and inlaid with stone flowers; silk rugs in complex patterns warmed the cold e off thechill Briar welco around the city at last, and his silk overrobe wasn’t as warm as a coat

He did note with displeasure the scent of sandalwood that rose from the braziers Why burn a tree just to impress those who kne costly the stuff was?

He knew the wealthy often burned sandalwood, to show their riches and power He’d certainly encountered such custoht to be more sensible and less wasteful

Another servant arrived with a heavy brasswork tray He set its contents -- teapot, cups, a plate of pastries, and a bowl of fruit -- on the low table He filled the cups, then bowed out, walking backward Briar scowled He didn’t like that kind of bowing and scraping, and wondered why the servant had used it on a mere pahan He had his answer as a carved sandalwood door at the back of the roo for the servant to close the front door behind hie was fat He did not walk as old satin robes and musky scent His skin was sallow, more yellow than brown If he’d seen this man in an infirmary, Briar would have found medicines to treat ailments of the liver and kidneys

Jebilu’s head looked like an egg atop his body, an egg with straggly long black hair glued to its back half A huo; his chin was a round bulge jutting fro His brown eyes, tucked in folds of fat, were quick and clever, his smile serene If he had eyebrows Briar couldn’t see them Dark circles spread under his eyes, another e said in a high, boyish voice "I was told a pahan was here to seeto Jebilu "Briar Moss, fro Circle tearding Briar silently for a e name, and you are but a boy"

Briar listed varieties of wort plants in his head until his te ball, he told himself, and replied evenly, "I am fourteen I picked the nae it, and the Initiate Council of Winding Circle has vouched for me"

He reached into his shirt and pulled a rip on its silk cord, he held it out to Jebilu The er to see the other side

Briar and the girls had gotten the hteen months before All four of their teachers -- Daja’s master Frostpine, Tris’s teacher Niko, Sandry’s teacher Lark, and Rosethorn -- had coht, as had Tris’s and Briar’s sometime-teacher Dedicate Crane Afterward Frostpine had presented each of the young people with a silvery metal circle The front of each was different: the name of the individual student and his or her es At the center was an iic -- Briar’s was a tree On the back was the spiral sy Circle, to indicate where they had studied

The four were ordered never to show the pendants needlessly or even to wear thee-credentials, proof that the Initiate Council at Winding Circle had approved theot they had them; the medallions seemed made not to be noticed by even the wearer In the un their journey east, Rosethorn had ordered Briar to show it to fourhow they worked to a student The medallion had silenced them Briar suspected they said e, but Rosethorn refused to answer his questions

Whatever the e of the medallion was, it did not impress Jebilu He wrinkled his nose, as if he’d s bad "The standards for credentials are lower than they hen I was a student," he remarked "What have you done to your hands?"