"You find the next patch," Cimorene said as they started off again.
"Let's try over there," Alianora said, pointing.
They found several more patches of feverfew, and gradually their baskets began to fill. "I think this should be enough," Cimorene said at last.
"Unless you think-" "Cimorene!"Alianora hissed, clutching at Cimorene's arm. "There's someone behind that bush!"
Cimorene turned.A dark line snaked through the grass where something large had bent and broken the plants in passing. "You're right," she said, and started forward.
Alianora hung back, still holding Cimorene's arm. "You're not going to go look, are you?"
"How else are we going to find out who it is?" Cimorene asked reasonably.
She shook off Alianora's hand. Quietly, she walked over to the clump of bushes and peered around it. Alianora followed with evident reluctance.
A man in blue and brown silk robes was crouched on the other side of the bush with his back toward Cimorene. He was stuffing saw-edged purple leaves into a small linen bag the size of Cimorene's hand. His hair was brown, and on the ground beside him lay a long, polished staff.
"Antorell?" Cimorene said in surprise.
The man snatched up his staff and straightened as if a bee had just stung him. It was indeed Antorell, and he did not look at all pleased to see her. He stuffed the linen bag quickly into his sleeve and said, "P-princess Cimorene! What brings you here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Cimorene said.
"Wizards go where they wish, answering to no one," Antorell said, waving his free hand in a lofty manner.
"Maybe outside the Mountains of Morning they do, but around here they have to check with the dragons first," Cimorene said.
"You know nothing of the matter," Antorell said, looking very put out.
"Cimorene…" Alianora's tone was doubtful. "You know this person?"
"I'm sorry; I should have introduced you. This is Antorell, one of the wizards I told you about. Antorell, this is Princess Alianora of the Duchy of Toure-on-Marsh. At the moment, she's the princess of the dragon Woraug."
Alianora curtsied, murmuring something polite and inaudible.
Antorell, who had stiffened in surprise when he realized that Cimorene was not alone, relaxed visibly. "Woraug's princess? That's all right, then.
Though he really shouldn't have sent you."
"But Woraug didn't-ow!" said Alianora. The "ow" was because Cimorene had hastily kicked her ankle to keep her from telling Antorell too much.
"Didn't what?" Antorell asked, frowning suspiciously.
"Didn't know you were going to be here," Cimorene said.
"Well, of course he didn't know!" Antorell said, looking annoyed.
"That's the whole point, after all."
Cimorene would have very much liked to ask him what the point was, but she was afraid it would make him suspicious again. "I don't understand," she said instead, batting her eyes at him.
"Of course not," Antorell replied in a condescending tone that made Cimorene's teeth hurt. "But it doesn't matter. I'm not annoyed with you."
"I'm so glad," Cimorene murmured.
Antorell gave her an oily smile. "In fact, there's no need for you to tell Woraug that you met me here."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Cimorene said with perfect truth.
"Excellent," Antorell said. "Then may I escort the two of you back to the path?"
Alianora looked hopefully in Cimorene's direction.
"But we can't leave yet," Cimorene said, opening her eyes very wide.
"We haven't picked any cornflowers or daisies." Behind her, she heard Alianora making a smothered, choking noise, as if she were trying very hard not to laugh.
"Daisies," Antorell said in a flat, incredulous tone. "You want to stay and pick daisies?"
Cimorene nodded vigorously. "And cornflowers, and flax, and all sorts of things," she said, waving her hand at the flowers blooming all around.
"They'll look so pretty in a bowl of water in the kitchen."
"I'm sure you're right," Antorell said. He looked as if he would have liked to object, but couldn't think of anything to object to. "Perhaps I could help you?" he said reluctantly.
"Oh, we wouldn't dream of keeping you," Cimorene said.
Antorell was clearly reluctant to leave the two girls in the valley, but Cimorene did not give him much choice. After another minute or so of conversation, the wizard was forced to go. He did not use a vanishing spell but trudged away on foot. Cimorene watched him until he was out of sight among the bushes, wondering whether he had some special reason not to use spells in the valley or whether he simply didn't know the right spells to make himself vanish.
"That's a relief!" Alianora said. "Why did you insist on staying when it was so obvious that he wanted us to leave? I was afraid he was going to turn us into toads or something."
"I wanted to see what he was up to," Cimorene said. "And I don't think Antorell is a very good wizard. He probably couldn't manage anything worse than a squirrel."
Alianora did not appear to find this very reassuring. Cimorene checked to make sure Antorell was out of sight, then went over to the place where he had been standing when she peered around the bush. At first she did not notice anything unusual. Then she saw a purplish plant oozing sap from the places where several of its spiky, saw-toothed leaves had been broken off.
"Look at this."
"What is it?" Alianora asked.
"I don't know," Cimorene said absently. "I saw a couple of other plants like this while we were picking feverfew, but I thought they were just weeds."
"Maybe it is a weed."
"A wizard wouldn't sneak into the dragons' section of the Mountains of Morning just to pick weeds. They don't even use herbs to cast spells, so what does Antorell want with this prickly looking thing?"
Alianora shrugged. "Maybe he needs it for something he can't do with magic."
"I wonder what that would be?" Cimorene reached out and carefully broke off a spray of leaves. She wrapped them in her handkerchief and put the packet in her pocket. "Let's see if we can find out whether he picked anything else."
Antorell had left a dark trail of bent and broken plants to mark the way he had come, so his path was easy to follow. Cimorene and Alianora searched carefully along it for some way, looking for signs that the wizard had picked other herbs, but neither of them saw any.
"I don't think there's anything to find," Alianora said, pushing her apricot-colored hair out of her face. "And it's getting awfully warm."
"Have you noticed that there aren't any of those purple plants along here?" Cimorene said. "I'll bet that was all he wanted."
"Then let's leave before that wizard thinks to circle around to check on what we're doing," Alianora urged.
Cimorene doubted that Antorell would think of doing such a thing, but she nodded agreement, and the two girls left the valley. Alianora was quiet and thoughtful for most of the walk back to Kazul's cave.
Cimorene was grateful for her silence. She had a lot to think about herself. From what Antorell had said, it seemed likely that Woraug was helping the wizards somehow, or at least that he had known what Antorell was looking for in the little valley. Cimorene found it difficult to imagine a dragon helping a wizard, but she couldn't say with certainty that it was impossible. And if Woraug was involved with Antorell and Zemenar, it might explain why he had been so touchy lately.
When they arrived back at the cave, Cimorene shook herself free of her preoccupation. She and Alianora unloaded their baskets and tied the herbs in bunches to hang in a dark corner of the kitchen to dry.
"How long will it be before I can use the feverfew?" Alianora asked worriedly.