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.“Reshka will have returned to the Night Vault.The best entrance is half a day’s ride.Saestra and all her bandits will be there.But they’ll be sleeping in a deeper part of the caverns.”“So will Reshka and whatever she’s created.”The Harlot took sevetal deep breaths, one hand on the pommel, one on the cantle of the saddle.“How long do we have,” she asked, “before Reshka can make… can change Viridi…”“She can’t,” the Shepherd said, mounting the draft horse.“Not until winter, at least.” He waggled his fingers at her.“Better skills inside the House, remember? Viridi won’t corrupt, not by nature and not by Reshka’s hand.”The Harlot felt her heart unclench.“She’s safe?”“From becoming undead, yes.But if Reshka’s as talented as you say, that’s the least of our worries.She could raise her.”The Harlot shook her head.“Viridi wouldn’t come.”“She might not have a choice.But even if she couldn’t, there are rituals to speak with the corpse.”The Harlot blew out a long breath.“And Viridi’s corpse knows a lot of secrets.”“Precisely.” He looked at her gravely.“Besides, neither of us would leave her.”“No.” The Harlot mounted her horse.“We’d better get going then.” The Shepherd turned his horse into her path.“I need to tell you something,” the Shepherd said.“Is it about the gods?” the Harlot replied testily.“No, but if you want to talk about that before we die, I’d”“We’re not going to die.” But she wasn’t sure about that.“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to”“Shepherd, I’m not interested.Take your preaching elsewhere.” Her horse pranced nervously and she patted its neck to calm it.They’d had this discussion a dozen times since Viridi died.What business was it of his whether her soul passed to the Gates of the Moon or the Fugue Plane or away from creation entirely?“I’m not forcing you to do anything but accept that you need to think about it,” he said.“You can follow whomever you want, but you’ve been to the Fugue Plane.You know what awaits you.Why arc you avoiding it?”The Harlot laughed bitterly.“I know what I am.Selune wouldn’t want mcwhat decent god would? What’s the point of bending and scraping only to be lett behind? Better to evade death.”He came to stand beside her.“You can’t do that forever.”“I can do it for a while,” she said, and kicked her horse forward and to the north.The hard ride didn’t drive away her anger rhe way she’d hoped it would.It was so easy for the Shepherd to assume what she needed and tell her to make a decision.She’d been to the Fugue Plane, true.But she’d never seen another soul there.And she’d never seen a god’s messenger come, especially nor for her.She had heard the whispers of devils, the promises they made.Come with us, escape their trap, take the power.Sweet voices, sweet as the gods should sound, but what she knew they would take in return wasn’t worth giving.She wondered what Selune would ask in rerurn.She shivered.She’d nearly died in Na’s cold grip.She’d felt her vision starting to crumble at its edges.The fifteenth may be permanent, the Shepherd had said, and.Will you stop being so stlarning calm!What is it like to are harmless.”“Harmless?” She could say that now, absent the desiccated fac and the sickly white fingers reaching for his throat… he swallowc< the nightmare visions.“Well.What was I supposed to ask?”Ande pursed her lips.“A long dead sage of ancient times from before my great-great-grandmother was even born,” sh said.“And you ask ‘How about that weather!”“Hrm.Well” Korvo looked into the darkness, hoping th gargoyles would prompt a suitable response that didn’t mala him sound craven.The gargoyles were not forthcoming.“Here!” She pulled from the bag a bulbous skull ctacket down the center.Her face fell.“Hmmnot quite.”“Ugh.” Korvo touched his queasy stomach.“Why do yot carry that around?”Ande looked at the skull thoughtfully, her red-black eyebrow drawing together.“I don’t know, to tell you true,” she said.“It’ not as though it’s usefulor even human.”“Not… not human?”“Bugbear.” She tossed the skull over her shoulder, where i shattered loudly against the floor.“Ah!” Korvo cried at the sound.“Someone might have heart that!”“Someone?”“Something*.” he said.“What if the ghouls come back? Witl reinforcements? Or their necromancer friends? Eh? What d( you say to that!”The dusty darkness seemed to swirl in response, and Korvt froze on the spot, shaking.Ande sighed.“Truly, you arc the most craven tiefling I’vi ever met.”Korvo almost didn’t respond, shocked by her use of “craving with the deceased,” she said.“I already explained this.The dead are harmless.”“Harmless?” She could say that now, absent the desiccated face and the sickly white fingers reaching for his throat… he swallowed the nightmare visions.“Well.What was I supposed to ask?”Andc pursed her lips.A long dead sage of ancient times, from before my great-great-grandmothcr was even born,” she said.“And you ask ‘How about that weather V“Hrm.Well” Korvo looked into the darkness, hoping the gargoyles would prompt a suitable response that didn’t make him sound craven.The gargoyles were not forthcoming.“Here!” She pulled from the bag a bulbous skull cracked down the center.Her face fell.“Hmmnot quite.”“Ugh.” Korvo touched his queasy stomach.“Why do you carry that around?”Ande looked at the skull thoughtfully, her red-black eyebrows drawing together.“1 don’t know, to tell you true,” she said.“It’s not as though it’s usefulor even human.”“Not… not human?”“Bugbear.” She tossed the skull over her shoulder, where it shattered loudly against the floor.“Ah!” Korvo cried at the sound.“Someone might have heard that!”“Someone?”“Something1.” he said.“What if the ghouls come back? With reinforcements? Or their necromancer friends? Eh? What do you say to that}”The dusty darkness seemed to swirl in response, and Korvo froze on the spot, shaking.Andc sighed.“Truly, you are the most craven tiefling I’ve ever met.”Korvo almost didn’t respond, shocked by her use of “craving”and “tiefling” in (he same phraseand the images it conjured in his head of her and him and a bed.“Aye,” he managed.Ande looked at him dispassionately.“What are you so afraid of?”“The dead eating me?” Korvo pointed at the corpse.“Like poor Sir Doln here and oh my gods’.” Lungs heaving, he shrank into the wall, searching the limits of the faltering candlelight
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