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My arrival had not gone unnoticed, however I glanced down from the wall on which I stood to find an old wo up at me Amid the crowded street, they alone had stopped; between theetables and fruits Ah, yes, the end of theet down, since it was a good ten feet high and I now had to worry about breaking bones Damn Ahad

"Hey, there," I said in Senmite "You knohether this wall runs all the way to Sar-enna-nehtful "All things in Arrebaia lead to Sar-enna-neners are more welcome in the city than they used to be, but they are barred from the temple by declaration of our ennu"

"Temple?"

"Sar-enna-nem," said the boy, his expression suddenly scornful "You don’t know anything, do you?"

He spoke with the thickest accent I’d heard in centuries, his Senue The woman’s Senmite bore only a trace of this She had learned Senmite early, probably before she’d learned Darre The boy had done it the other way around I glanced up as a pack of children near the boy’s age ran past, shrieking as children always sees," I said to the boy, "but not everything I know Sar-enna-neo, back before the Ararinned, delighted "Whose?"

"All the gods’, of course!" The boy put his hands on his hips, having clearly decided I was an idiot "If you don’t like that, you can leave!"

The old wouests"

"He’s a enl beTeyi from school says you can’t trust those eyes of theirs"

Before I could retort, the old woman’s hand shot out and cuffed the boy I winced in sympathy at his yelp, but really, a smart child would’ve known better

"We will discuss proper coet home," she added, and the boy looked chastened at last Then she focused on ain, then I doubt you’ve co to pray What is it that you really want here, stranger?"

"Well, I was looking for your ennu -- or his daughter Usein, rather" I had vague ht she be found?"

The old wo There was an attentiveness in her posture, and I noted the way she shifted her stance back, just a little She ht hand to her hip, too, for easy access to the knife that was almost surely sheathed at the small of her back Not all of Darr’s women arriors, but this one had been, no doubt about it

I flashed hershe would dismiss me as harmless She didn’t relax -- my smile didn’t work as well as it had when I’d been a boy -- but her lips did twitch in an al ard The wordlike "seat of warriors" in one of the older High Northern trade tongues Where the warriors’ council erous course of action I looked around and spotted a low, do not far from Sar-enna-nem Not nearly so majestic, but then the Darre were not ed their leaders by standards other than appearance

"Anything else?" the old woent, maybe?"

I rolled ht occurred toin Darre for me"

Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline, but she said in that tongue, "It’s a shaht sire interesting daughters Though perhaps you’re just a very stupid assassin, in which case it’s better if so to rass off my pants "Thanks much, Auntie," I said in Darre, which ed some since I’d last spoken it; it sounded thened their vowels and fricatives I probably still sounded a little strange to the, but already I could do a passable i bow that was probably long out of fashion, then winked and sauntered off toward the Raringa