The grubby little creature twisted furiously in Eddis’ graspand tried to bite Mead’s fingers. Greasy hair, hacked short, slapped across theswordswoman’s arms. Eddis was aware of the bandit captain trying to struggle tohis feet, being shoved back down by Jerdren. The screeching child claimed her full attention once more as its teeth sank into her left wrist. She swore angrily, wrapped a hand around a knotted tuft of hair, and yanked. The child’shead slammed into her forearm, and it shrieked.
“Let me go! You let Blot go! Lemme go!”
Mead’s fingers began to glow as he murmured a spell. Thechild went wide-eyed and quiet, and it tried to back away, but Eddis had it.
“Be quiet,” the mage said evenly, “or this spell will turnyou to stone.”
Blessed silence. The elf mage looked around them, his angry gaze sweeping across the prisoners. “What is a human child doing here and insuch pitiful state? Where is its mother?”
“Maybe this fellow could tell you,” Jerdren replied sharply.“Seemed awfully interested when you two hauled it out of hiding. Captain here,aren’t you? Captain of this camp?” he asked.
Silence, broken by the sound of a hard kick and a grunt of pain. “I only ask nicely the first time,” he said. “What about this child, eh?”
The child twisted half-around to screech at Jerdren. “Don’tyou hurt ’im. You got no right!” It tore at Eddis’ fingers. “Lemme go!”
The swordswoman gave Mead an exasperated look, locked her other hand in the dreadful hair, and shouted, “Mead! Use the spell! Anything toshut the creature up!”
The child caught its breath in a gasp and cowered away from her. Eddis felt ashamed of her outburst and angry because of it.
The captain cleared his throat. “Leave the brat alone. It’sdone no harm. It’s ours, honest like. Not stolen, it ain’t. Born to us.”
“Who’s its father, and where’s its mother, then?” Jerdrendemanded. “Brat that size ought not to be without parents.”
“It-which is the child? Boy or girl?” Eddis askedangrily. Her knuckles stung where ragged fingernails had torn at them, and the hair she kept in a tight grip was disgusting to the touch and smelled dreadful. “I can’t keep saying ‘it’!”
The man closed his mouth tightly.
She eyed the filthy child, bit back a sigh, and essayed a smile. Tried to make her voice soothing. “Little one, I’m sorry if we scaredyou. We don’t mean to frighten children.” Silence. “What’s your name? Are you aboy, or a girl?”
“Told you, I’m Blot,” it replied sullenly. Large tears pooledin the dark eyes and ran down thin cheeks all at once, leaving pale tracks in the dirt.
Eddis was suddenly furious with this captain and all the men who’d camped here with him. To so neglect a child… how low were they?
Blot spoke up, voice thick with tears, “What ye’ll do with Blot? With ’im?”Her eyes went toward the captain.
“Is he your father, Blot?”
“Don’t know what that is. ’Im’s just Captain. Lets me livehere, sleep in the tent there with ’im ’n ’is brother. I gotta do what they say,get wood for the fires, ’n keep ashes cleared proper like.”
Eddis met Mead’s eyes, nodded to let him know she’d takecontrol of the situation. She caught the child’s shoulder gently as the magereleased it and brought the suddenly quiet creature over to where the prisoners had been gathered. Her eyes were hard as they met those of the bandit captain.
“Suppose you tell me, then, Captain! Since the childdoesn’t seem to have any idea?”
He eyed her stubbornly.
“Fine! I guess I’ll let Jerdren kick it out of you-be still,child!” she ordered and tightened her grip on Blot’s skinny shoulders. The childtwisted in her grasp, realized it was no use, and went still again.
The prisoner glanced at Jerdren, looked at the child for a long moment, finally shrugged. “Told you true, Blot’s ours. We had a few campwomen, last place we were. Bad idea, I knew it then, and so it proved. Women like that set the men against one another, always playing little games. And y’get by-blows like that all too often.” His gaze moved expressionlesslyover the child and then beyond her. “Mother died when it was a year old-maybetwo. I forget.”
“It?” Eddis asked. The man glanced at her, away. Shruggedagain.
“She. M’brother took to it-her. Kept her about, can’t thinkwhy. Was it left to me, I’d’ve had it exposed and there’s an end to it. Men likeus got no use for something that young and useless.”
Eddis’ eyes narrowed.
