He always answered the same way. "He was saving to expand his estate." They knew it was a lie. Everybody knew it was a lie. Everybody knew what everybody else had. You had to claim it, whatever it was, or wasn't, every time you came back, and every time he came back he felt more ashamed and inept than the time before. Time is only your ally when you have wealth, if you don't, time becomes your daily enemy until you do. It had gotten to the point that he would avoid going to his Ascensions, often waiting until aged nineteen or twenty, because he dreaded feeling those same contemptuous, impatient eyes on him. They would never come out and say directly, "What is your problem, why can't you get it together after these two and a half centuries?" The words were never spoken but never went unsaid. No more, now he would have the one thing that was always missing in their company. Pride. Pride tasted sweet on his tongue as he lay down under the darkening sky.

The lamenting finally stopped at first light. Juan sat up wide awake with excitement as the dawn broke brilliantly on the cliffs above Latsei. He had stowed most of his gear for the ride south when he caught sight of them.

There were about 15 of them, half women and half men, all adults. Some of them were waving clubs over their heads. They moved in a cohesive group toward Bando's door. Teszin was not among them.

They formed a semi-circle around the entrance the same time Juan drew his sword. The mob hesitated a moment at the doorway before three men and a woman entered silently.

He began to walk toward the mob. 'No, no, no, not today,' Juan thought, 'any day but today. If I can kill one of them, a man probably, then the others might be intimidated at the blood, or they might rush me and then kill Bando. Either way, the gold is going to make it difficult now. Now, why now, damn, I'd have been gone in an hour. I swear it, I'll kill one if I have to. I'll kill as many as necessary now. I'm too close now.'

Bando was shouting as he emerged, struggling against the two men holding him by his upper arms. Juan broke into a full run toward the village. Bando tore free from their grasp and fell at the feet of the angry semi-circle. He got to his hands and knees and looked up in time to see the club blow that landed squarely above his left eye, knocking him flat again. "Teszin! Teszin!" shouted Bando in between kicks and club blows to his head and torso.