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like glitter.
Later, when she rolled herself into her blankets, Mistaya was still thinking of what Nightshade had
revealed to her. So much misery, bitterness, and solitude in the other s dark life. So much anger.Like me,
the witch had repeated over and over again.You and I.
Mistaya s uncertainty grew as she pondered the words. Perhaps there was more truth to their claim than
she was willing to allow. She had not thought so, but she was beginning to wonder. Since she was a
witch, too, perhaps she belonged here with Nightshade.
She was so troubled by the possibility that she only just remembered to call Haltwhistle before she fell
asleep.
Juggernaut
Dawn brought a change in the weather in the lake country, and when Ben and Willow awoke, a slow,
steady rain was falling. They dressed; ate a light breakfast of fruit, bread and jam, and goat s milk;
wrapped themselves in their travel cloaks; and went out to find the River Master. Elderew was misty and
shadowed beneath a ceiling of dark clouds, and the city s canopy of rain-drenched boughs shed chilly
droplets on them as they moved along the deserted trail toward the city. They did not hurry. The River
Master would have been advised by now that they were awake. He would come to meet them before
they were required to ask for him, because that was the way he was.
Ben glanced about surreptitiously for the Ardsheal but did not see it. He could feel its presence, though.
He could sense it watching from the gloom.
The River Master appeared as they neared the city center, standing alone in a clearing through which the
trail passed. He greeted Ben with a nod and Willow with a brief embrace, neither gesture offering much
in the way of warmth, and advised them that their horses were waiting. He did not ask if they would like
to stay longer. Now that he had given them the Ardsheal, he expected them to continue the search for
Mistaya. He elicited their promise to keep him advised on their progress. Bunion appeared with
Jurisdiction and Crane, his gnarled body hunched and dripping in the gloom, eyes narrowed to yellow
slits. As Ben and Willow mounted, the River Master put aside his reserve long enough to declare that if
he was needed in the effort to reclaim his granddaughter, they had only to send for him and he would
come at once. It was an unexpected deviation from his deliberate distancing of himself from them. Ben
and Willow were surprised but did not show it. They took him at his word and rode out.
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Wood sprites met them at the edge of the old growth leading down from Elderew to guide them back
through the swamp and timber mass that warded the city. Rain continued to fall, a drizzle that turned the
ground beneath their horses hooves sodden and slick. When their guides had returned them to the more
lightly forested country below Elderew, they paused to rest before continuing on.
Have you seen it yet this morning? Ben asked Willow as they passed an ale skin back and forth while
standing down from their horses beneath the canopy of the trees.
No, she replied. But Bunion has. He said it is tracking us back in the shadows, keeping pace. Bunion
doesn t like having it along any better than I do.
Ben glanced over. Bunion was crouched to one side in a covering of trees, looking disgruntled. He
certainly appears unhappy, even for him.
He considers himself your bodyguard. The presence of the Ardsheal suggests that he isn t capable of
doing his job.
Ben looked at her. You don t think the Ardsheal should be here, either, do you?
As a matter of fact, that isn t what I think at all. I think the Ardsheal will do a better job of protecting
you than anyone. She gave him a long, cool look. That doesn t mean I like having it along, though.
He nodded. You said as much last night. Why is that?
She hesitated. I will tell you later. Tonight. She was silent for a moment. I told Bunion that the
Ardsheal was a gift from my father and that it would have been impolite and possibly dangerous to refuse
it. Bunion accepted that.
Ben looked at the kobold again. It was staring back at him, yellow eyes glittering.
When it saw Ben looking, it smiled like a hungry alligator.
Well, I hope you re right, he said absently. His gaze shifted to meet hers. I ve been thinking. Should
we try to contact the Earth Mother? She always seems to know what is happening in Landover. Perhaps
she could give us some insight into what s become of Mistaya and the others. Perhaps she knows
something of Rydall.
Rain dripped off the edge of Willow s hood onto her nose, and she pulled the hood forward for better
protection. I gave thought to that. But the Earth Mother would have come to me by now in my dreams if
she had any help to give. Mistaya is important to her, a promise of some special fulfillment. She would
not let her be harmed if there was anything she could do to prevent it.
Ben prodded a bit of rotting wood with his boot. I wish some of these people would be more
consistent with their help, he muttered sourly.
She gave him a small smile. Help is a gift that one must never grow to expect. Now, where do we go
from here?
He shrugged and looked off into the trees again. He hated that he couldn t see the Ardsheal. It was bad
enough being shadowed by his enemies. Did he have to put up with being shadowed by his protector as
well?
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He sighed. Well, I can t see any reason to go back to Sterling Silver. If we do, Rydall will just send
another monster. And we won t be any closer to finding Mistaya. He frowned as if questioning his own
reasoning. I thought we might go into the Greensward. Kallendbor knows every adversary Landover
has ever faced. He has fought against most of them. Perhaps he will know something of Rydall and
Marnhull. Perhaps he will have heard something that will help us find Mistaya.
Kallendbor isn t to be trusted, she advised him quietly.
He nodded. True. But he has no reason to favor an invading army. Besides, he owes me for sparing
him worse punishment than I gave when he sided with the Gorse. And he knows it. I think it s worth a
try.
Perhaps. She did not look convinced. But you should be especially careful where he is concerned.
I will, he assured her, wondering how much more careful he needed to be now that he had the Paladin,
Bunion, and the Ardsheal all standing guard over him.
They remounted and rode on. Bunion, advised of their new destination, scurried ahead through the trees,
scouting the land they would pass through, leaving them to the temporary care of their invisible
bodyguard. The Ardsheal, however, stayed hidden. The day stretched away with languid slowness,
morning turning into midday, midday into afternoon. Still the rain continued. They moved northeast
toward the Greensward, the trees thinning as the lake country gave way to the hills below Sterling Silver.
They stopped for lunch at a stream, where they took shelter beneath an old cedar. Rain dripped off the
sagging limbs, a steady patter on the muddied ground. The world around them was cool and damp and
still. When the meal was finished, they rode on. They didn t see another traveler all day.
Nightfall brought them to the edge of the Greensward, where the grasslands spread away through the
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