The man went on, clearly unaware of her rising fury. “Turnedout a useful creature in its way. We taught it to tend fires, fetch water-thingslike that. Taught it from the first that it didn’t dare give over its chores,whatever it thought of ’em. Turned out my brother was right. Blot frees up a manor two when they’re needed on important tasks.”
Eddis drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. The poor child was probably expecting a beating. Clearly it was all she knew. She wouldn’tunderstand the swordswoman’s anger was for the man who’d so ill-treated her.
“She,” Eddis said evenly. “So-how old is she?”
He considered this briefly. “Ten-twelve summers? Man losescount.”
“Ten or twelve.” Eddis stared at him. “And you kept her here,openly? Living with all these men?”
He scowled up at her. “Now, listen, there’s none of that!Wouldn’t ever have been, either. I run a clean camp! Didn’t I say we was ridof loose women? Time came,” he shrugged, “and Blot was old enough, we’d give thechild a chance to learn weapons and join us.”
“And if she didn’t want to become a bandit, whatthen?” Eddis’ voice remained soft, but the captain edged away from her, untilJerdren’s boot stopped him.
“What d’ye think? We’re not savages! My brother would’vetaken her to some town and turned ’er loose!”
“And, trained as you’ve trained her, of course she’dbe able to find an honest way to earn her way,” Eddis replied sourly. “Jerdren,get him away from me.” She walked off, bringing Blot in tow.
“What’ll ye do with ’im?” Blot asked in a small voice. “Y’can’t kill ’im. ’E swore ’e’d protect me!” Another thought occurred to her.“Where’s ’is brother? Where’s Hosig?” She pulled against Eddis’ grip, but invain.
“M’Baddah?” Eddis turned to look for her lieutenant.“M’Baddah, where are-? Oh, there, thank the gods,” she added as the man came outof the gloom to join her. “She’s after the captain’s brother-the man with thehorses, down at the river, wasn’t he?”
M’Baddah’s eyes shifted toward the canvas shelter, where themore gravely wounded had been moved, and he shook his head minutely.
“Not yet,” he said quietly, “but soon.”
Eddis shifted her grip on the child’s shoulders and went toone knee to be on her level. “Blot? We’ll take you to see him. But… well,he’s hurt.”
“Hurt? ’E won’t die, will ’e?”
Blot asked fearfully. Eddis looked up at M’Baddah, who kneltnext to her and met the child’s eyes.
“I do not think he is so badly hurt. Eddis tells you thisonly so you will not cry or look afraid when you see the bandages. He is your friend?”
Blot didn’t seem too sure about “friend.”
“’E lets me have one of ’is blankets when it’s cold out, andsometimes ’e helps me with the heavy pots and the wood and stuff.”
“That is a friend,” M’Baddah said gently. “Because he caresfor you. Come. We will take you to your friend.” He held out a hand.
Blot searched his face, sniffed quietly, and suddenly held out one of hers. Eddis bit back reservations of her own and released the child, who went quietly with her lieutenant. The swordswoman glanced at Jerdren, held up a hand when he would have trailed along, and went after the two.
The wounded man lay a little apart from the others. Someone beyond him moaned nonstop, though all the men here had been tended to. At first, Eddis thought he looked no worse than his companions. His leg had been splinted with a long stick of firewood. There was a spreading bruise on his forehead and a ragged, oozing cut that crossed his right hand. His face was tight with pain. M’Baddah spoke first to the robber and then softly against the child’s earbefore he gave her a gentle shove forward. The man made a clear effort to focus on her, and even managed something of a smile.
“There’s my windflower. How’s my little one?” he said.
Blot went to her knees beside him, eyes searching anxiously before she buried her face in his shoulder and burst into frantic tears.
“Don’t die! What’s Blot without ye?”
The man brought up a hand to pat her shoulder awkwardly. It had been bound by a loop of rope to his ankle, effectively immobilizing him, though Eddis doubted he could have moved, anyway. Pain-tightened eyes met hers, then moved to the child. He does care for her, Eddis thought. More than his brother, at least, and I’ll wager he wants my assurance we’ll take her with us.
She nodded, saw the look of relief on his face as he turned his full attention to the girl.
“Why, you’ll be fine, child. It looks to me like my littlewindflower will have a chance to live somewhere clean and safe, just like we always wanted.”
