And then the dressmakers arrived, and Polgara and the other ladies were whisked away to engage in that activity which, Garion had noticed, always seems to fill the feminine heart with a kind of dreamy bliss.

Immediately behind the dressmakers came the tailors, equally bent on making everyone look as old-fashioned as possible. Beldin, of course, adamantly refused their ministrations, even going so far as to show one insistent fellow a gnarled and very large fist to indicate that he was perfectly satisfied with the way he looked already.

Garion and Zakath, however, were under the constraint placed upon them by the Seeress of Kell, and so they remained buckled up in their armor.

When they were finally alone, Belgarath's expression grew grave. "I want you two to be careful in that tournament," he told the armored men. "Naradas knows who we are, and he's already managed to delay us. He may try to go a little farther." He looked sharply toward the door. "Where are you going?" he demanded of Silk.

"I thought I'd nose around a bit," the little thief said innocently. "It never hurts to know what you're up against."

"All right, but be careful and don't let anything slip into your pockets by mistake. We're walking on some fairly shaky ground here. If someone sees you pilfering, we could all get into a great deal of trouble."

"Belgarath," Silk replied in an offended tone, "no one has ever seen me steal anything." And then he went out muttering to himself.

"Is he trying to say that he doesn't steal?" Zakath asked.

"No," Eriond replied. "Only that no one ever sees him doing it." He smiled gently. "He has a few bad habits, but we've been trying to break him of them. " It was the first time in quite a while that Garion had actually heard his young friend say anything. Eriond had grown increasingly reticent one might even say withdrawn. It was troubling. He had always been a strange boy, and he seemed to be able to perceive things that none of the rest of them could. A chill came over Garion as he remembered the fateful words of Cyradis at Rheon: "Thy quest will be fraught with great peril, Belgarion, and one of thy companions shall lose his life in the course of it."

And then, almost as if his memory had summoned her, the blindfolded Seeress of Kell emerged from the room in which the ladies had been conferring with their dressmakers. Immediately behind her came Ce'Nedra, clad only in a very short chemise. "It's a perfectly suitable gown, Cyradis," she was protesting.

"Suitable for thee perhaps, Queen of Riva," the Seeress replied, "but such finery is not for me."

"Ce'Nedra!" Garion exclaimed in a shocked gasp. "You're not dressed!"