‘Any man in the world listens to a bell that rings for any reason whatsoever,’ Talen said, affecting a school-teacherish tone, ‘and no man can possibly avoid gawking at a fire. Can you lay your hands on a length of rope, Sparhawk?’

‘How long a length?’

‘Long enough to reach the street. Here’s how it goes. Berit wraps his arrow with tinder and sets fire to it. Then he takes a shot at that thatched roof. The soldiers will all run to this street to watch the fun. That’s when I go down the rope on the far side of the building. I can be out on the street in less than a minute with no one the wiser.’

‘You can’t set fire to a man’s stable,’ Kurik objected, sounding horrified.

‘They’ll put it out, Kurik,’ Talen said in a patient tone. ‘They’ll have lots of warning, because we’ll all stand up here shouting “Fire!” at the top of our voices. Then I’ll shinny down the rope on the far wall and be five streets away before the excitement dies down. I know where Dolmant’s house is, and I can tell him whatever you want him to know.’

‘All right,’ Sparhawk approved.

‘Sparhawk!’ Kurik exclaimed. ‘You’re not going to let him do this, are you?’

‘It’s tactically sound, Kurik. Diversion and subterfuge are part of any good plan.’

‘Do you have any idea of how much thatch – and wood – there is in this part of town?’

‘It might give the church soldiers something useful to do,’ Sparhawk shrugged.

‘That’s hard, Sparhawk.’

‘Not nearly as hard as the notion of Annias sitting on the Archprelate’s throne. Let’s get what we need. I want to be out of Chyrellos before the sun comes up tomorrow, and I can’t do that with all those soldiers camped outside the gate.’

They went down the stairs to fetch rope, a bow, and a quiver of arrows.

‘What’s afoot?’ Tynian asked as he, Kalten, Bevier, and Ulath met them in the courtyard.

‘We’re going to get word to Dolmant,’ Sparhawk told him.

Tynian looked at the bow Berit was carrying. ‘With that?’ he asked. ‘Isn’t that rather a long shot?’

‘There’s a little more to it than that,’ Sparhawk told him. He quickly sketched in the plan. Then, as they started up the steps, he put his hand on Talen’s shoulder. This isn’t going to be the safest thing in the world,’ he told the boy. ‘I want you to be careful out there.’

‘You worry too much, Sparhawk,’ Talen replied. ‘I could do this in my sleep.’

‘You might need some kind of note to give to Dolmant,’ Sparhawk said.