The pair of Shavigmen used their tale to lure a Tallvenish nobleman (who sounded a lot like several of Jakoven’s cronies) away from his fellows and out into the woods. Whereupon the Shavigmen stripped and bound him. They gathered his possessions and clothing and took them back to the inn with a note warning him to leave a certain Shavig heiress alone or they’d spread the story of his humiliation far and wide.

I sank back onto the bed with a laugh. “Catchy tune.”

Tosten looked pleased. “I thought so. I’ve heard several other minstrels play it—or a version of it.”

“No one will ever admit to believing there are dragons at Hurog after hearing that,” I said.

“That was mostly the point,” agreed Tosten. “Feeling better?”

“Mostly,” I said. “Thanks, Tosten.”

IHAD ONE MORE SHAKING FIT THAT AFTERNOON,though it wasn’t nearly as bad. Or wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t been on top of Feather halfway up the steep trail to Menogue. I didn’t stay on top, and for a moment I thought someone was going to force poor Feather to fall on me as they tried to move her away on the precipitous slope and she slipped.

So I recovered lying directly under Feather’s belly.

“Damn,” I said with feeling as I rolled carefully out from under my horse. “Good girl, that’s a love. Not your fault.” When I was through soothing her abused pride, I remounted with Tosten’s help and didn’t protest as Oreg and Tosten left their mounts for others to lead and walked on either side of me.

As Feather labored up the trail, I thought that if the king’s army wanted to chase us up the steep-sided, flat-topped hill (that the flatlander Tallvenish called a mountain), he was welcome to do so. Any army that climbed up to the top wasn’t going to be in fighting shape when they got there.

As the Tamerlain had told me, there were a few of Aethervon’s followers camped on the site of the old ruined temple. They welcomed us as we arrived on the top as if they had expected our coming.

I slept most of rest of the day. Oreg discovered several reasons he couldn’t possibly rescue Kellen until the following night. Unsaid was his conviction that I needed to rest at least another day before setting off for Hurog.

WHENTHE SUN ROSE AFTER THE FIRST NIGHT WEspent on Menogue, I ate breakfast with the two young men and the old woman who were the new followers of Aethervon, and set out exploring. There was nothing else to do until darkness fell, and lying about gave me too much time to dwell upon the Asylum.