“Don’t want that! Not without you!” The hands tightened on his arm. Hewinced, but when Eddis would have moved to loosen the child’s grip, he met hereyes and shook his head. The eyes shifted. Eddis followed the man’s gaze andbriefly closed her own. The bandit’s pale breeches were soaked with blood. Sheglanced at M’Baddah, shook his head again. The man didn’t have much longer,then, and he knew it, but he was still doing his best for the poor little wretch. The swordswoman stepped back a pace and nodded. The bandit smiled his thanks at her, then gave his full attention to Blot.
“No, please don’t cry. Remember what I told you, last winter?Remember our bargain? That you’d do your best to not anger my brother, and thenI’d find a way to get us free of here, and we wouldn’t be bandits anymore, youand me. I’d buy us a little house and some land, and horses, and a goat, andchickens. And we’d have a garden, and you’d have a place to sleep out of thewind and the cold, and you’d have warm water for washing, and real shoes, andclean clothes, and enough to eat. Remember?”
Silence. The child choked on her sobs and nodded.
“Well, I guess I won’t be there after all, but you will.That’s what I want for you, what I’ve always wanted, you know that, don’t you?So I want you to promise me that you’ll go with…?” He looked up at Eddis,glanced at M’Baddah.
Eddis nodded, gave him the names he was clearly seeking. He coughed rackingly, patted the child’s shoulder again as she drew back to eye himin sudden fright. “Go with Eddis and M’Baddah. They will care for you. They’llsee you have the clean clothes, and a warm place to live, and enough to eat. I swear that to you, my small wildflower.”
Silence, except for the child’s soft weeping.
“Now I want you to go, and remember that I’m smiling at younow. Just like this. Remember that, because then I will always be smiling when you think of me.”
The child didn’t want to go, but somehow, M’Baddah persuadedher, speaking quietly against her ear, words only she could hear. Eddis knelt at the bandit’s side as the two slowly walked away, M’Baddah still talking to thegrubby little girl.
“We’ll take care of her. I promise you that. Somehow, we’llkeep her safe.”
“Bless you-thank you,” the man said, his voice suddenly veryweak. He coughed again, and this time frothy blood spilled over his chin. “Haven’t long, I-know. Never approved, m’brother keeping such an innocent withus. Back north and then here. Whatever her lineage, she’s better’n that.Deserves better. Not… just a drudge to evil men. Tell her that, for me. Ifshe ever doubts.”
“I will. I swear it,” Eddis said. She looked about for Mead,but the bandit coughed again, drew a sharp, pained breath, let it out on a long, faint sigh, and was quietly gone. Eddis looked down at his shell, closed his eyes with gentle fingers.
“May that one good deed survive you and keep you safe in theafterlife, for the child’s sake,” she murmured, got to her feet, and walkedaway.
It was still long hours until daybreak. Jerdren was portioning out watches and fire duty when Eddis beckoned him to one side.
“We’re burying the captain’s brother,” she told him.
He frowned. “We’re… we’re what? Eddis, I thought we’dagreed everyone goes back to the Keep! What if the castellan decides to give us a bonus by body count?”
“Then we’re one short, that’s all. If you’d seen that childbreaking her heart over the man, just now…”
“She’s a child. They get over things,” he said. “We agreed onthis. I don’t see why you’re so hot to change things.”
“It’s no great matter,” Eddis said flatly. “You’ve got thecaptain, we’ll have whatever loot they’ve got up here. I don’t want that poorchild to see her only friend thrown over the back of a horse and hauled into the Keep.”
“Poor child, is it?” Jerdren grumbled. “And friend,was it? True friend would’ve set her loose in some town or village-”
“Where she’d be ever after known as the raiders’ bastard,”Eddis broke in angrily, her voice low, so the child couldn’t possibly overhearher. “You don’t just take a child like this and hand her over to villagers orturn her loose in some town. There’ll always be someone who knows where she camefrom, or at least what she looked like when they got her, and they’d gossip, andyou can imagine the kinds of things they’d say, can’t you?
“No,” he replied blankly.
Blorys came up beside him. He’d clearly heard most of theargument.
“Sure you can, Brother,” he said. “Remember that dark, skinnylad back home? One who hung himself? People like our aunt threw it at him for years that his mother had been a tavern girl and no one knew who his father was.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s different, Blor!”
