Chapter 44At the Palace gate, Eldric paused to compose himself. The wind tugged at his red cloak and, looking down at his shadow, he congratulated himself on the armour he had chosen from the many that Astrom and his friends had offered him. It would impress the crowd with its classical imagery and it would enable him to defend himself very effectively if Dan-Tor chose to offer violence.
Slowly, he unhooked a large horn from the horse’s saddle and with half an eye on a passing cloud, he blew a great blast on it just as the sunlight flooded into the square. The effect was electric. When the echoes died away, the whole crowd stood expectant, motionless and silent, awaiting Dan-Tor’s response. The challenge had been issued.
Dan-Tor himself, however, was no mean manipulator of crowds, and he
