The Robin And The Kestrel

the Church with amazing speed, and those who opposed him or were simply in his way found reasons to take themselves away from Gradford.' Her lips compressed to a thin, angry line.

'Straight to the Skull Hill Ghost, I would guess,' Robin replied. 'But the immediate question is, what of you? Have you anywhere you can go?'

'Th-the Abbey isn't s-safe,' Kestrel told her, quickly. 'Th-the Abbot's in th-this.'

'He's probably waiting for a messenger from Gradford to tell him what his share of the loot will be,' Gwyna added. 'If you go back there, he'll just find another way to be rid of you, and blame it on the Beguilers or the treekies.'

Orlina looked down at her hands. 'Other than my office of Master Weaver, I have nothing,' she said softly; but she did not sound vulnerable, she sounded detached. 'Padrik took it all from me, with a few moments of lies and some shoddy magic tricks.' She looked up again, and there was fire in her eyes. 'I should go back there and confront the dog! I _'

'Do that, and another mob will get you,' Robin said firmly. 'You haven't a chance against him.'

'And you do, I suppose.' She lifted one ironic eyebrow.

Kestrel shrugged. 'S-some c-contacts. P-people wh-who w-will b-be interested in hearing th-the t-truth.'

Orlina looked as if she was about to give them an argument, then looked down at her hands again. They were shaking with the fear she would not show, and this outward sign of her weakness must have convinced her, for she abruptly collapsed in on herself. 'I have nowhere to go,' she said, a new hesitancy in her voice. 'A few relatives that I haven't seen in years, decades _'

'Then go to them,' Robin urged. 'Petition the King for justice from a position of safety.'

'Or m-move t-to another K-Kingdom,' Kestrel added, flatly. 'If w-we c-can't d-do s-something about the s- situation in G-Gradford s-soon, th-that's wh-what w-we're d-doing. It w-won't b-be safe here for anybody.'

Well, that was news to Robin, but it was news she agreed with. He who flees, lives. Better a live fox than a dead lion.

'You're still a Master of the Weavers, lady,' Robin continued, as another idea occurred to her. 'He didn't take that away from you, because he can't. Your Guild isn't one of the ones supporting him in Gradford; it should give you shelter that you're entitled to. You earned it, by your own work.'

Some of her color returned; some of her pride as well. 'That's true, young lady,' she said after a moment, the fire returning to her hazel eyes. 'And the Guild does take care of its own.' She sat in thought for a moment. 'I think I have enough gold and jewelry on my person to purchase transportation to the nearest Guild Hall.' She smiled slyly. 'And what that fool doesn't know is that the Masters pendant does not identify the Master, at least in our Guild. The ring does, made for the Masters hand.'

She held out one of her trembling hands to display a ring, gold, with an inlaid carbuncle featuring the Weaver's shuttle. 'Anyone who sees this will know me, and the Guild will protect me.'

'Good, we can do that,' Robin affirmed, as Jonny nodded.

'I'll t-turn the h-horses,' he added. 'W-we've a l-long r-road ahead of us.'

Fortunately, the lady didn't ask him to elaborate.

They left her at the door of a shepherd's home_one which providentially housed a member of her own Guild, as designated by the shuttle burned into the wood of the door. The family welcomed her with sleepy enthusiasm and some hearty curses for anyone who would dare damage a Guild Master.

They left the entire group listening to Orlina's tale, after first making certain that these people had no great love for the Abbot of Carthell Abbey.

'Greedy and grasping, I call it,' the weaver said with a snort. 'A bargain's one thing, but he cheats with short measures. Got so we make special trips up the road to trade, rather than trade with him. And that Padrik was no better when he was at Carthell Abbey.'

They offered a good place to camp, and Jonny headed back in the direction they indicated.

'Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?' she asked, after the silence became unbearable.

'S-something h-has t-to be d-done,' he said, flatly. 'I'll bet th-there's s-something at the Abbey th-that'll t-tell