The younger man shook his head. “No, it’s not. And I agreewith Eddis, anyway. Whatever that man did or was, the child deserves proper memories of a man she cared enough to cry over. And rites to remember him by. She’ll have ’em. You don’t like it, Jers, you can take any share his bodymight’ve earned us out of my portion.” His gaze moved across the camp, settledon M’Baddah and his young charge. “Though he might have washed her, once in herlife.”
“No,” Eddis said. “Maybe he did her a kindness. If she’stwelve years or more… you can wager none of the men here looked at heras a camp woman.”
“Gods,” Blorys whispered and closed his eyes.
Eddis walked away.
Jerdren’s bewildered voice followed her. “What? Leaving a kidall filthy-that’s a kindness?”
A full day and a half later, nearly sundown, the company andits captives wound their slow way up the Keep road. Eddis walked ahead, leaving M’Baddah, Mead, and Jerdren to bring up the rear, the armsmen holding drawnswords, while Mead had several painful spells ready to invoke if any of the raiders decided to try escape. It might have been difficult for any of them, since the wounded among them were horsed but tied to their mounts, while those who had escaped injury were bound together in a long line, and afoot, under the watchful eye of the Keep men. Most of them seemed to have long since given up any hope of rescue or escape. The dead men were brought in at the rear of the long column, facedown over the remaining horses.
For most of the afternoon, the child Blot had walked between Eddis and M’Baddah, but only because M’Baddah stayed with Eddis, and the childwas comfortable only with him and a little with Blorys. Try as she might, Eddis hadn’t been able to breach the gap between the child and herself-the girl eyedher warily and avoided the swordswoman’s touch whenever she could.
Thank the gods I have M’Baddah with me, she thought. The manhad an instinct for communicating with shy, mistreated beasts of any kind, and on that count, Blot certainly qualified.
At M’Baddah’s suggestion, he and she had heated water themorning after the surprise raid and did their best to clean the child. Blot objected, frightened of the mere idea, until M’Baddah convinced her that bathingwas part of the funeral ritual for her friend. It might have been the first bath in the child’s entire life, at least, after her mother’d died, Eddis thought.Her nose wrinkled. So many layers of dirt, grease, ash and cooking oils, mud, and anything else one could imagine. Underneath all that, the child was small even for ten years and incredibly thin-every bone in her body pressed againstpale skin. There wasn’t the least hint of fat anywhere on her. No outward signof maturity, either. Eddis closed her eyes, briefly. Thank all the gods there might ever be that M’Baddah was the one man she felt safe in trusting to helpher bathe such a mess of a child and that the child had in turn trusted him to sponge her clean and wrap her in his own blanket after. The hair still wasn’tcompletely clean, but it was neatly cut.
Mostly clean and clad in one of M’Whan’s tunics, Blot walkedbarefoot up the road, her hand in M’Baddah’s. Well, Eddis, the swordswoman toldherself dryly, you always knew you’d be a lousy mother.
The Keep road bent abruptly east, one of the final turns before the gates. Eddis glanced at those shuffling along behind her, was suddenly aware of the glad outcry from the walls above them. She bit back a smile. The gates would be open before they could announce themselves and their prisoners. This time, they’d be welcomed as honored guests, and tonight, they’ddoubtless be feasted in the castellan’s halls and properly rewarded.
They’d done well enough back at that camp. A chest in thecaptain’s tent was full of bags of coin, gems, and Mead had taken charge of abag of charms and potions. There’d been other wealth-mostly silver and copperpence-scattered elsewhere in the camp. It came out to a good-sized purse each.Jerdren hadn’t been convinced that they’d found everything, but the bandits oneand all denied there was any further hidden trove. With so much forest around them, it was possible they’d simply hidden things outside the camp or buriedtheir wealth. In that case, the castellan’s dungeonmaster might manage to wringthe location out of them.
On Jerdren’s orders, the men had gathered together thebandits’ weaponry and brought it along. Most of it was inferior stuff, but themetal could be melted down for new blades. They’d also retrieved the hangingsides of meat that were still fresh. Both metal and meat would add to their shares, of course.
Could’ve been worse, Eddis thought with a sudden grin. Wedidn’t get as rich by this as Jers expected, but it paid a lot better thancaravan guarding. At the moment, she was glad to be coming back to civilization and the chance for clean hair and clothes, and decent food that wasn’t coatedwith ash from an open fire.
She looked ahead as they came around the next bend, past the southeast corner of the Keep, and smiled. Sure enough, the gates had been thrown open, and there were guards in the road, cheering them on. On the walls, men and women were waving and cheering.
