‘I picked up some information,’ Talen said quickly. ‘If you thrash me, I’ll keep it to myself.’ He looked appealingly at Sparhawk. ‘It’s important,’ he said. Tell him to put his belt back on and I’ll let you know what I found out.’

‘All right, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Let it pass – for the moment anyway.’ Then he looked sternly at the boy ‘This had better be good, Talen,’ he threatened.

‘It is, Sparhawk. Believe me.’

‘Let’s have it.’

‘Well, I was going down this street. As I said, I wanted to see the harbour and all the ships and things. Anyway, I was passing a wine shop and I saw a man coming out.’

‘Amazing,’ Kalten said. ‘Do people in Madel actually frequent wine shops?’

‘You both know this man. It was Krager, the one you had me watching in Cimmura. I followed him. He went into a shabby-looking inn down by the waterfront. I can take you there if you want.’

‘Put your belt back on, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said.

‘Do we have time for this?’ Kalten asked.

‘I think we should make time. Martel’s already tried to interfere with us a couple of times. If it was Annias who poisoned Ehlana, he’ll definitely want to keep us from finding any kind of antidote. That means that Martel will try to get to Cippria before I do. We can wring that information out of Krager if we can catch him.’

‘We’ll go with you,’ Tynian said eagerly ‘This whole thing will be easier if we can cut Annias’ hands off here in Madel.’

Sparhawk considered it, then shook his head. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘Martel and his hirelings know Kalten and me. He doesn’t know the rest of you. If the two of us can’t catch up with Krager, you’ll all be looking around Madel for him. That’s going to be easier if he doesn’t know what you look like’

‘Makes sense,’ Ulath agreed.

Tynian looked profoundly disappointed. ‘Sometimes you think too much, Sparhawk,’ he said.

‘It’s a trait of his,’ Kalten told him.

‘Will these cloaks of ours attract any attention in the streets of Madel, my Lord?’ Sparhawk asked the marquis.

Lycien shook his head. ‘It’s a port city,’ he said. ‘There are people here from all over the world, so two more strangers won’t attract that much notice.’

‘Good,’ Sparhawk said. He started towards the door with Kalten and Talen at his heels. ‘We should be back before long,’ he said.

They left their horses behind and went into the city on foot. Madel was situated on an estuary, and the smell of the sea was very strong, carried inland by a stiff onshore breeze The streets were narrow and crooked and grew increasingly run-down as the two knights and the boy approached the harbour.

‘How far is this inn?’ Kalten asked.

‘Not too much farther,’ Talen assured him.