The Stranger Advises Fred

"If you do not believe me, there is no way that I can pursuade you. Perhaps with time, you will change your mind. My time here is almost gone. But I can give you some practical advice. A grove of breadfruit trees lies less than a quarter league north of here, along with a refreshing spring of water. There is a man in the next town to the north who is master of the inn. He seems friendly, but he makes a living betraying men, knocking them out, and selling them to the shipmasters as impressed sailors. The only safe course is a difficult path over the hills that starts at that town. But the one thing, and the one thing that I wished I had known, is that my - and your - friends were - and are - much more dangerous than any avowed enemies. Bad advice is often more deadly than bad intentions. Do not be overly fond of glory, Fred - that is your weakness."

The stranger could see a glazed look in Fred's eyes, and he knew that he was losing his attention. He had to give him something specific. "Eighteen months from today, at the Four Corners of the Law in Camelyn, at the stables near the Office of Posts. You will be accepting a package for dispatch - don't look at me like that - you will not think yourself 'above' this task when the time arrives - from a man with scarlet gloves. I shall be there. I can tell you what events lead to the disaster, if you dare to listen."

"Why do you not tell me what I need to know now? Why are you so cryptic?"

"I had a chance, when it was my turn to carry that package, to meet a man much like myself. I avoided him because I was afraid that he would tell me what I did not want to hear. It may be hopeless, Fred, but I have done my best. If I give you any more information, it will cause more problems that it will solve." The stranger reached into the folds of his tunic. Unlike the time he first met the old stranger, he was going to supply young Fred with a meal. Perhaps that would be enough to change his fate. "Here is a biscuit. Go directly to the breadfruit trees - I was never so hungry in my life as I was when I finally reached them."

Lord Fred took the biscuit, and then the glare of the sun blinded him for a second. When he had shaded his eyes, the stranger was gone.

After Lord Fred ate the biscuit,

1. he continued north, looking for the breadfruit trees.
2. he went in some other direction.

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