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It was a ed from the city some time after noon, they had sold the horses they had taken froy, sturdy ponies to ride and four bright-eyed, wary mules for pack animals from another These were farm mules, used to humans and animals alike, which barely blinked at the false chickens they were forced to carry The ponies, the trader had assured Rosethorn, were bred in thethere

After a trip to the sellers of used clothes, Evvy once again had the bright head cloths she loved Rosethorn chose theskirts made of odds and ends, but their breeches were underneath them, just in case

Their packs could have been supplies for a far visit to relatives As they left the town they presented the picture of a fa across the front of their chests Other travelers used their slings for food, water bottles, cloths for wiping aeat, or coin purses Rosethorn and Briar carried round balls of seedvines when they hit a target Evvy carried her stone alphabet, razor-edged throwing disks, and honey candies She was always afraid of being hungry

Once they had passed the guards at the south gate on their way out of Kushi, Briar let Rosethorn and Evvy ride ahead He purchased steamed plum buns, pressed-rice cakes, and ham at the vendors who kept shop beside the road It was there that he saw an old beggar orstaff His sack bent him half over He was utterly filthy, barefooted and bareheaded, ray and black locks were lank with greasy dirt He offered a begging bowl to one of the soldiers on the gate, but the man just pushed it away and ordered the poor creature to ar stu him by Several wrinkled their noses and pretended he wasn’t there Others walked far around him

Briar shook his head People assuar lurched toward hi a wave of piss-stink and other sh his ood eye The beggar approached on stu on the stones of the road His feet, like his hands, rapped in stained and dirty rags

"Good afternoon to you," Briar said "Here you go" He put a handful of coins in the man’s bowl first, then covered them with one of his many clean handkerchiefs On top of that he put two of the plum buns and three pressed-rice cakes The

"Thank you, young aps in his teeth "May Kanzan the Merciful sether and bowed "May she sar stopped to tuck his food into various places in his upper garments The coins vanished into a breeches pocket Then he li a rice cake

Briar turned to collect the rest of the food he’d bought for his girls

"You waste your money on the likes of that," the cook said "He’ll just spend those coins on wine"

Briar shrugged "If it makes hie" He bowed to the cook and tucked the bundle into the sling over his chest Excusing hions, and riders as he searched for Rosethorn and Evvy He thought he would overtake the beggar in only a few yards, but he ell along before he passed the ed to hitch a ride on the tail of a far in spite of the faint drizzle

Briar grinned and passed the cart Every step he took away from Kushi and their last ties to the caravan and the palace hter The Traders had been decent -- they alere -- and the people traveling with the caravan were pleasant enough to talk to, but it was hard to keep an eye on Rosethorn and Evvy a so many people Here, too, it would be difficult, but soldiers would not be palace troops, fearing for their lives when the emperor learned that Parahan had escaped Soldiers here would be bored and uninterested

He soon caught up to Rosethorn and Evvy They ate in the saddle while keeping a sharp eye on the pack ani beggar passed theain The cart had turned down a sar, it seeiven him a ride

More and more of those on the main road turned off it as the day drew to its close Still, there were plenty of travelers re to enter the caravansary near sunset Here, Rosethorn’s group was not far froe they would be crossing in theThe sound of the river’s thunder as it descended froh Briar would have bitten his own tongue rather than admit it

Briar and Rosethorn told those few fellow travelers who had taken an interest that they could not afford the prices of a caravansary, and they set their sates Briar wasn’t worried about bandits or wild animals here Other travelers couldn’t afford the caravansary or chose to save ood-sized one The guards atop the caravansary walls could see them and come to their rescue if there was trouble