Sir Felis stared. "Oh, no. Whatever gave you that idea? Oh dear, no. Where did you say you were from? A small border village, wasn't it? Now let me try to explain." His explanation hardly enlightened Paks, since she knew few of the places and none of the rulers he mentioned. He finished his lecture with a gesture to the small gold device on his collar, shaped like a peal of bells. "For instance, I was knighted in the Order of the Bells, one of the three orders created by the royal house of Tsaia. The oldest, I might add." He paused for a swallow of ale; his glance expected a reaction. Paks was acutely aware of how little she knew, and how important he thought it.

"Now," he went on, after wiping his mustache, "members of my order may be followers of any honorable god or hero. I myself am a Girdsman, but my father's brother is Falkian, and so are my cousins. Our loyalty is to the crown of Tsaia—or, more accurately, to the heir of the House of Mahierian. But Knights of Gird swear their loyalty to the Marshal-General of Gird, through their Knight Commander. The—er—rules governing admission to each order depend—er—on the order, and the circumstances." He looked her up and down, doubtfully, as if she were an unpedigreed horse at a sale.

"I see," said Paks, more to stop him than because she did. She was still confused. She was actually relieved when the mayor tapped her arm.

"Let's get back; we have yet a good bit of business to talk over."

This time they asked her to sit down at the beginning of the session, and the rest spread themselves around the table on all sides. Only the master mason still seemed hostile.

"We appreciate your cooperation," began the mayor. "Now that we know something of your background, let me explain how things stand in Brewersbridge. We're on a major trade route from the west to the sea. We have a lot of traffic through, and want it—we depend on it. Nonetheless, I hope you won't be insulted when I say that the Council is opposed to having free blades around town. Some of them, like you, are honorable folk, and cause no trouble intentionally. Others, like the fellow who died, pick quarrels everywhere. We've learned it's best to insist that soldiers and warriors either find a local lord or commander, to be responsible for their behavior, or move on." He smiled, as he said this. Paks wondered what was coming next.