Jerdren edged his horse forward, dropped to the ground, gripped her wrist and flung up his arm, dragging hers high.
“Victors!” he shouted.
Eddis felt her face turning red, and she tried to tug her arm free. He grinned at her and tightened his grip.
She smiled up at the people on the walls and muttered, “You’ll pay for this, Jers.”
“Bah! Enjoy it while you can,” he replied cheerfully.“Nothing like it, is there?”
That night, the castellan held a special banquet for thecompany. The last time they had been here, the main hall had been a vast, shadowy, and echoing place just inside the main doors. Now the chamber blazed with light, every candle in the elaborate, massive, sconces aflame. Long tables that had lined the walls were arranged to fill the great space, and Eddis gave up trying to count the number of people who had been invited. She recognized the taverner and his wife far across the chamber, and not far from them, the smith. Familiar faces were everywhere. She was abashed to find that she and Jers had been given the high-backed, padded chairs flanking the castellan himself. They were both clad alike in fine silk, their feet shod in soft suede boots made for them that afternoon, eating from silver dishes and drinking from gold-rimmed goblets, while their fellows were ranged at the heads of the tables abutted to the main one.
The bandit chief and his uninjured fellows had been consigned to two of the deepest dungeon cells, close watched by guards. The injured men had been placed in another nearby, one of the company medics and his aides treating them before they were locked in for the night. The dead had been counted, named in the few cases possible, and set outside the northeastern walls for burning at first light.
Eddis, M’Bhaddah, and a nervous Jerdren had explained aboutthe captains dead brother and about the child called Blot, but Ferec had waved this aside as their personal choice and not mentioned it-or the child-again.
Our problem, that child, Eddis thought. Gods, I’m afraid shereally will be our problem, won’t she? She tried to forget about the girl as yetanother toast was made to the heroes of the day, but that particular worry wouldn’t stay gone.
It had taken all M’Baddah’s patience to get the frightenedchild into the Keep and into one of the inn’s private rooms that she would sharewith Eddis. It had taken a good deal of explanation to convince her that this arrangement was the only one possible, and Eddis still wasn’t sure the girlbelieved they would return to her after the banquet. She had been curled in on herself against the far edge of the cot when they left. We left her clean, she has blankets, water and food, the swordswoman thought. We certainly couldn’thave brought her here tonight.
Another toast. She smiled, held up her goblet, and dutifully sipped the wine. What, she wondered, are we going to do with the child? She’sused to a rough life, but even so, to take her on the road, guarding caravans?
The banquet was nearing an end, finally. The last sweet had been served, followed by a bowl of water to dabble honey-sticky fingers, that followed by a cool vinegar marinade of thin strips of venison-she managed to setthat aside politely, aware of the scent of onions that pervaded both the meat and the liquid. Lastly, a silver bowl of mint leaves to chew, and through them, sip a final chilled tea.
The castellan waited until she and Jerdren had drained their cups, then stood, raising his arms for silence, shaking his head minutely as the co-captains sought to rise with him.
“Keep your places, my friends,” he said, his voice fillingthe vast hall.
Loud cheers echoed from every corner. The castellan waited, smiling, and finally waved them down. Silence, which he broke, and for the first time, Eddis thought, he sounded like a city leader. The words had obviously been prepared ahead of time.
“Long have we thought, my council and I-all the folk of theKeep! — how best to reward you! “Eddis, Jerdren, your kinsmen, and fellows! Thoseof our own who chose this dangerous and dire journey with you!” Brief silence.“The reward you earned is yours in any event, but it seems little enough for allthat you did for us. Were our Lord Macsen yet alive, and the Keep as it was in his day, a bountiful place, a mark on the map where the wealthiest and most skilled of artisans came to bargain and trade, then would we heap you with gems and gold, and wealth of every kind!”
A rousing cheer at this.
I swear, Eddis thought tiredly, that I know what he’s up to.Is it another horde of bandits, or what?
She glanced at Jerdren. From the look on his face, he’dreached the same conclusion. He raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. Your turn, this time, she thought cheerfully, and sat back in her chair. Ferec let this go on for some time, finally raised his hands for silence, and looked down at Jerdren.
