“Before you utter another word in such a threatening tone,” said Walksfar, “I would that you consider this and recall the fate of him from whom we won it.”

The Captain’s mount reared up on its hind legs and backed away from the sword of Thingor, and for a moment it was all he could do to bring the beast under control. When it had settled down, the Captain spoke wrathfully. “There are more where that came from,” he reminded Walksfar, “whole armories of them in the vaults of the Palace.”

A whirring noise tore through the air and a stone smashed into the wall not far from the Captain, shattering a dry branch. All turned to see Whirr. Swinging from her hand was the sling she had just used to throw the stone, and she was already reaching into the pouch at her hip to select another. “Bring your swords from on high then,” she said to the Captain. “Down here is no lack of rocks.”

Adam had turned round to pay heed to Whirr. He was now distracted, though, by something impossible. A slender object, red and wet, was protruding from his chest, almost to the length of his arm. Disbelieving his eyes, he reached for it with one hand, then the other, and found that it was every bit as real as the ground under his feet. Most of it was a smooth wooden pole, but at its tip was a pointed, double-edged blade of forged iron. He grasped this and its honed edges cut deeply into his palm. The pole had transfixed his body from back to front.

He had been stabbed from behind by a spear such as the Autochthons carried to hold wolves at bay.

He felt a powerful twisting followed by pain such as he had never known, which forced him to turn around until he was facing Captain once more. This also brought him in view of Eve. Her form seemed curiously bent out of shape and he perceived that another, smaller woman—Edger—had come up from behind her and put a blade against her throat. Eve had grabbed Edger’s wrist with both hands and was holding the weapon at bay, but Edger was gripping Eve’s hair with her free hand, and had sunk her teeth into Eve’s ear, and so they were locked in stalemate.

This gave Adam a clue as to who was holding the spear. He turned his head to look back and confirmed that it was Bluff. The handle of the spear was long and so Bluff was too far away for Adam to reach him. Bluff himself did not deign to meet Adam’s gaze, but had eyes only for Captain. “Behold, Captain! Not all of us who live in Eltown are as disrespectful as these two!” Bluff said.