Konic was stunned with the amount ofinformation that the bandit possessed. The man would make anexcellent spy. He had been in town less than a day and already knewmore than most of the townspeople. Master Clava sat next to thebandit and shook his head. “No,” he replied, “but whoever she is,she has too much interest in the boys for my taste. How do I knowyou are not allied with her?”

“If I was,” the bandit smiled,“she would still be here instead of chasing your boys up Northsomewhere. She will return, you know. Whatever she is after, shewill know by tomorrow night that the boys did not gonorth.”

“How do you know so much?”Konic frustratingly asked. “Just who are you?”

The bandit stared at his feet as ifdebating with himself as to how much to say. “My name is GarthShado,” the bandit finally stated, “and I mean no harm to you oryour boys. As to the witch, I saw her pass last night. She travelsin the company of Dark Riders, about twenty of them. How old arethe boys?”

Konic’s head jerked upright. The boyshad told him about everyone wanting to know how old they were. Heturned and stared into the bandit’s icy blue eyes. “You willexplain your need to know their ages,” Konic demanded with a toneof challenge.

Garth raised his hands as if to fendoff an imaginary attack and smiled. That smile was beginning to geton Konic’s nerves. “There are the Prophecies of the Collapse,”Garth said softly. “The Prophecies foretell of the children whowill rise up to slay the Dark One. Although the Prophecies don’tspecify when the children will be born, many believe that thosechildren were born in the year of the Collapse. There are rumorsthat the Dark One has ordered the death of any child born thatyear. The boys are close enough in age to draw a lot of attention,even if they are not the children of the Prophecies. I am afraidthat people will be interested in their age as long as they live.Some people, like myself, will only be curious. Others will have amore serious agenda.”