“My lord-I mean, Ferec,” Jerdren said with an abashed lookingsmile as he ducked his head. “We don’t ask any additional reward, really. Whatwe did-well, that makes it safe for everyone on the road, doesn’t it? Includingus? And-well, that we were able to help out…” He cleared his throat. “Well,maybe there’ll come a day you can heap those gems on us.” He smiled at thecastellan, who smiled back.
“Well, of course!” Feric broke in. He was smiling broadly,his arms up, encouraging the guests to cheer loudly. “However, I closeted myselfwith my advisors for most of this day, and we thought hard, how best to reward you, since we cannot offer the gold and gems you so richly deserve.”
Eddis’ skin felt cold, all at once.
“We offer you another challenge, Jerdren, Eddis. Once again,we will supply all equipment you need-up to a reasonable cost, of course. Ahundred gold each, say? That should easily cover weaponry, supplies, food, anything you require, and allow you to find and attack the Caves of Chaos, and clear them of all evil creatures!” His voice rang from the rafters. Peoplecheered. Ferec smiled at Eddis. “If you choose, that is.”
People were talking excitedly, all around them, but their own company was utterly still. Ferec smiled at Jerdren, at the startled company grouped around the head table.
“Any gold, gems or other things of value you find are yours,entirely, as before. Any aid we or the master of arms, or the curate-any leaderor any citizen of the Keep can offer-we will freely give. Any additionalwarriors or others to aid you, we will help you find them.” He looked around thetable, leaned back in his chair, and drank from his silver cup. “I see that youare amazed-perhaps surprised to be so honored, all of you. So I will ask noresponse from you now, yea or nay. You Keep men who served as part of this brave company, you may sleep in your barracks and eat with your messes, if you choose, but you are exempt from other duties for now. When you all decide what your course will be, send word. Whatever you choose, I wish you all the blessings of the gods, and that of myself and all who dwell within the Keep.”
Sure we can say nay, Eddis thought. I can imagine how welcome wed be here after that.
Ferec was speaking once more. “Whatever you decide, thethanks and the blessings of those who now will feel free to come and go in more safety!”
A roar of applause met this. Ferec smiled and waved, then raised Jerdren and Eddis to their feet.
The noise redoubled, and under its cover, the castellan said, “Our greater gratitude, if you can find it in you to aid us further.”
He was gone, then, his aides and assistants surrounding him. It was some time before the cheering ceased and Blorys was able to pull the two of them aside.
“Well!” Eddis wrinkled her nose. “That was a proper show,wasn’t it?”
Jerdren looked around and shushed her anxiously.
“There’s no one close to overhear me-if anyone could in allthis din. I’m not a fool, Jers!”
“Ask me,” Blorys replied gloomily, “we’ve been set up.Proper, as you say, Eddis.”
“Proper?” Jerdren looked from his brother to his co-captain,back again. “Set up? Are you both mad? D’you know what that man’s just offeredus?”
“No,” Blorys said tiredly. “No idea, Brother. What?”
“What?” Jerdren eyed him sidelong, visibly puzzled. “Chanceat fortune, glory, and the gods know what else!”
Blorys cleared his throat cautiously. “Um, Brother? I’mwondering, just what is there in these particular caves?”
Jerdren grinned broadly. “Orcs! Remember, our Keep men saidthere was supposedly some at these distant caves?”
“Oh, that’s right,” Blorys said. “Caves-except ‘our’ Keepmen, as you call ’em, have never seen these caves. Frankly, everything I’veheard is a tale told so many times no one knows what of it’s true. If anything.”
“What about the men from the East?” Jerdren asked. “Remember?Two years ago-that’s not so long. There’ll be people here those men talked to.”
“It’s still stories, Jers.”
Jerdren shrugged. He was still grinning. “So?”
“Besides,” Blorys said evenly, “think about this, before youget too excited about the possibilities. Good against bandits-we’re that. Goodagainst orcs who weren’t expecting us-we’re that, too. What else might be outthere, though. Ask yourself, Brother, before you agree to this mad venture. What’s in those caves? Sounds to me like the castellan is afraid enough thathe’s willing to offer just about everything he can promise.”
Eddis shook her head. “Blor, he probably doesn’t know anymore about them than anyone else-just rumor and gossip. He’s probably peopledthose caves with every evil being that was ever said to walk the realm and the lands beyond!”
“Well?” Blorys asked quietly. “That’s all I’m saying, Eddis.Maybe that’s exactly what’s out there.”
He looked from her to his brother, but for once, Jerdren seemed to have nothing to say.