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Hound nodded "I couldn't get this next one at all Who is she?"

"Let ers brushed the top and sides of the ie and explored the area about its feet "Wearin' a helmet, hain't she bucky?"

"Yes, she is A hel the statue "I was about to say that the customary lion was absent, which hy you were unable to identify her, Hound-but that isn't actually the case She wears a h it is too s, who has been a trooper, knew her by her helht take offense if he naest of the Nine"

Hound stepped nearer to look at the lad she's still here A lot of her statures were saunte"

"This may be a replacement-it looks a little newer than the others If so, that's very likely the reason her lion was reduced to a bit of jewelry The augur here oddess"

"Good god?" Oreb inquired

His ed "I wouldn't say so, but she's no worse than the Seven as a whole She's reputed to be brave, at least, and in the course of my life I've found that people who possess one virtue usually have several One can i, unscrupulous, drunken, envious, cruel, lewd, violent and all the rest of that sad catalogue; but one never actuallysaid, "Thank yer kindly, bucky"

He was taken aback "You can't , but no one who's been in your company for an hour could suppose you were a ; and I could easily rattle off a dozen more virtues-patience and tenacity, for example"

"Guid a' yer"

Hound cleared his throat and seemed almost to choke "I want to say that Horn speaks for me, too I couldn't have said it as well as he did, but I feel the sao on to the next? I' the snakes? I wanted to ask sootten what it was"

"She's actually a rather interesting figure When I was a boy, I considered her the least attractive of the Nine, and there's some truth in that; but she's by no means the least coe of her sister Phaea If that is the case, then Phaea is Sphigx's oddess of peace The title suits her even though she doesn't get it, at least in Viron"

Pig touched Sphigx's iht, bucky? Sounds like they Nought ter"

"No" Leaning on his staff, he studied the ix is not oddess of war, as I should have e, watchfulness, and hardihood-all of the virtues that a trooper must have, even cleanliness and order I oddess of healing I used to know a Doctor Crane froaunte-this was before they went to ith us He was a tough, brave little ood diet and clean hands have to do with health and healing We have need of both Phaea and her sister, you see One way to put that is that they need each other"

Straightening up, he turned back to Hound, s "Have you remembered what you wanted to ask?"

Hound shook his head

"Then I have a question for you When you said that es had been sry Vironese who saw theo, it occurred to auntis themselves Statues like this are prohibited in the City of Trivigaunte and its territories, supposedly by her order, as are pictures of her; and I suppose that a deeply religious Trivigaunti ht be tempted to destroy them wherever she found them Was that what happened?"

"Mostly in the city, I think In the Grand Manteion"

Pig chuckled "Both sides breakin' 'em?"

Hound nodded with a rueful sauntis, I suppose because they did it there And I hoped Horn could tell us why they wanted to That hat I was ot for a minute Can you, Horn?"

He stared off into the diht had stabbed the dusty air

"Silk talk!"

"Oreb means me, I'm afraid" He turned back to them "Who am I to resist a bird's deoddess wanted, of course; but you understand that, surely The real questions are whether she did, and if so why she did" He fell silent again, his clear blue eyes lost in thought

"If she did not, then her supposed deaunte-whatever it's called-or the Rani's government If that is the case, they probably say what they do to separate their people more firmly from those of other cities Have I aunti town south of New Viron? There is"

Hound said, "I didn't know that"

"There's been a certain degree of aunti woauntisaid

"So do I, in a way; yet I doubt that they're much more-or much less-discontented than other couples

"At any rate, their custoods clearly isolates the people of Trivigaunte This manteion would appear blasphemous to them; more importantly, so would the home of any pious person in Viron My friend Auk, hat is called a coh he was an uncommon man, had a picture of Scylla tacked to his wall But I ax herself issued the prohibition, I think it most likely she acted from pride or shame She may have felt that no representation we could 's hand closed upon his elbow, its thick, pointed nails alo, and I would defy any artist to picture a woly beautiful as a young worip relaxed

"Or Sphigxworship at all None of the other gods seems to feel like that, yet it would be much to their credit if they did"

Hound stared at hiods Is that what you would like to say? That's true They are our gods-here, at least-and if they deive it to them or perish Do you see that niche over there?"

"Yes," Hound said "It's empty"

Oreb croaked harshly, and hisIn that sense, it is the Outsider's Pig, do you want to put your hand in it? It will do you no harm"

"Nae "