“There’s more than one of you?”

“Just the two of us, until you came along. Now we’re a trio, I suppose.”

“Minwar was trying to warn me?”

“Aye, but it didn’t work out so well, for you or him. That lunatic Dahlia can be a real charmer when she wants to be.”

“Thank you,” Ludo said, turning his head toward where he thought Minwar was. His eyes were adjusting now, and he could just make out the outline of a figure lying slumped, chin on his chest. The only response he received was a groan. “What’s wrong with him?”

The voice across from him said, “He loves kicking up a commotion whenever we come across other travelers, so Mister Rose makes him drink some nasty concoction every morning after he eats. Turns him into this for twenty-three hours a day. Minwar was never the best conversationalist anyway, but now I’d get more enjoyment from having a chat with a corpse. Name’s Garwin, by the way.”

“Ludo.”

“How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Gods. So young. Back then, the whole world was so dazzlingly bright. The sun more golden. Everything felt so full of possibilities. Where’s your home? Your family?”

“Only got my da still. Back in Last Dawn.”

“That’s a long way from here. Why’d you leave?”

“I had to.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Not really.”

“Fair enough.” The man’s features were starting to appear through the gloom. A broad jaw blanketed with a thick beard. A flat nose. Large eyes beneath bushy brows. Like Ludo, his hands were hidden—shackled, presumably—behind him. His legs were thick and strong-looking, even stronger than Ludo’s da’s were.

“What are they going to do with us? They said they were going to sell me. But to whom? What kind of people buy other people?”

“Gods, I can almost smell the innocence on you, lad. How’d Dahlia taste, anyway? I remember how nice she tasted, before she threatened to cut my rutting throat out.”

“I always thought my first kiss would be with someone I loved,” Ludo blurted out. His vision was suddenly blurry, his head swimming.

“Come on, lad, buck up. This too shall pass and all of that rot, right? Better you learned a hard lesson now, rather than later. No such thing as love. Everyone is using everyone else for something, may as well get used to it. Better to be the user than the one getting used, eh? When I came across these ripe bastards, I tried to rip them off, sell them bars of iron I’d painted gold for a fraction of the price. They played along with me, even bought one. Since we were heading in the same direction, I suggested we travel together. Figured I could convince them to buy the rest before too long.”

“What happened?” Ludo asked, drying the edges of his eyes on his shoulders.