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accompany them. In this instance, it was Bander. More unusual was the fact that a second Warden had also come along. But that was something Errol could quiz Bander on later.
    “ All done,” Errol announced, standing up and moving away from his desk. With barely a grunt of acknowledgment, Till sat down in the seat Errol had vacated. He opened up the book he carried to a blank page, flipped Errol’s log back to an earlier entry (presumably about six months before), and began writing.
    Errol watched for a moment as Till began copying Errol’s log entries into his own book, the bald man’s hand flying across the page. Errol knew from his experience with past scribes that, despite having six months of information to duplicate, the scribe would probably be finished in just a few hours. This was not just because Till wrote with exceptional speed, but also because he copied the information in some indecipherable form of shorthand known only to the learned men of his Order.
    After a few seconds, Errol left the scribe alone to do his work. Proper log entries was an almost negligible part of a Warden’s job. His real test would come from the other Wardens.
    Errol returned to the kitchen, where he found Bander and Prap just finishing their meal.
    “ That was excellent,” Bander said, patting his stomach in satisfaction. “ Please tell the good people of Stanchion that they have my highest regard for their culinary skills.”
    Errol smiled. “ Will do. It’ll mean a lot to them coming from an esteemed Warden such as yourself.”
    Bander waved off the praise with a gesture. He stood up, and then made a great show of stretching and yawning.
    “ Well,” he said, “ we’ve been in the saddle all day. Unless you’re in a rush, I’m fine with waiting until tomorrow morning to get started.”
    “If it’s all the same to you,” Errol responded, “ I’d just as well begin now.”
    Bander blatantly stared at Errol for a moment. “ Prap,” he said, glancing at his companion, “ go ahead and wash all this.” He gestured towards the dirty dishes and utensils from the meal. “ I need to speak to our host.”
    Prap seethed in anger, clearly furious at being given such a menial task to do. However, Bander ignored him.
    “ Errol,” he said, “ let’s you and I have a word outside, please.”
    With that, the big man walked over to the door and stepped outside. Errol followed him, almost meekly, feeling a lot like he used to in the past when he was on the verge of getting a stern lecture from his brother.
    Once they were on the porch, Bander asked Errol to make sure the Station House door was closed. Obviously, whatever he wanted to say to Errol was intended to remain private.
    “ Look,” Bander said sincerely. “ There’s no need to start this tonight. You don’t have to prove anything by doing this now.”
    Errol licked his lips nervously before speaking. “ The rules say– ”
    Bander raised a hand, cutting him off. “ I know what the rules say. You’re being judged for fitness to serve as Warden. We’re supposed to start testing you as soon as practical. However, there is leeway built into the system, such as allowing us to take various external factors into consideration before testing you.”
    Errol was suddenly curious. “ What kind of factors? ”
    “ For one thing, we’ve been riding since dawn to get here. It wouldn’t surprise anybody if I were too tired to kick this thing off tonight. On top of that, you obviously had a long day, showing up bloody and practically sliced to ribbons.”
    “ Just a small run-in with a bladebeak. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
    Bander raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
    “ Hey,” Errol said. “ I appreciate the concern, but I can’t afford to have it looking like you went easy on me. I don’t want it to appear like you did me any favors.”
    Bander seem to reflect on this for a moment, and then nodded. “ Headstrong and stubborn,” he said. “ I’ll say this