“Gods, I’ve missed this place,” said Rori as the three of them walked through the streets of Lycea.

  “Why?” asked Nolan. “It’s a decent enough city, but there are better. And besides you only spent a handful of days here, once.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Rori conceded. “But if it isn’t so great, how come you live here?”

  Nolan smiled and looked over at Rori. “Fair point. It’s good to have you back, Rori. Even if it is only for a few days.”

  “So, where are we headed?” asked Rori.

  “To the dump of a tavern he practically lives at, of course,” said Kedra. “Or rather, you two are. As I said earlier, I’ve got things to do, and this is where we part company.”

  “Will you be at the meeting tomorrow?” asked Rori.

  “Of course. So, until then, try to keep the two of you out of trouble.” Without waiting for a reply Kedra turned onto a side street and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

  Rori’s clan was a great many miles to the east and the jump via teleportation meant that the sun was still a fair amount above the horizon in Lycea. It was still late in the day though and the streets were full of people on their way home or heading out to the local tavern.

  “Now,” said Nolan turning down the street in the opposite direction Kedra had gone, “about that lie.”

  “You’ll have to give me more to go on than that,” said Rori.

  “And that’s what perplexes me,” said Nolan. “Right then. Right then, just now, you were lying to me. I can hear it in your voice clear as day. It wasn’t an out and out lie. But it wasn’t the truth either. Months ago, when we first met and I barely knew you, I was actively trying to make sure you were telling the truth. And you lied and I missed it. So, how did I miss it?”

  “Does it matter that much?” asked Rori. “Everyone slips up every now and then.”

  It took Rori three steps to realize that Nolan had stopped and was now standing in the street staring at him aghast.

  “Does it matter! Of course it matters! Because it either means you have untapped talents that were previously unknown or that I’m losing my edge!”

  “It could also be that I just got lucky. Or . . .,” Rori said with a smile, “maybe I’m just better at lying than you are at detecting the truth.”

  After another moment of staring Nolan finally said, “You’re teasing me, right? That was teasing. I guess I’m willing to accept you just got lucky. Maybe I was distracted, but I don’t think so.

  “As I recall your exact response to my question about the number of people in your clan was something like, ‘I can see no reason not to tell the truth. All told maybe twenty. Though that is counting the women and children as well.’”

  “Sounds about right,” conceded Rori.

  “But that wasn’t true. At the time you said it, the number of men was at least twenty, probably more. Add in the women and children and I bet there were at least forty, if not fifty of you.”

  “That also sounds about right. Though if it is any consolation, I didn’t set out to lie to you. I remember trying to figure out if it would be better or worse if I told you the truth. And trying to decide if I should overstate or understate how many of us there were. I was still trying to decide when I started answering. And then the lie just jumped out of me. As soon as I said it, I thought for sure you would know. But then you didn’t call me out on it. I just thought you were waiting to use it against me later.”

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  They walked in silence for a few blocks until they were stopped short when a man clearly not paying attention stepped out of a doorway and in front of Rori.

  “Sorry, guess I should watch where I’m going,” the man said. “Got my head in the clouds.”

  “No problem,” replied Rori. “Happens to the best of us.”

  “Sorry again,” said the man turning to go, but after taking two steps he turned back again and asked. “Wait, do I know you?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  The man stared for a moment trying to place Rori’s face and then shrugged and moved off into the crowd.

  “Nice enough fellow, I guess,” said Rori.

  “Then you must not remember him,” said Nolan.

  “Should I?” asked Rori.

  “That’s up to you, but personally I usually try to remember the faces of people who try to kill me.”

  Rori stared at the man’s retreating back before saying, “I give up. When did he try to kill me?”

  “In that bar in Willowsbrook. He was friends with that mountain of a man you picked a fight with.”

  “I picked a fight with?!” cried Rori. “You threw dumplings at him until he attacked me in a rage.”

  “You remember it your way. I’ll remember it mine,” said Nolan. “But however, you remember it, that guy was there at the end trying to skewer you with a sword.”

  They continued up the street until, after travelling another block, it opened up into a large market square. Despite the late time of day, the square was still quite full with people who were for the most part focused on the far side. Rori craned his neck to try and see what was going on.

  “Bother, I’d forgotten about this. It’s an animal auction. I need to visit a business down that street over there,” said Nolan pointing to practically the exact opposite side of the square. “We could push our way through, but it will be easier to just go around.”

  “What kind of animals are there to buy?” asked Rori.

  “It’s livestock. Cows usually. Actually, this time of year it’s mostly bulls. Occasionally there are horses.”

  “Why bulls?” asked Rori.

  “For breeding new livestock. Every cattle rancher needs one bull and unless you’ve got a big herd, two bulls is one too many. So, if you got a spare, you sell it to someone who’s short. Also, you need to keep putting new blood into your herd to prevent the problems of inbreeding.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Rori conceded. “How much money will a good bull get you?”

  “I’ve seen people bid a thousand gold for a prize-winning bull.”

  “A thousand gold! That must be one amazing bull!”

  “They are monstrous. If you’ve never seen one, you should go look. In fact, why don’t you do that, and I’ll go take care of my business and we will meet back in that tavern,” said Nolan pointing to a nearby doorway. It’s no Laughing Green, but it will serve.”

  “Alright,” said Rori.

  The two parted and Nolan melted into the crowd. Rori craned his neck again trying to get some bearings, but after a moment gave up and tapped a nearby man on the arm.

  “Where do they keep the bulls penned?” he asked.

  “Over there,” the man pointing. “But if you want to look you best hurry. There’s only four or five left to bid on.”

  “Thanks,” said Rori moving in that direction.

  By the time he got to the pens there were only three bulls left. And when he saw them, he had to assume that they had saved the biggest and the best for last. Two of the bulls were, as Nolan had put it, monstrous. But they were both dwarfed by the third. It was at least six feet tall and Rori guessed it must weigh over two thousand pounds. Its horns were longer than a short sword and it was practically three horses wide. Somehow the fact that it was standing quietly eating made it no less remarkable or menacing.

  “Holy . . .” said Rori trailing off into silence.

  “Bernie’s an impressive one,” said another man standing nearby.

  “He’s stunning. How much do think he will sell for?”

  “Two years ago, he got twelve hundred but wasn’t fully grown then. Be surprised if he sold for less and I won’t be surprised if he sells for a whole lot more.”

  “You going to bid?” Rori asked, guessing the man was a rancher because of his clothes.

  “Nah, too big for me.”

  “Because he’s not worth it? Or just too much money to spend.”

  “It’s not the money. Truth is, I spent more than that on two smaller ones earlier. Course they looked plenty big when I bought ‘em. Actually, I wasn’t talking ‘bout the price, Bernie’s too big. I got no mind to try and get that thing to cooperate enough to get him home. Never mind trying to get him to do what I want once he’s there. If I showed up with that beast, half my men would quit on the spot, and I wouldn’t blame ‘em. If that bull hasn’t stomped someone flat within a year, I’ll eat my hat.”

  “Doesn’t look too unfriendly right now,” Rori said.

  “That’s cause nobody’s poking him and he’s happy where he is. Wait ‘til they got to move him up to the auction block. In fact, if they’re smart, they’ll just auction him from right where he is.”

  Rori stared for a few more moments at the bull and then said, “Nice to meet you. I’m going to head over to the auction block and see how things end up.”

  “Evenin’,” said the man turning back to watch the large bull eat.