"You're Daystar?" The lizard did something very tangled very quickly and ended up balanced on his tail. "So you are! Well, my goodness. I hadn't expected to see you around here for a while yet."

"You were expecting me?"

"Of course." The lizard looked smug. "I know everything that goes on in the Enchanted Forest. Absolutely everything! I've seen you in the Outer Forest. It was only a matter of time before you got this far, though I thought it would take longer. I'm Suz, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you," I said.

"You are?" The lizard leaned forward and almost lost his balance.

"Yes, you really are! How positively extraordinary. Whatever are you doing in the Enchanted Forest?"

"I don't know," I said.

"You don't know? The lizard did a back flip and scurried up onto a fat tree root, where he would have a better view. He balanced on his tail again and looked at me thoughtfully. "If you don't know what you're doing, why are you here?"

I thought for a moment. "Do you really know everything that happens in this forest?"

"Of course I do." Suz looked offended. An offended lizard is an interesting sight.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything," I said hastily. "I just wondered if you could tell me where this came from." I touched the sword Mother had given me.

The lizard squinted in my general direction. "What? It's on the wrong side of you, silly. Bring it over where I can see it. If it came from the Enchanted Forest, I can tell you about it."

I lifted the sword, sheath and all, and twisted it around so it was on the same side of me as Suz. The lizard promptly fell over backward.

"Oh dear me my gracious goodness my oh," he squeaked. "Do you know what that is?"

"I wouldn't have asked you if I knew," I said. "It's a sword. I think it's magic."

"It's a sword! He thinks it's magic!" Suz ran around twice in a small circle, then did the tail-balancing trick again. "Where did you get it?" the little lizard demanded.