The Priory of the Orange Tree

Loth’s path takes him into colder lands. He grieves Kit bitterly and feels sick as his disease worsens. As he rests briefly near a cave, Loth is seized and lifted by a cockatrice. He manages to jump to the ground, but the cockatrice chases him until an ichneumon kills it. Ichneumons are bear-sized, mongoose-like creatures that legend describes as the enemy of wyrms. Loth is surprised to see the mythic creature is real. The ichneumon lifts Loth onto its back. Loth requests the creature take him to the port of Rauca, close to Lasia. The ichneumon speeds away, Loth on its back. Loth is grateful to “the Damsel and the Saint” for this stroke of good luck (257). 

Being married to Aubrecht agrees with Sabran, who is in an unusually light mood. The queen goes hunting with her ladies and wonders if the forests hide the Lady of the Woods. Ead reassures her that Kalyba’s domain is further north near Goldenbirch, where Galian spent his childhood.

Sabran is bitterly disappointed when she gets her period, suggesting she is not pregnant. Sabran wants Ead to placate her, but Ead refuses to humor the queen, which makes Sabran even more irritable.