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There was a long silence, and then Fulrach spoke again in a voice strangely humble "Your words sha for so long that I've forgotten what it means to be a Sendar"

"One reh the western escarp, said quietly "A few avalanches in the right places could make Sendaria as inaccessible as the ht tiht find themselves trapped in those narrow corridors"

"Now that's an entertaining thought" Silk chuckled "Then we could let Durnik put his incendiary i turnip patches Since Torak One-eye seeht be able to accoeway in which he was hiding, Garion caught the sudden flicker of a torch and heard the faint jingling of several er until the last instant The ht of the torch He stepped fro place and fled back the way he had come-directly past the embrasure where Garion had concealed hi his rusty sword; but as luck had it, thetorch as he ran by on soft feet

As soon as he had passed, Garion also slipped out of his hiding place and fled The Cherek warriors were looking for intruders, and itin the dark hallway He briefly considered following the spy again, but decided that he'd had enough of that for one day It was tis he'd seen Sos would listen Once he reached the an to make his way toward the chamber where Barak brooded in silent melancholy

Chapter Seventeen

"BARAK," GARION CALLED through the door after he had knocked for several minutes without any answer"Go away," Barak's voice cah the door

"Barak, it'ssilence inside the room, and finally a slow move His tunic was ru braids he usually ere undone, and his hair was tangled The haunted look in his eyes, however, was the worst The look was aso naked that Garion was forced to avert his eyes

"You saw it, didn't you, boy?" Barak demanded "You sahat happened to ," Garion said carefully "I hit my head on that tree, and all I really saere stars"

"You must have seen it," Barak insisted "You must have seenabout? You're still alive"

"A Doo hie chair "I wishthat's fated to happen to athere is"

"You've just let the words of that crazy old blind woination," Garion said

"It's not only Martje," Barak said "She's just repeating what everybody in Cherek knows An augurer was called in when I was born - it is the custo at all, and nothing special is going to happen during the child's life But sometimes the future lies so heavily on one of us that almost anyone can see the Doom"

"That's just superstition," Garion scoffed "I've never seen any fortune-teller who could even tell for sure if it's going to rain tomorrow One of the to die twice Isn't that silly?"