Krizhtawn and her people. It wasn’t enough for Kemren. He must have become evil
while performing some magic that went wrong. He is the first priest ever to
commit such a blasphemy.
‘And I, a minor priest, was selected to track him down and to make him pay for
his crime. I’ve been looking for him for thirteen years. During that time, to
effect the vengeance of Weda Krizhtawn, I have had to break some of my own vows
and to commit crimes which I must pay for when I return to my land.’
‘Won’t she pardon you for these because you have done them in her name?’ Masha
had said.
‘No. She accepts no excuses. She will thank me for completing my mission, but I
must still pay. Look at me. When I left Sharranpip, I was as skinny as you. I
led a very exemplary life. I ate little, I slept in the cold and rain, I begged
for my food, I prayed much. But during the years of my crimes and the crimes of
my years, I have eaten too well so that Kemren, hearing of the fat fellow, would
not recognize me. I have been reeling drunk, I have gambled – a terrible sin – I
have fought with fists and blade, I have taken human lives, I…’
He looked as if he were going to weep.
Masha said, ‘But you didn’t quit smearing yourself with butter?’
‘I should have, I should have!’ he cried. ‘But, apart from lying with women,
that is the one thing I could not bring myself to do, though it was the first I
should have done! And I’ll pay for that when I get home, even though that is the
hardest thing for a priest to do! Even Kemren, I have heard, though he no longer