‘Well,’ Voldi said, preening himself slightly Then he assumed a piously modest expression. ‘It’s gratifying to know that my efforts on behalf of the sick have received some small recognition.’

‘What we need, good doctor,’ Sephrenia interjected, ‘is your advice in treating a friend of ours who has recently been poisoned.’

‘Poisoned?’ Voldi said sharply ‘Are you sure?’

‘The physician in Borrata was quite certain,’ she replied. ‘We described our friend’s symptoms in great detail, and he diagnosed the condition as being the effects of a rather rare Rendorish poison called –’

‘Please, madame,’ he said, holding up one hand. ‘I prefer to make my own diagnoses. Describe the symptoms to me.’

‘Of course.’ Patiently she repeated what she had told the physicians at the University of Borrata.

The little doctor paced up and down as she talked, his hands clasped behind him and his eyes on the floor. ‘I think we can rule out the falling-sickness right at the outset,’ he mused when she had finished. ‘Some other diseases, however, do result in convulsions.’ He affected a wise expression. ‘It’s the combination of the fever and sweating that’s the crucial clue,’ he lectured. ‘Your friend’s illness is not a natural disease. My colleague in Borrata was quite correct in his diagnosis. Your friend has indeed been poisoned, and I would surmise that the poison involved was Darestim. The desert nomads here in Rendor call it deathweed. It kills sheep in the same way that it kills people. The poison is very rare, since the nomads uproot every bush they come across. Does my diagnosis agree with that of my Cammorian colleague?’

‘Exactly, Doctor Voldi,’ she said admiringly.

‘Well, that’s it, then.’ He reached for his cloak. ‘I’m glad to have been of help.’

‘All right,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Now what do we do?’

‘Make arrangements for a funeral.’ Voldi shrugged.

‘What about an antidote?’

There isn’t any. I’m afraid your friend is doomed.’ There was an irritating smugness about the way he said it. ‘Unlike most poisons, Darestim attacks the brain instead of the blood. Once it’s ingested poof.’ He snapped his fingers. Tell me, does your friend have rich and powerful enemies? Darestim is fearfully expensive.’

‘The poisoning was politically motivated,’ Sparhawk said bleakly.