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. The pieces bounced
over Saliak's shield, struck him in the forehead.
Stunned, Saliak dropped his reins. Tarli shifted his
small body to the center of the saddle, whirled the lance
butt faster.
The mounts, both out of control, swung past each other.
Tarli got in four more good hits before Saliak fell off into
the arms of his spotters.
Tarli slid off his mount easily, catching the footrest and
lowering himself to the ground to shorten his fall. He ran to
where Saliak sat, dazedly rubbing his eyes.
Tarli bent down and patted the bigger boy. "Don't cry."
Moran had seen one man look at another as Saliak did
at Tarli. It was in a seaside tavern in Tarsis. The ensuing
fight involved marlinespikes, and the memory made Moran
queasy still.
Saliak staggered to his feet, turned away. Tarli
shrugged and went to join the others, but they edged over to
Saliak. Even the tall, thin one and the fat one, possibly
fearing their classmates, shunned Tarli.
Moran looked impassively at them all. "Drill is over
until we can repair the mounts." The other boys looked
more relieved than disappointed. "Go to your barracks."
Tarli stayed behind to pick up the thonged stick he had
made. He looked up and noticed the knight standing over
him
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