Lhauntur frowned. "Brae… no. Taeauna?"

The Aumrarr nodded. "Taeauna am I. Or what is left of her."

"And this?"

"A man who came out of the fray to fight beside me… with a hayfork. Where he left his clothes, I've no idea, and know not even his naming. Worse than that, though he seems calm enough, pleasant company even, he knows not his own life nor remembrances. Are any healers guesting in Hollowtree, perchance?"

The warsword shook his head, his frowning gaze never leaving Rod. Though he appeared to make no signal, three arrows were suddenly aimed at Rod's head, riding straining bowstrings.

Rod swallowed, tried to smile, and decided it was safer to look at Taeauna than anywhere else. Pleasanter, too.

"Lord wizard!" the knight snapped suddenly, raising his sword, and Rod opened his mouth to answer without thinking. In front of his nose, Taeauna stiffened.

Oh, shit.

Quickly he asked, "Where?"

He turned his head to look behind him first, heart icy as he waited for the hiss of arrows that would slay him.

None came, so he swung around again to look at the warsword. "A wizard?"

Lhauntur sighed, and almost seemed on the verge of smiling. "As artful as a lad caught chewing in the pantry. Down, please, goodman! And keep your hands stretched out flat!"

Rod stared at him.

"You," the warsword snapped, and his mouth definitely crooked into a smile this time. An unpleasant smile.

Rod went down to his knees and then slid onto his belly, keeping his arms spread. The heels of his palms skidded away from him until his chin was resting on the moss. His boxers, now stiff with Taeauna's blood, scratched him as he moved.

The archers hastened forward, and Lhauntur's sword flashed a warning as he advanced on Taeauna.