"They thought I was unconscious," he said quickly. He held out his hands. "Sweet truth, Brin! Don't you believe me?"

Brin stared at him. "I believe you're a piss-desperate liar who has worked himself so far down a dragon's throat that he actually thinks he can get out by going all the way through to the other end."

He flicked a finger.

Lander choked and scrambled for the fence around the sty. Jacerryl, too drunk and scared to think, didn't have a chance. Black Scratch let out a bellow. Hooves churning snow and muck, the boar charged. Jacerryl managed to scream as the animal's tusks ripped through clothes and flesh, tearing into skin and muscle. Blood splattered the snow. Brin's other pigs squealed in excitement at the mayhem.

A second toss of Black Scratch's bristly head opened a gash from hip to chest. Lander heard the cracking of bone even over the squeals and bellows. A third toss caught… something… and Jacerryl was lifted up into the air, shrieking terribly. Black Scratch twisted and shook. Jacerryl came flying free and rolled across the sty to crash into the fence right in front of Lander. Splintered ribs poked free of his wounds. Ruined organs spilled bile and foul juices. A choking cough shook him and bloody froth sprayed out of his mouth. Brin leaped down off the table and shoved past Black Scratch. Jacerryl's eyes rolled toward him.

Brin pulled out a dagger, spun it around his fingers once, and plunged it straight into the man's heart. Jacerryl spasmed-and died. The halfling whipped the dagger free. Black Scratch snorted and snuffled at the corpse, and turned away to chase back the other pigs.

Lander stared at the savaged body for a moment then looked up at Brin. "He could have told us where the belju-rils are." Brin shrugged and wiped his dagger on the dead man's clothes.

"Doesn't matter. Tycho will know, too. He'll tell us." The dagger went into Brin's belt. He stared at Jacerryl's body as well, but when he glanced up, there was a wicked grin of inspiration on his face. "Take him over to Tycho's rooms and dump him there."

Lander grimaced. "What about Veseene? "

"Don't worry," said Brin. "She's not there."

Something in the way he said it sent a shiver up Lander's back. The wheelbarrow he had used to muck out the sty the day before was leaned up against the side of the pig shelter. He rolled it over. An old blanket hung beside the shelter as well; Lander wrapped it around Jacerryl's body and managed to get him into the wheelbarrow without getting too much blood and filth on himself. Brin watched, one hand idly rubbing at Black Scratch's neck. "Hurry back," he said. "Things are moving."

Lander nodded and trundled the wheelbarrow off through the alley. He was halfway to Bakers Way when people began shouting and pointing. He looked up.

A thin column of smoke, growing thicker and darker as he watched, stained the sky. It was roughly in the area of the Wench's Ease.

Things are moving. Wheelbarrow rattling, Lander picked up his pace.

The Hooded's men chuckled. The one standing beside Tycho hauled him to his feet, bent down, and heaved him over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Blood went rushing to his head. The bard protested, but it did no good. Li was yelling, too, and he could hear the Shou struggling. It sounded like it was taking both the third guard and tall Cado to restrain him. Tycho tried to squirm out of his captor's grasp. The man just gave a sharp bounce that slapped Tycho's gut hard against his shoulder. Tycho groaned. The sound of a punch was followed by a similar groan from Li. "Let's go," said Cado.

They began to move. Tycho could tell from the echoes of their footsteps when they stepped out of the cell. He could also tell from the way the other two men grunted that they must be carrying Li between them. The man carrying him laughed.

"Guess I got lucky with the small fish!" He gave a few more bounces-apparently just because he could. Tycho groaned with each one. "I don't know, though. I guess he's so small the only thing we can do is throw him back!"

That got a strained laugh out of the other men. The sound of water that had filled the vaults was getting louder. Tycho's stomach twisted. He had only managed to tell Li half of the tale about the Hooded's victims. They were found wearing hoods, yes, but they were also found floating offshore, drowned. How they got there was a mystery. Tycho could guess now, though. The Hooded's deep cellar held some kind of underground stream or borehole to the ocean. He offered a desperate prayer to Tymora, the goddess of luck-because they were going to need a lot of it-and shuddered. His captor must have mistaken it for more struggles, because he gave an especially hard bounce.

Tycho's hood slid around on his head. The ends of the drawstring that pulled it tight dropped right beneath his chin.

Chance or actual divine favor, Tycho didn't care. Thank you, blessed Tymora! He dug his chin down against his chest, wiggling until he got it between the ends of the string and under the fabric of the hood then thrust out sharply.

The hood loosened around his neck. Tycho shook his head frantically back and forth.

"Bind me!" his captor spat. "I think the little fish is trying to bite my butt!" He gave him a jostle, but Tycho just kept shaking his head, trying to get the hood to loosen more. It fell over his chin and into his mouth-he spit it out and shook hard. His captor growled in annoyance. "Hey! Cado! Give this fish a swat!"

He spun around just as Tycho gave one last hard shake.

The hood fell off. Tycho twisted his head and found himself staring-upside down-at Cado. "Hey, you!" the bard snarled desperately. He fixed his eyes on the tall man's. "While you were gone, we made a deal with your friends. They're going to let us go and dump you in the water!" He focused his will and poured magic into a burst of song. "Believe me-they're going to betray you!"

For less than a heartbeat, Cado's expression went slack then "Shar damn you both!" He dropped Li, leaving the other guard staggering under the Shou's weight, and took a sharp step away.

Tycho's captor spun back around to face him and Cado whirled out of his field of vision. Tycho craned his neck, trying to get a look around. They were in another low, vaulted chamber. The sound of water was very close. He twisted the other way and caught a glimpse of a pool of dark water, roiling with unseen currents. The Hooded's passage to the ocean. His stomach twisted again at how close they had come to it!

"He's lying, Cado," the man holding Li was saying. He grunted, and there was a thud and a groan as Li hit the stone floor. "We didn't even talk to them-"

Cado just snarled back, "You're a stinking piece of chum, Ledek!"

Metal scraped on leather-a knife being drawn. "Hold on there, Cado!" gasped Tycho's captor. He shrugged and suddenly Tycho was rolling off his shoulder. He landed on his side and pain screamed through his shoulder. For a moment, all he could do was lie there, gasping and watching as Cado circled the other men. The tall guard had a knife in his hand, held low and ready to strike. He stepped slowly, warily.

"You've always had it in for me, haven't you, Vencil? You were jealous because the Hooded favored me. You wanted to move up. And you, Ledek-I've seen you hanging around my stash." Ledek's eyes narrowed and darted off toward one of the vaults. Cado snarled. "I knew it!" Ledek drew a sharp breath, stepping over Li's fallen form and into an area of unobstructed footing.

Li must have sensed that he was clear. He twisted and started rolling away from the conflict-and straight toward the roiling pool! Tycho choked. "Li, stop! Stop! "

The Shou froze just in time, only inches away from the water's edge. Unfortunately, Tycho's warning brought Ledek and Vencil's attention back to their prisoners. "Bind me," hissed Ledek, "it's a trick! Cado, it's all some kind of trick!" He turned to grab-or push!-Li.