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“So you see the North has treated you well,” Earl Keril said “Better than ees from the South, in fact, both you and your friends We found Navis a post as hearthman to Stair of Adenmouth, and we sent Hildrida to study at the Lawschool in Gardale Have you ever wondered why this was?” As Mitt wondered about it, Keril added pleasantly, “Why the four of you were separated in this way, I mean”

It was a pleasantness thattrickled away through the hole, and his knees almost let him down “Where’s Ynen then?” he said “Isn’t he with Navis?”

“No,” said the Countess “And we are not telling you where he is”

Mitt watched her long jaw shut like a trap “I used to think,” he said, “that the earls in the North were good But you’re as bad as the ones in the South Go to any lengths, all of you! You’re telling ht?”

“Let’s just say—if you want to see your friends again,” Keril suggested

“Well you’re wrong,” Mitt said “You can’tI don’t care two hoots for any of them”

The two implacable faces just looked at him

Mitt“We happened to ride on the same boat, that’s all,” he said “I swear it”

“You swear it? By which of the Undying?” Keril asked “By the One? The Piper? The Wanderer? She Who Raised the Islands? The Weaver? The Earth Shaker? Come on Choose which and swear”

“We don’t swear like that in the South,” said Mitt

“I know,” said Keril “So it won’t hurt you to swear to me by the Earth Shaker that Navis and his children et the whole matter”

The

ir faces tilted toward Mitt Mitt looked away, at the dark painted eyes of the Adon, and tried to make hi, he thought he could have done it easily But not the Earth Shaker And that showed how frighteningly much Keril knew Even so, perhaps he could swear about Navis and Hildy and let on he meant Ynen, too? Navis, cold fish on a slab that the man was, still didn’t seem to like Mitt particularly, and as for Hildy, after her last letter, Mitt could almost swear he hated her But he had shown he orried about Ynen, like a fool, and there was no way he could even pretend to dislike Ynen or let these two earls hurt him

“Is Ynen all right?” he said

“Perfectly, at the moment,” said the Countess She never told lies Mitt was relieved, until he realized that she and Keril both had the saiven in They had expected it

“I warn you,” Mitt said, “if there’s , I can see two ripe cases for it here in this room So who do you want killed? What’s so special that you need to go to all this trouble with me to have it done?” Keril’s eyebroent up The Countess seeht Find out how important it is from how rude they let me be “Do you take me for a fool?” he said “If it was lawful, you both have lawyers to burn, and if it was ordinary, you’ve hearthood money you have spies and murderers better than me any day So it stands to reason itto lay this on Southern scum like me”

“You said it, notlady out of the way She’s very char andDropwater, will follow her as soon as she gives the word”

“Fla Ammet!” protested Mitt

“Be quiet!” said the Countess “Listen!” She said it like the snap of a steel trap End of rudeness, thought Mitt, and shat he had been going to say It hurt, as if he had sed an apple whole

“Noreth of Kredindale, known as Onesdaughter,” Keril said “I expect you’ve heard of her” Mitt shook his head, but it was frohter The story of the One’s only human child was one of the many, many stories he had heard round the sht that like other stories, it was froo But Keril, in the most matter-of-fact ent on to speak of Noreth as alive here and now “Unfortunately,” he said, “she’s extreo back to the Adon’s daughter Tanabrid, whoseNoreth is cousin to Gardale and Dropwater—though Stair’s wife at Adenht her up—and she’s a distant cousin of mine, too—”