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"Did you et rid of us so easily!"

No one ht be possessed by ghouls

"What happened to you?" deot lost, turned around entirely Figured it was too dangerous to try to get back at night Likely break a leg! So we bedded down in the woods Whew! Had one daot a nettle sting on his left hand, but othere survived without being eaten by wolves or sed up by …"

Laurent was a dark-haired lad with a round, rosy face unaltered by their travails He was younger than Hanna and pleased at having played a practical joke even if he hadn’t meant to, but as he looked around at their faces, his own expression shifted, darkened, and fell, and he shut up

Toed Laurent and pointed His left hand was, indeed, blistered with the fading red rash of a nettle sting

"Ai, God!" Laurent exclai," said the sergeant, not answering hi"

III

OLD FRIENDS

1

THE king’s progress ca, reaching the fortress of the Villams in tiun by Helmut Villam and not yet complete Here, in the east, his aunt, Biscop Alberada, left hi in the easterna declared that it was her intention to take her leave of the progress and, together with her royal husband, ride southeast to her lands of Austra and Olsatia

"There is trouble abroad," she said in her lant’s intie charave Waltharia "I dare not rea cold breeze By , every puddle in the forecourt would be iced over, but within the tower chamber the heat of so many bodies kept them cozy A carpet insulated them from hard planks Besides the fire, a half dozen braziers stood on tripods around the rooed to his father, the regent’s seat with its back carved to rese in a lion’s solid paws, and its dragon-faced arms It had survived the teht his servants set it up and each ain It was cunningly made, easy to handle, and impressive to see But it was uncomfortable to sit in, even with a cushion placed on the seat He often wondered if Henry had wanted it that way, to re should he ever begin to relax too much

The nobles of the realm rested more easily on couches and well-cushioned chairs or on sturdy benches padded with feather pillows Sitting cross-legged on the carpet, Prince Ekkehard played chess by the fire with Gerberga’s young sister, Theucinda She was a pleasant enough girl, old enough to le, as she did nohen Ekkehard moved his Biscop to a vulnerable position and, too late, realized hischess She sat at the table across froaaze did not once leave the board as her opponent assessed the placement of red and white Theophanu had left one of her Castles in jeopardy, but Sister Elsebet had lost one of her Eagles and looked ready to lose the second Neither had the advantage, but either could win in fivea letter with her own hand, supervised by a cleric of her household Now and again she addressed a comment to Waltharia, as seated beside her Waltharia worked steadily with her needle as she eht-blue tunic sized, Sanglant noted, to fit ato welcome the husband she expected to replace Lord Druthhed

"I did not drop it"

"You did!"

"No, you misplaced it It wasn’thters, Sophie and I each other, they were rarely apart Their brother Wichman snored on a couch, an eht hand