The Seeress of Kell

Sendarian background is starting to show, Eriond." Garion laughed. "Durnik left his mark on both of us, didn't he?" Then he cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. "You're doing it again," he cautioned.
    "Doing what?"
    "Glowing."
    "Does it show?"
    Garion nodded. "I'm afraid so."
    "I'll have to work on that."
    The banquets and entertainments lasted well into the night for several days, but since nobles are not customarily early risers, this left the mornings free for Garion and his friends to discuss all that had happened since they had separated at Rheon. The accounts of those who had remained at home were filled with domesticity children, weddings, and affairs of state. Garion was quite pleased to hear that Brand's son Kail was managing the Kingdom of Riva probably at least as well as he might have himself. Moreover, since the Murgos were preoccupied with the Mallorean presence in southeastern Cthol Murgos, peace by and large prevailed among the western kingdoms, and trade flourished there. Silk's nose began to twitch at that information.
    "This is all well and good," Barak rumbled. "But could we possibly skip over what's happening back home and get down to the real story? I'm dying of curiosity."
    And so they began. No attempt to gloss things over was permitted. Every detail was savored.
    "Did you really do that?" Lelldorin asked Garion at one point after Silk had luridly described their first encounter with Zandramas, who had assumed the form of the dragon in the hills above the Arendish plain.
    "Well," Garion replied modestly, "not her whole tail, only about four feet of it. It seemed to get her attention, though."
    "When he gets home, our splendid hero here is going to look into the career opportunities available in the field of dragon-molesting. “ Silk laughed.
    “But there aren't any more dragons, Kheldar,” Velvet pointed out.
    "Oh, that's all right, Liselle." He grinned. "Maybe Eriond can make a few for him.”
    "Never mind," Garion told him.
    Then, at a certain point in the narrative, they all had to see Zith, and Sadi rather proudly displayed his little green snake and her wriggling brood.
    "She doesn't look all that dangerous to me," Barak grunted.
    "Go tell that to Harakan." Silk grinned. "Liselle threw the little dear into his face at Ashaba. Zith nipped him a few times and absolutely petrified him."
    "Was he dead?" the big man asked.
    "I’ve never seen anybody any deader."
    “You're getting ahead of the story,” Hettar eluded.
    "There's no way we're going to be able to tell you about everything that happened in one morning, Hettar," Durnik said.
    "That's all right, Durnik," Barak said. "It's a long way back home. We'll have plenty of time at sea."
    That afternoon, by more or less popular demand, Beldin was obliged to repeat the performance he had given prior to their departure for the reef. Then, simply to demonstrate some of the gifts of his companions, Garion suggested that they adjourn to the tournament grounds to give them more room. Lelldorin showed the king and his court some of the finer points of archery, culminating the demonstration by showing them an entirely new way to pick plums from a distant tree. Barak bent an iron bar into something resembling a pretzel, and Hettar put them into a state verging on stunned amazement by a dazzling display of horsemanship. The culmination of the affair did not come off too well, however. When Relg walked through a solid stone wall, many ladies fainted, and some of the younger members of the audience fled screaming.
    "They don't seem to be ready for that yet," Silk said. Silk had resolutely turned his back when Relg had approached the wall. "I know I'm not," he added.
    About noon a few days later, two ships entered the harbor from different directions. One of the ships was a familiar Cherek war boat, and General Atesca and Bureau Chief Brador disembarked from the other. Greldik led King Anheg and Emperor Varana down the gangway of the war boat.
    “Barak!” Anheg roared as he came down the gangway. “Can you think of any reason I shouldn't take you back to Val Alorn in chains?"
    "Testy, isn't he?" Hettar observed to the red-bearded man.
    "He'll calm down after I get him drunk." Barak shrugged.
    "I’m sorry, Garion," Anheg said in a booming voice. "Varana and I tried to catch him, but that big scow of his moves faster than we thought."
    "Scow?" Barak protested mildly.
    "It's all right, Anheg," Garion replied. "They didn't arrive until after