Sparhawk took the ragged cloak from Talen and poured some of Platime’s wine on one corner. Then he vigorously scrubbed his face, removing the remnants of Sephrenia’s glue and the purple scar.

‘The nose?’ Platime asked.

‘No. That’s real.’

‘How did it get broken?’

‘It’s a long story’

Platime shrugged. ‘Take off your boots and those leather breeches. You’ll wear the cloak and those shoes.’

Sparhawk pulled off his boots and peeled off the leather hose. Talen draped the cloak around him, then pulled one corner across the front and fastened it to the opposite shoulder so that it covered Sparhawk’s body and reached about halfway to his knees.

Platime squinted at him. ‘Put on the shoes and rub some dirt on your legs. You look a bit too clean.’ Talen went back to the bin and returned with a scuffed leather cap, a long, slender stick and a length of dirty sackcloth.

‘Put on the cap and tie the rag across your eyes,’ Platime instructed.

Sparhawk did that.

‘Can you see well enough through the bandage?’

‘I can make things out, but that’s about all.’

‘I don’t want you to see too well. You’re supposed to be blind. Get him a begging bowl, Talen.’ Platime turned back to Sparhawk. ‘Practise walking around a bit. Swing the stick in front of you, but bump into things from time to time and don’t forget to stumble.’

‘It’s an interesting idea, Platime, but I know exactly where I’m going. Won’t that make people suspicious?’

‘Talen will lead you. You’ll just be a pair of ordinary beggars.’

Sparhawk hitched up his belt and shifted his broadsword around.

‘You’re going to have to leave that here,’ Platime told him. ‘You can hide a dagger under the cloak, but a broadsword’s a little too obvious.’

‘I suppose you’re right.’ Sparhawk pulled out his sword and handed it to the fat man in the orange doublet. ‘Don’t lose it,’ he said. Then he began to practise the blind man’s groping walk, tapping the long, slender stick Talen had given him on the floor as he went.

‘Not too bad,’ Platime said after several minutes. ‘You pick things up fast, Sparhawk. It ought to be good enough to get you by Talen can teach you how to beg as you go along.’

Talen came back from the large wooden storage box. His left leg looked grotesquely twisted, and he limped along with the aid of a crutch. He had removed his gaudy waistcoat, and he was now dressed in rags.

‘Doesn’t that hurt?’ Sparhawk asked, pointing at the boy’s leg with his stick.

‘Not much. All you have to do is walk on the side of your foot and turn your knee in.’

‘It looks very convincing.’

‘Naturally I’ve had a lot of practice’

‘Are you both ready then?’ Platime asked.