he 'd heard well , tanaquil had heard , but she 'd gently dripped that information into his consciousness till he could n't quite remember where it came from that tarchna and velzna were talking ; not openly , by sending delegations or meeting at the great shrine , but secretly , through traders ' messages and private hunting-parties that seemed , quite unexpectedly , to meet up in the great plains or the fringes of the forest near amiata .