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.He did not wear armour, butrather a plain mail shirt and a simple conical helmet.Covering his shirt, he wore a green surcoat.He carried alarge round shield and a heavy war axe.Ulath was asilent, withdrawn man who seldom spoke.His blondhair hung in two braids down his back.'Good morning, gentlemen,' Tynian said to Sparhawkand Kalten as he dismounted in the courtyard of thechapterhouse.He looked at them closely.'You would beSir Sparhawk,' he said.'Our preceptor said that you'dbroken your nose sometime.' He grinned then."it's allright, Sparhawk.It doesn't interfere with your kind ofbeauty.''I'm going to like this man,' Kalten said.'And you must be Kalten,' Tynian said.He thrust outhis hand, and Kalten took it before he realized that theAlcione was holding a dead mouse concealed in hispalm.With a startled oath, he jerked his hand back.Tynian howled with laughter."I think I could get to like him as well,' Sparhawknoted.'My name is Tynian,' the Alcione Knight introducedhimself.'My silent friend there is Ulath from Thalesia.He caught up with me a few days ago.Hasn't spoken tenwords since then.''You talk enough for both of us,' Ulath grunted, slidingout of his saddle.'That's God's own truth,' Tynian admitted."I have thisoverwhelming fondness for the sound of my own voice.'Ulath thrust out his huge hand.'Sparhawk,' he said.'No mice?' Sparhawk asked.A faint smile touched Ulath's face as they claspedhands.Then he shook hands with Kalten, and the four ofthem went up the steps into the chapterhouse.'Has Bevier arrived yet?' Tynian asked Kalten.'A few days back.Have you ever met him?''Once.Our preceptor and I made a formal visit toLarium, and we were introduced to the Cyrinics in theirmotherhouse there.I found him to be a bit stiff-neckedand formal.''That hasn't changed much.''Didn't think it had.Exactly what are we going to dodown in Cammoria? Preceptor Darellon can be infuriatinglyclose-mouthed on occasion.''Let's wait until Bevier joins us,' Sparhawk suggested."I get the feeling that he might be a little touchy, so let'snot offend him by talking business out of his presence.''Good thinking, Sparhawk.This show of unity couldfall apart on us if Bevier starts sulking.I'll have to admitthat he can be a good man in a fight, though.Is he stillcarrying that Lochaber?''Oh, yes,' Kalten said.'Gruesome thing, isn't it? I saw him practising with it atLarium.He cut the top off a post as thick as my leg withone swipe at a full gallop.I get the feeling that he couldride through a platoon of foot-troops and leave a trail ofloose heads behind him ten yards wide.''Let's hope it doesn't come to that,' Sparhawk said.'if that's your attitude, Sparhawk, you're going to takeall the fun out of this excursion.'"I am going to like him,' Kalten said.Sir Bevier joined them in Nashan's study after thecompletion of noon service in the chapel.As closely asSparhawk could determine, Bevier had not missedservice once since his arrival.'All right then,' Sparhawk said, rising to his feet whenthey were all assembled, 'this is sort of where we stand.Annias, the Primate of Cimmura, has his eyes on theArchprelate's throne here in Chyrellos.He controls theElenian royal Council, and they're giving him moneyout of the royal treasury.He's trying to use that money tobuy enough votes in the Hierocracy to win election afterCluvonus dies.The preceptors of the four orders want toblock him.''No decent churchman would accept money for hisvote,' Bevier said, his voice verging on outrage.'I'll grant that,' Sparhawk agreed.'Unfortunately,many churchmen are far from decent.Let's be honestabout it, gentlemen.There's a wide streak of corruptionin the Elene Church.We might wish it were different, butwe have to face the facts.Many of those votes are for sale.Now - and this is important - Queen Ehlana is unwell,otherwise, she wouldn't allow Annias to have access tothe treasury.The preceptors agree that the best way tostop Annias is to find some way to cure the Queen andput her back in power.That's why we're going toBorrata.There are physicians at the university there whomight be able to determine the nature of her illness andfind a cure for it.''Are we taking your Queen with us?' Tynian asked.'No.That's quite impossible.'"it's going to be a little hard for the physicians to findout much then, isn't it?'Sparhawk shook his head.'Sephrenia, the Pandioninstructor in the secrets, will be going with us.She candescribe Queen Ehlana's symptoms in great detail andshe can raise an image of the Queen if the physiciansneed a closer look.''Seems a bit roundabout,' Tynian noted, but if that'sthe way we have to do it, then that's the way we'll do it.''There's a great deal of unrest in Cammoria right now,'Sparhawk went on.'The central kingdoms are all'infested with Zemoch agents, and they're trying to stirup as much trouble as they can.Not only that, Annias isfairly certain to guess at what we're trying to do, so he'lltry to interfere.''Borrata's a long way from Cimmura, isn't it?' Tynianasked.'Does Primate Annias have so long an arm?''Yes,' Sparhawk said, 'he does.There's a renegadePandion in Cammoria who sometimes works for Annias.His name is Martel, and he's likely to try to stop us.''Only once,' Ulath grunted.'Let's not go out of our way looking for a fight,though,' Sparhawk cautioned.'Our main task is to getSephrenia safely to Borrata and back.There's been atleast one attempt on her life already.''We'll want to discourage that,' Tynian said.'Are wetaking anybody else with us?''My squire, Kurik,' Sparhawk replied, 'and probably ayoung Pandion novice named Berit.He shows somepromise, and Kurik's going to need somebody along tohelp him care for the horses.' He thought a moment."Ithink we'll take a boy along as well,' he said.Talen?' Kalten sounded surprised at that.'is thatreally a good idea, Sparhawk?''Chyrellos is corrupt enough already.I don't think it'sa good idea to turn that little thief loose in the streets.Besides, I think we may find use for his specializedtalents.The only other person going with us wil be alittle girl named Flute.'Kalten stared at him in astonishment.'Sephrenia won't leave her behind,' Sparhawkexplained, 'and I'm not sure she can be left behind.Youremember how easily she got out of that nunnery inArcium.'"you've got a point there, I guess,' Kalten conceded.'A very straightforward presentation, Sir Sparhawk,'Bevier said approvingly.'When will we leave?''First thing in the morning,' Sparhawk replied."it's along way to Borrata, and the Archprelate isn't gettingyounger.Patriarch Dolmant says that he could die at anytime, and that's when Annias wil start to move.''We must make our preparations then,' Bevier said,rising to his feet.'Will you gentlemen be joining me in thechapel for evening service?' he asked.Kalten sighed."I suppose we should,' he said.'We areChurch Knights, after all.'"And a bit of God's help wouldn't hurt, would it?'Tynian added.that afternoon, however, a company of churchsoldiers arrived at the gates of the chapterhouse
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