"I'm going to have forty winks before dinner,"
Fred told Rowena. "Of course. I rather suspect that you took more than
your fair share
of the watch last night. Just answer one question first: what do you make
of
the commander?" "Well, what did you make of him?" "I think he is a
brave man,
but not a wise one. From what he told us, there seems no doubt that there
really is something evil abroad in the Shreken, but he won't accept
that."
"I am sure that he realises that there is evil abroad, as you put it, but
the position
he holds means that he is forced to put a brave face on things. To do
anything else
would risk panic amongst his men, and perhaps even desertions. Anyway,
don't worry.
So long as we travel in daylight, keep to the road and spend each night in
a fort, I
don't suppose we'll have any trouble. Especially if we can travel with the
merchants
he spoke of until we are clear of the mountains."
"Let's hope so. Anyway, enjoy your nap. I'm not tired, so I'm going to go and sit in the bar for an hour or so. You never know - maybe I will overhear something of interest." "All right, Wen. Even you shouldn't be able to get into much trouble within the walls of the fort. I shouldn't have anything to drink, though. I expect that Kody will provide wine with the meal. We'll be starting early in the morning, and you won't want a hangover." Rowena stuck out her tongue at Fred at his implication that she was an expert at getting into trouble. She was glad that he seemed to be starting to relax a little, though. She had an idea that the dwarves' presence had kept reminding him of something he would rather have forgotten, but that since their departure he was beginning to put whatever it was behind him. Exactly why the dwarves had been with him was still a mystery to her. She knew she would have to be patient, but she was sure that she would worm the whole story out of him sooner or later.
Going down to the bar, Rowena found it almost deserted. At one table, there were two off-duty guards - at least, that was her guess at who they were. And in a corner sat four men who were noticeably better dressed than anyone else whom she had yet seen in the fort. She thought that they were most probably the merchants with whom she and Fred would be travelling. She seated herself as a table that was close enough for her to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation, but not so close as to make it obvious that that was what she would be doing. The men looked rather agitated, as if some argument was in progress. The first words that Rowena heard were:
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3/18/2000 11:20:02 AM
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