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the roadway, her small green hand resting gently on the rambut's foot, her
eyes half-closed, a half-smile on her too thin face.
The old fenekel's eyebrows changed position a dozen times to express
curiosity, impatience that only politeness kept silent, more curiosity as
his black eyes shifted from Serroi to Hern who was leaning tiredly on his
spear, watching without surprise or even much interest, darted back to Serroi,
then to the rambut's frog and finally the mobile brows went high and round
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with wonder as Serroi took her hands away, touched his hand so he would let
the beast's leg go.
While Serroi knelt weary and silent on the road, the rambut stamped his foot
vigorously against the road's hard soil, whistled with pleasure at the absence
of pain, then curled his head down to nuzzle at her tangled oily mop of dusty
russet curls.
The old man turned to Hern, more comfortable dealing with him. "Tis a wonder,"
he said gravely, but his black eyes twinkled and his brows wriggled
energetically, telegraphing amusement and delight.
"My lady is a healer," Hern said then stopped, rather sur-prised that he could
understand and speak a tongue he'd never studied. He looked at Serroi, smiled
at her smile as he realized where he'd gotten the language.
The old man's brows scrunched together. He whipped his head around to examine
Serroi. "Lady?"
Serroi rose wearily, gave him a one-sided grin. "Though appearances
be against me, that I am." She moved to
Hern's side, looked up at him. "Diplomacy's your forte, my friend."
Hern laughed. "Eh-viper." He turned to the old man. "A good day to you,
fenekel-besri."
"A better day than most, thanks be to the lady." His eyes projected worth and
self-respect. "There is a debt."
"A very small debt. The lady heals without thought to pay-ment, though. . . ."
One hand swooped down to point out his rags, over to indicate Serroi's
tattered state. "If your gratitude would run to helping us repair
some of our deficien-cies, our blessings on you."
Brows butted together, exuding shrewdness, the old man smiled tightly. "We
always got a need of this and that in the holds; The lady heals." His voice
still laid a slight question on the word lady.
"And you?"
"I serve my lady. What I know is beast and weapon." He kept his face straight
when Serroi pinched him.
"Umphm." The old man gazed past them at the distant line of
plateau, his brows shot up, his broad forehead corru-gated into deep
wrinkles. He took in their tattered grimy ap-pearance, glanced at
the frisky rambut whose leadrope kept jerking in his hand. "Were it not
wholly discourteous, I would be asking what your road is. There are no holds
back along there." He waved toward the west. "Only fields and pastures. Be
that so, that it would be a sad reply to the courtesy of your acts, I
will not ask." He cocked his head, bright twin-kling eyes traveling
between them, eyebrows in high inquiring curves. "But 'tis plain to the eye
that you've had no easy trav-eling."
"It's possible we might do a bit of trading, besri, this and that for what we
need and perhaps a tale or two to while away the hours after supper?"
The old man's eyes darted once again from one to the other, his brows
contorted with lively curiosity. "A tale or two, that is a good thing. The
evenings, they're long this piece of year." He nodded at the rambut, short
brisk jerks of his head. "Seeing your lady she healed the hurt, it being only
right she ride."
Hern bowed with a pared-down grace, the bending of his back a courteous
recognition of courtesy He gave his spear to the old man to hold for him,
bent with ease to retrieve hers. She watched him go down and up and saw lines
of force dance through his body. He reached out his hands to her. She looked
at them. They were strong and beautiful. She touched them and they burned her.
He lifted her with ease onto the rambut's back, swung her up as if she
weighed less than nothing which was not far from truth.
His hands spanned her waist and swept her up and deposited her on the rambut's
back before she was ready. She had to scramble to crook her leg up, swing it
to the far side of the beast. He took his hands away, she was sorry for that,
she looked down at him, not smiling, and saw in narrowed gleaming eyes that
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