‘Do you mind?’ Sparhawk said to them acidly. ‘This is sort of how I see it, Sephrenia. We’ve got what appears to be a deserted city out there, but there are sure to be patrols of Otha’s élite guards. We might possibly be able to avoid them, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to pin too many hopes on that. I just wish I knew a little bit more about the city itself.’

‘And about how good Otha’s elite guards are,’ Tynian added.

‘They’re adequate soldiers,’ Bevier supplied.

‘Would they be a match for Church Knights?’ Tynian asked.

‘No, but then who is?’ Bevier said it with no trace of immodesty. ‘They’re probably about on a par with the soldiers in King Wargun’s army.’

‘You’ve been here before, Sephrenia,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Just exactly where are the palace and the temple located?’

‘They’re the same building actually,’ she replied, ‘and they’re in the exact centre of the city.’

‘Then it wouldn’t really matter which gate we used, would it?’

She shook her head.

‘Isn’t it rather odd for a palace and a temple to be under the same roof?’ Kurik asked.

‘Zemochs are odd people,’ she told him. ‘Actually there is some degree of separation, but you have to go through the palace to reach the temple. The temple itself doesn’t have any outside entrances.’

‘Then all we have to do is to ride to the palace and knock on the door,’ Kalten said.

‘No,’ Kurik disagreed firmly. ‘We walk to the palace, and we’ll talk about knocking when we get there.’

‘Walk?’ Kalten sounded injured.

‘Horses make too much noise on paved streets, and they’re a little hard to hide when you need to take cover.’

‘Walking any distance in full armour isn’t much fun, Kurik.’

‘You wanted to be a knight. As I remember it, you and Sparhawk even volunteered.’

‘Could you sort of whistle up that invisibility spell Sparhawk told us about?’ Kalten asked Sephrenia, ‘– the one Flute used to play on her pipes?’

She shook her head.

‘Why not?’

She hummed a short musical phrase. ‘Do you recognize that melody?’ she asked him.

He frowned. ‘I can’t say that I do.’

‘That was the traditional Pandion hymn. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Does that answer your question?’

‘Oh. Music isn’t one of your strong points, I see.’

‘What would happen if you tried it and hit the wrong notes?’ Talen asked curiously.

She shuddered. ‘Please don’t ask.’

‘We skulk then,’ Kalten said. ‘So let’s get to skulking.’

‘Just as soon as it gets dark,’ Sparhawk said.

It was a mile or more across a flat, dusty plain to the grim walls of Zemoch, and the armoured knights were all sweating profusely by the time they reached the west gate.