Before the Change, travel for any distance meant travel by ship. The Isles were now the Land, a continent instead of a ring of islands about the Inner Sea, and Pandah was pretty nearly the center. It'd gotten to be an important place instead of a sleepy little island where ships put in to buy fruit and fill their water casks. The Corl wizard cleared her throat with a growl that had sounded threatening before Cashel got used to it. She paced slowly sideways around the tower, seeming to look out over Pandah. Cashel had spent his life watching animals and figuring out what was going on in their minds before they went and did something stupid. He knew Rasile hadn't asked to come up here just to view a city she disliked even more than he did. That was why he'd asked Lord Waldron, the commander of the royal army, to put a couple soldiers down at the base of the stairs to keep idlers out of the tower while Cashel and the wizard were in it. "Warrior Cashel," Rasile said with careful formality, though she still didn't meet his eyes.

"You are a friend of Chief Garric. As you know, the wizard Tenoctris summoned me to help your spouse Sharina while Tenoctris herself was occupied with other business." "Yes, ma'am," Cashel said. "I know that." "There is no wizard as powerful as Tenoctris," Rasile said, this time speaking forcefully. Cashel smiled. It was a good feeling to remember a success. "Ma'am, I believe that's so," he said. He could've added that it hadn't been true before Tenoctris took an ancient demon into her while Cashel watched. Risky as that was, it'd worked; and because it'd worked, the kingdom had a defender like no wizard before her. "Even she says that, and Tenoctris isn't one to brag." "And now she has accomplished her other tasks," Rasile continued, turning at last to look at Cashel. "It may be that with a wizard of his own race present-and so powerful a wizard besides-Chief Garric may no longer wish to keep me in his council. Do you believe that is so, Warrior Cashel?" Cashel chuckled, glad to know what was bothering the old wizard. "No ma'am, it'snot so," he said, making sure he really sounded like he meant it. He did mean it, of course, but with people-and sheep-lots of times it wasn't the words they heard but the way you said them. "Look, Garric's job is fighting against, well, evil. Right?