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'There's been a ?'

'A breakdown in communications due to cultural differences'

'Do not insult me with your vile lies and obscene inventions' The old man's staff crashed down 'Our eyes and ears are everywhere We have followed your every ures that had eed from the bushes They wore body armour and looked more like professional soldiers than the flaht before He decided on a different approach

'Could we perhaps go somewhere to discuss this delicate matter?'

'What could you possibly have to discuss with me?'

'Eclipses,' Tom said

'What?'

'In my realm we can predict when the Lord Sun's countenance will be masked by Lady Moon' He exareement I'll tell you about eclipses You'll tell me about the realms and how to travel between them'

The priest's hands toyed with his staff Tom kept one eye on him and the other on the armed men Finally, the old rove'

They crossed an expanse of unnaturally green grass and entered a path overhung with bushes The path was neatly paved The bushes were neatly trile leaf was out of place To obsessive about the tidiness of the place

But it was not just a matter of aesthetics There were suspicious stains on tree stumps and rocks Tom was reminded of places where rooks and crows took er scale They looked like places where s had met their end The old narled trunk