Maybe Brianna’s plan wasn’t lost after all. With a little luck, he could slay both stone giants and prevent them from telling any of their fellows about Shepherd’s Nightmare. Perhaps he could even save the refugees. Tavis just wished that he understood why the stone giants had taken such pains to annihilate this particular farm. ***** One of the barrow wheels started to squeal again. Although Avner doubted anyone was awake at this late hour, he turned the cart down a side passage, then grabbed his oil flask and kneeled down to lubricate the axle. It wouldn’t do to have someone hear him-not with a biotite folio in his cart, and especially not on the second floor of the keep, where Arlien and several more of the earl’s uninvited guests were lodged. To Avner’s grave disappointment, the barrow was working out poorly. The cart had been relatively quiet on the way up to Basil’s chamber, but he had been unable to keep the wheels from clunking on the steps as he had descended. It had developed the annoying habit of squealing at the most dangerous points of his journey.
