"Not zat vun," Natasha said shaking her head. The horse dealer all but audibly ground his teeth. This was the fourth horse she had rejected since they came to the horse trader to find Marius an appropriate mount. The trader, Gert by name, spat into the churned up practice yard he had been leading the nag around.

"And what the bloody hell is wrong with this one?" he demanded belligerently.

"Do you rally vant me to tell you?" she asked in a serious tone. Gert checked a little but didn't reply.

"Because, iyif I did have to tell you zat is puupils are dilated from chewing Shylia's bloom, I'd hav to no you vere trying to chiat me," Natasha explained. She pulled a small knife from her belt and began to clean her fingernails. Gert began to sweat at the mention (or meiention) of Shyalla's bloom, a common herb used to deaden pain in animals. Judging by the slight hesitation the one time Gert had turned the animial to the right, he it was going lame in its right forehoof, a pain the stallion remembered even if he couldn't currently feel it. Without treatment the horse would be down within a week, crippled beyond repair.

"Ah, in that case I suppose, I don't want to tell you that?" Gert replied looking nervous.

"A vise choice," Natasha assured him. She crossed to the horse and leaned up against it, bending down to lift its right hoof. The horse neighed restively but Natasha leaned her weight against his flank. The horse side stepped and then calmed. Carefully she inserted the point of the knife into the hoof. There was a gentle pop as the shoe came away and then the horse whinnied in distress as Natasha dug the point into its hoof. There was a sudden spurt of blood and pus as she lanced the abcess. With no particular concern for the mess she pulled something from the wound and held it up.

"Stone betveen shoe and hoof, two more deyz and vil be ciptic," she pronounced, letting the hoof down to the ground. The stallion made huffing sound that might have been relief. 

"Bathe in salt vater and ...how you say... veenigar, in bucket so covers da?" she explained, wiping the blood and pus onto the flank of the horse and returning her knife to her belt.

"Pack vound vith honyeah and gurlick, no exercise for two days, then seal vound vith vax and valk only few minutes. More each dey after zat da. Vash vith veenigar every dey," she instructed.

"Inside of month, be good day, no more marcy veed, bad for da blood," Natasha continued to the amazed horse seller. He glanced from the woman to the stallion in amazement.

"He will really get better? I thought..." he trailed of clearly unwilling to admit that he thought the horse was doomed and hoped to fob him of on a couple of rubes.

"Veery lickly da, if infeection not in blood, if blood infeected no gut," she expounded. Gert nodded eagerly.

"It shall be as you say," Gert bowed thankfully, "I don't suppose you are looking for work are you?" Natasha shook her head.

"Have job. Need horse for boy to ride da," Natasha explained. Marius, who had been watching proceedings with as much amazement as she had back at the factor's office started.

"Hey!" he objected, clearly not wanting to be referred to as a boy. 

"Feen, need horse for beg barley man to ride," she corrected. Gert covered a snicker with his hand and then glanced around as though looking for an observer.

"I think I may have something in your price range, for someone how knows horseflesh," he told her. It took him a minute to return the now slightly limping stallion to his stall and to relay Natasha's instructions to one of the stable hands. He then went to a disused part of the stable and returned with a roan stallion with a glossy black mane. Natasha and Gert shared a look that was impenetrable to Marius, and then the horse master lead the stallion on a circuit of the yard. Natasha nodded in evident approval as he returned to where they stood. She inspected the horses teeth and then circled around behind it, stopping to examine a darker spot on its flank before returning.

"Ve take, feefty gelt," she said. They haggled for a few minutes and settled on sixty including a saddle and tackle.

"Vat do you theenk," Natasha said to Marius, brushing the stallions mane.

"This horse is cheaper than the nag he tried to sell you the first time," Marius said with a skeptical look on his face.

"Da," Natasha agreed as she began to saddle the stallion with practiced ease.

"But he is clearly a better horse, I'm no expert but easily the best of what we saw," he continued. Natasha settled the bit between the horse's teeth, stroking its muzzle comfortingly as it began to prance slightly.

"Da, is mooch beitter," she agreed.

"Then why is it so cheap?" he demanded. Natasha looked at him as though he were blind then beckoned him over. When he joined her she pointed to the dark spot on its flank. Marius gave her a look of blank incomprehension. She sighed and took his hand, placing it palm down on the horse and running it over the spot.

"It's rough..." he observed, "why is that important?"

"Is Imperial brand," Natasha explained as though telling a child that the sky is blue. Marius yanked his hand away.

"You mean it's stolen?" he demanded in a shocked whisper. Natasha nodded her head. In Kislev horse thief was an ancient and honorable profession.

"Stolen da. Ze brand is raabed vith send end leethar. Zen carvered with a di," she explained. The explanation was delivered in such a thick accent as to be nearly incomprehensible. She sucked her thumb for a moment and rubbed it against the edge of the spot. It came away slightly brown with dye.

"I cant ride a stolen horse, what if I'm caught?" Marius demanded.

"Dent git caught, or get commission in Reeksguard and then ride any horse you pleese," she suggested, then shrugged.

"When ve have teem, I make up new brand. By coincideence marny Kislev brands look alot like Imperial brand," she told him, grinning broadly to make it clear that it was by no 'coincideence' at all.

"Horse good, not as good as Konya of course but good," she beamed.