Toings and Froings

Deciding that he didn't want to be around to explain to Tolan and the others when they returned that the prisoners had gone (though amazingly the warcharger was still in its stall and apparently completely unperturbed by all the commotion), he left the stables and looked to lose himself in the town. The stable-girl had run off earlier, at the first sign of trouble. As far as she was concerned, she had seen nothing.

Before he had gone to the stables, Notch had already set in motion the arrest of the Paine gang, and they were now behind bars, and none too pleased about it. Notch had intended to see to the buying of suitable witnesses later. If running from Tarin should render him unable to do that, then in the morning the gang would probably be released. Meanwhile Roddy, like Lester, was looking to lie low.

Meanwhile, Rift was leading Fred and Astra to his home, where they picked up horses and provisions. "We won't wait for Tarin," said Rift. "He will know where we are headed and will catch us up. I shouldn't need to tell you where we are going, either." It seemed to Astra that she was trapped in some sort of nightmare, in which she would forever be shuttling between Walants and the dragon's lair. It occurred to her that there was no reason for Fred to be trapped in it as well, though. "Why don't you let Fred go?" she asked Rift. "You only need one of us as a guide, and you don't have the hold on him that you have on me." "But can I trust him not to attempt to interfere with my plans if I let him go? I could ask him to swear a solemn oath, I suppose. As a man of honour, he would be bound by that." Fred said:

1. "I'm not deserting Astra." (And he still hoped to get the chance to reclaim the Crystallic, which Rift presumably still had on his person.)
2. "Yes, I'd agree to that." He wouldn't ordinarily have deserted Astra, but her recent behaviour had caused him to doubt her.

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