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.At length, he was satisfied.No traceof a rune showed.He banished the illusion.Tugging the bandages over hishands into place, he ascended to the top deck, threw open the hatch, andemerged, blinking, into the bright sun.The sound of voices hushed at the sight of him.He pulled himself up on thedeck and glanced around, pausing a moment to draw a deep breath of fresh, ifextremely humid, air.Below, he saw faces, upturned, mouths open, eyes wide.Elves, he noted, with one exception.The figure in the mouse-colored robes washuman-an old man, with long white hair and long white beard.Unlike theothers, the old man wasn't gazing at Haplo in awe and wonder.Beaming,stroking his beard, the old man turned this way and that."I told you," he was shouting."Didn't I tell you? By cracky, I guess now youbelieve me!""Here, dog!" Haplo whistled and the animal appeared on deck, trotting along athis heels, to the added astonishment of all observers.Haplo didn't bother with the ladder; the ship had settled so deeply into themoss-its wings resting on top-that he could jump lightly from the top deck tothe ground.The elves gathered around Dragon Wing backed up hurriedly,regarding the ship's pilot with suspicious incredulity.Haplo drew in abreath, and was about to launch into his story, his mind working rapidly toprovide him with the elven language.He never got a chance to speak.The old man rushed up to him, grabbed him by the bandaged hand."Our savior! Right on time!" he cried, pumping Haplo's arm vigorously."Didyou have a nice flight?"Page 82 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlCHAPTER 19THE BORDER, THURNROLAND SQUIRMED, TRYING TO EASE HIS CRAMPED MUSCLES BY MOVING INTO anotherposition.The maneuver worked for a few moments, then his arms and buttocksbegan aching again, only in different places.Grimacing, he triedsurreptitiously to twist his wrists out of the vines that bound him.Painforced him to quit.The vines were tough as leather; he'd rubbed his skin raw."Don't waste your strength," came a voice.Roland looked around, twisting his head to see."Where are you?""The other side of this tree.They're using pythavine.You can't break it.Themore you try, the tighter the pytha'll squeeze you."Keeping one eye on his captors, Roland managed to worm his way around thelarge tree trunk.He discovered, on the other side, a dark-skinned human maleclad in bright-colored robes.A gold ring dangled from his left ear lobe.Hewas securely tied, vines wrapped around his chest, arms, and wrists."Andor," he said, grinning.One side of his mouth was swollen, dried bloodcaked half his face."Roland Redleaf.You a SeaKing?" he added, with a glance at the earring."Yeah.And you're from Thillia.What are you people doing in Thurn territory?""Thurn? We're nowhere near Thurn.We're on our way to the Fartherness.""Don't play dumb with me, Thillian.You know where you are.So you're tradingwith the dwarves." Andor paused, and licked his lips."I could sure use adrink about now.""I'm an explorer," said Roland, casting a wary glance at their captors to seeif they were being observed."We can talk.They don't give a damn.There's no need to lie, you know.We'renot going to live long enough for it to matter.""What? What do you mean?""They kill everyone and everything they come across.twenty people in mycaravan.All dead, the animals, too.Why the animals? They hadn't doneanything.It doesn't make any sense, does it?"Dead? Twenty people dead? Roland stared hard at the man, thinking perhaps hewas lying, trying to scare the Thillian away from SeaKing trade routes.Andorleaned back against the tree trunk, his eyes closed.Roland saw sweat trickledown the man's forehead, the dark circles beneath the sunken eyes, the ashenlips.No, he wasn't lying.Fear constricted Roland's heart.He rememberedhearing Rega's frantic scream, crying his name.He swallowed a bitter taste inhis mouth."And.you?" he managed.Andor stirred, opened his eyes, and grinned again.It was lopsided, because ofhis damaged mouth, and seemed ghastly to Roland."I was away from camp, answering nature's call.I heard the fighting.Iheard the screams.That darktime.God of the Waters, I'm thirsty!" Hemoistened his lips with his tongue again."I stayed put.Hell, what could Ido? That darktime, I circled back.I found them-my business partners, my uncle." He shook his head."I ran.Kept going.But they caught me, brought mehere right before they brought you in.It's weird, the way they can see youwithout eyes.""Who.what the hell are they?" Roland demanded."You don't know? They're tytans."Roland snorted."Kids' stories-""Yeah! Kids." Andor began to laugh."My little nephew was seven.I found hisbody.His head had been split wide open, like someone had stomped on it." Hislaughter shrilled and broke; he coughed painfully.'Take it easy," Roland whispered.Andor drew a shuddering breath."They're tytans, all right; the ones whodestroyed the Kasnar Empire.Wiped it out.Not a building left standing, aPage 83 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlperson left alive except those who managed to flee ahead of them.And nowthey're moving south, coming down through the dwarven kingdoms.""But the dwarves'll stop them, surely.?"Andor sighed, grimaced, and twisted his body
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