Chapter 7 Summary

This chapter opens with Brendan's funeral. The company worries that if Nicolas attends, the priest overseeing the funeral may notice Nicolas's tonsure. As a solution, they shave Nicolas' head and claim that he had ringworm. Brendan is buried near plague victims. Nicolas notices a new child's grave in the same yard and assumes it is the grave of Thomas Wells. He finds it odd that the town has disposed of the victim as quickly as it has blamed someone for the murder.

After the funeral, the company heads back to the inn, but Martin stays behind to speak to the gravedigger. At the inn, Nicolas sees two riders coming up the hill toward him. From a distance, they are a fearful sight; the horse looks like a great black beast with read eyes, and the rider has a red shape above his head...