"You need to come with us, Saldan, but it would be safer for all of us if your sister made herself scarce somehow."

"Became a spy, you mean?"

"Hell, no! She's a Saracen like you, and Saracens are Paladins, and Paladins make shit spies. She either needs to hide, or run away."

"As senior officers, Cullan and I will take this room," Alys declared. "The rest of you can grab the rooms in the north wall."

"Actually," Morgan almost yelped, "I could really use some privacy as well – with Dalian."

"With me?"

"Yes. Quickly, please!"

"’Worry not about the plans of monarchs and great men, they will always plot to inconvenience the men who build their world,‘"

"I really hope Saggitta didn't lose or eat the horses or something," Cullan said.

"Not fond of your camel, Cullan?" Alys asked.

"Not by a long shot," he replied.

"Y'know, what Saldan said about standing around on hilltops..." Alys began.

"Good idea?" Cullan asked.

"Good idea," she confirmed. "Let's go!"

"Forty-to-one is still heaps better than two hundred-to-one, though."

"You should like your suite, sir, it is not as grand as His Grace's of course, but it has every modern amenity."

"Nice! Does that include a perky little maid to bring me breakfast in bed?"

"Except he hasn't been talking to Natarans every day," Kenyon pointed out, "he's been talking to Galorndians."

"And angels," Cullan added. "Well, devils, more likely."

Kenyon reached over and picked up the nearest implement on a worktop. It was a pestle. "Y'know, this isn't the best tool for beating information out of someone with, but if I try and put it in the right hole, who knows what you'll tell us?"

"Whuhahasfluurgghghblughgahreu!" The Consul flailed to his feet, arms swatting at nothing. He saw Kenyon and Cullan. "Who am I? Where are you?" he demanded.

"I am Captain Alys of the Burning Rose Armed Company, here escorting an Envoy Extraordinary from King Dashell to the Sultan. Please let the Ambassador know we have arrived."

"I am the Ambassador," said the man who had opened the door. "Count Fortran of Averest."

"I hate cloak and dagger missions," Fortran muttered, for about the fifth time. "Unfortunately, that's all I ever seem to get round here."

"He said that you should learn the ways of the nations that you visit, rather than following the ways of a home no-one calls their own."

Cullan nodded. "Ah, I see. Well I'm sorry, but His Grace wasn't able to locate anyone to scatter rose petals in front of him."

"I'm under oath not to be kissed by random women!"

"Perfect timing as well," Cullan said. "He was just in time to distract the Shah from asking about ballistic nipple rings."

"I gotta new mor'star!" Walter told them happily.

"Morningstar," Landry corrected.

"Mornystar."

"Morningstar."

"Mornin'star."

"I can do 'mute personal servant' – although the last time I did it I attracted some unwanted attention anyway."

"What happened?" demanded Saldan.

"Nothing we need to be worried about," Cullan told him, "unless Bihr is riddled with lecherous idiots who literally have nothing better to do than whore and daydream."

"Bihr was built pretty much to be a central location between the eastern cities and the western cities of Ras Natara," Saldan replied. "It is full of merchants, priests, and soldiers. We will not be meeting any of the few aristocrats that live here."

"They have a Teleport Gate?" asked Cullan.

"It must be a regular feature for out-of-the-way weird temples," remarked Kenyon.

"You shot me, you pig-fucking holy stick-up-your-arse bastard!"

"How do I feel about it? How do you think I feel? They're being dickheads about it! Yaay, M'hush rocks! Boo, Cajon and Pickt are knobs! What bullshit! None of them ever do anything to help us normal people, do they? They just ponce around doing miracles and causing earthquakes. Who cares about 'em, I mean, really?"

"So that's your motive for wanting to save the world is it? You want to seduce a priestess?"

"What do we do, Captain?" asked Saggitta.

"Die or surrender," she snapped.

"Don't we usually demand that the other way round?" asked Hode.

"Insofar as there is a plan, it is still working."

"We're in, we've got an opportunity to complete our mission. We need our Captain back."

"I see. Right." She was silent for several seconds. "Right then. My orders, Lieutenant, are that since you are the sneaky one, you are to plan and co-ordinate our immediate course of action."