Doazda

The burly, middle-aged, bearded Doazda replied: "I had heard that the woman's name was Zari. She was apparently discovered covered in tar. After they cleaned her up, her hair is supposed to have come out as purest white."

"Y-yes, that's her. Perhaps she has more than one name. She t-told me about the tar. As she doesn't want to st-stay long, I thought I might ask her if she wanted to come west with m-me tonight. Of course, I d-don't know which way she will want to go, and n-not many people go west. Anyway, now that you are h-here, I suppose that I w-wont be making that trip after all. Y-you'll be able to take the delivery back yourself."

This might work out very conveniently, Doazda thought. He considered talking to the woman himself, and offering to escort her west. But she might well be suspicious of him, a stranger. Hesht, whom she already knew, and who was young and seemingly guileless, might inspire more trust. "No," he said. "I think that we'll stick to the original plan. I wouldn't want to deprive you of the chance to help this young lady. Why don't you go and talk to her now, and find out whether she would be interested in going west with you? Then come back here and let me know whether she agrees. You could point out to her that if she's in any trouble with the authorities, as using an alias suggests that she might be, then that would be the safest direction for her to go. Try to speak to her without Shirini finding out, as she might not think it altogether proper for a young man and a young lady to travel at night all by themselves, if you know what I mean." He winked at Hesht.

"Oh, I see," Hesht said, slightly embarrassed but nevertheless pleased that he had understood what Doazda meant. "I wouldn't do anything that wasn't right, though."

"Of course not, but the people in this village mostly have very rigid ideas about such things. By the way, don't mention me to your new friend. She doesn't need to know about our business, and as you know I like to keep it private. Off you go, then."

1. Hesht manages to talk to Astra without Shirini knowing.
2. Hesht is unable to talk to Astra alone.

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