Chapter four
Of a spark in the cellsTo carry out nefarious undertakings in Hamal was a mite trickier than in most of the lands of Paz, the grouping of continents and islands on our side of Kregen. The iron-hard laws of the Empire of Hamal saw to that.
Flying due north and resting the fluttrells from time to time, feasting from the food in the saddlebags, I headed for Paline Valley. This place, if any in Hamal, I could consider home. The possession of a cover name that was perfectly genuine had proved of inestimable value. The way of it had been simple and touching, for when the wild men from over the mountains slew the old Lord, Naghan, and his son Hamun, I had fought for them and Naghan, dreadfully wounded, had with his dying breath commended Paline Valley to me. He implored me, he dema
