IQOld Friends MeetingRANDAL OF DOUN, a sturdy black-haired youth ofabout fifteen, pulled up the hood of his dark robe andhurried through the narrow streets of the Woodworkers'District. Here in Cingestoun the afternoons were cool,even though the season was not yet autumn. The RiverDonchess flowed through the middle of town, and thewind brought damp air off the water. He paused at the corner and looked quickly up thenext street. A man he'd spoken with earlier had told himthat Alured Carpenter had a helper named Nicolas. Thatcould only mean one thing: Randal's friend Nick, fromthe Schola Sorceriae--the School of Wizardry inTarnsberg--was still working here. In the old days, when Randal had despaired of com-pleting his own apprenticeship, Nick's help and advicehad sometimes been the only things that kept him going.But in the middle of Randal's second year, Nick had star-tled everybody by leaving both the Schola and the prac-tice of wizardry. Nick had traveled north, to Cingestoun,to work in a carpenter's shop. This street, Carpenters' Lane, was the place. Randal