The Seeress of Kell

success."
    "I'm deeply sorry," Barak said simply.
    "And this, of course," Silk said in an offhand voice, "is his Imperial Majesty, Kal Zakath of Mallorea. He's been rather helpful from time to time."
    Garion's friends looked at Zakath warily, their eyes filled with surprise.
    "I'd assume that we can set aside certain unpleasantnesses from the past," Zakath said urbanely. "Garion and I have more or less resolved our differences.”?
    "It pleaseth me, your Imperial Majesty," Mandorallen said with a creaking bow, "to have lived to see near-universal peace restored to all the world."
    "Thy reputation, the marvel of the known world, hath preceded thee, my Lord of Mandor," Zakath replied in an almost perfect Mimbrate dialect. "I do perceive now, however, that reputation is but a poor shade of the stupendous reality."
    Mandorallen beamed.
    "You'll do just fine," Hettar murmured to Zakath.
    Zakath grinned at him. Then he looked at Barak. "The next time you see Anheg, my Lord of Trellheim, tell him that I'm still going to send him a bill for all those ships of mine he sank in the Sea of the East after Thull Mardu. I think some reparations might be in order.”
    "I wish you all the luck in the world, your Majesty " Barak grinned " but I think you'll find that Anheg's very reluctant to open the doors of his treasury."
    "Never mind," Garion said quietly to Lelldorin, who had drawn himself up, pale-faced and furious at the mention of Zakath's name.
    "But "
    "It wasn't his fault," Garion said. "Your cousin was killed in a battle. Those things happen, and there's no point in holding grudges. That's what's kept things stirred up in Arendia for the last twenty-five hundred years."
    "And I'm sure you all recognize Eriond formerly Errand," Silk said once again in a deliberately offhand manner, ”the new God of Angarak."
    "The what!” Barak exclaimed.
    "You really should try to keep abreast of things, my dear Barak," Silk said, buffing his nails on the front of his tunic.
    "Silk," Eriond said reprovingly.
    "I'm sorry." Silk grinned. "I couldn't resist. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me, your Divinityship? " He frowned. “That's really very cumbersome, you know. What is the correct form of address?"
    "How about just Eriond?"
    Relg had gone deathly pale and he almost instinctively fell to his knees.
    "Please don't do that, Relg," Eriond told him. "After all, you’ve known me since I was just a little boy, haven't you?"
    "But "
    "Stand up, Relg," Eriond said, helping the Ulgo to his feet. "Oh, my father sends his best, by the way." Relg looked awed.
    "Oh, well," Silk said wryly, "we might as well get it out into the open, I suppose. Gentlemen," he said, "I'm sure you all remember the Margravine Liselle, my fiancée."
    "Your What!" Barak exclaimed in amazement.
    "We all have to settle down sometime." Silk shrugged.
    They gathered around to congratulate him. Velvet, however, did not look pleased.
    "Was something the matter, dear?" Silk asked her, all innocence.
    "Don't you think you've forgotten something, Kheldar?" she asked acidly.
    "Not that I recall."
    "You neglected to ask me about this first."
    "Really? Did I actually forget that? You weren't planning to refuse, were you?"
    "Of course not."
    "Well, then "
    "You haven't heard the last of this, Kheldar," she said ominously.
    "I seem to be getting off to a bad start here," he observed.
    "Very bad," she agreed.
    They built a large bonfire in the amphitheater not too far from the huge carcass of the dragon. Durnik had rather shamefacedly translocated a sizable stack of driftwood in from various beaches here and there on the reef. Garion looked critically at the stack. "I seem to remember a number of very wet evenings when Eriond and I spent hours looking for dry firewood," he said to his old friend.
    "This is sort of a special occasion, Garion," Durnik explained apologetically. "Besides, if you'd have wanted it done this way, you could have done it yourself, couldn't you?"
    Garion stared at him, then he suddenly laughed. "Yes, Durnik," he admitted, "I suppose I could have at that. I don't know that we have to tell Eriond, though."
    "Do you really think he doesn't know?"
    They talked until quite late. A great deal had happened since they had last seen each other, and they all had a lot of catching up to do. Finally, one by one, they drifted off to sleep.
    It was still a few hours before dawn when Garion came suddenly awake.
    It was not a sound that had awakened him, but a