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"Your h "What an honor! And when are you planning to betray hi on his knee

"Never mind all this nonsense aboutmaster, either! We can be friends, can’t we? Just ordinary friends, okay?"

Twigleg sain, but this time it was a tear of joy "Friends," he repeated "Oh, yes, friends!"

Barnabas Greenblooleg," he said, "what did youNettlebrand into the desert? What desert?"

"The biggest desert I could find on the map," replied the homunculus "Only a desert can hold Nettlebrand prisoner for a while, you see Because" -- Twigleg lowered his voice, as if his oldin the dark shadows cast by the stone doives him the power to move instantly from one place to another So I sent him where there’s less of it than anywhere else"

"He is lord of the water," said Firedrake softly

"What did you say?" Barnabas Greenbloo ere told by a sea serpent we on "She said Nettlebrand has more power over water than she does herself"

"But how does he do it?" asked Guinevere, looking inquiringly at the ho shook his head "I’m afraid I don’t know all the secrets the alchemist told him When one of his servants spits or throws a stone into water, the ie of Nettlebrand appears He talks to us as if he were actually there, even if he’s at the other end of the earth But no, I don’t kno it’s done"

"Oh, so that’s what you were up to beside that water cistern," said Sorrel, "when you tried toto your reflection You treacherous little locust! You--"

"Stop it, Sorrel!" Firedrake interrupted her He looked at the hoht," hetojust that," said Zubeida

Twigleg turned to look at her in surprise

"You may yet be able to ist

"Exactly the sa occurred to me, Zubeida!" Barnabas Greenbloo could be a kind of double agent What do you think, Vita?"

His wife nodded "Not a bad idea"

"What exactly does a trouble agent do?" asked Sorrel

"Si for Nettlebrand," Ben explained "But he’ll really be spying for us Get it?"

Sorrel wrinkled her nose