“I’ll slay him myself,” Barius raged. He thrust the newly healed stump of his left ring finger in Darnak’s face.

Jig and Riana had stayed out of the way ever since the prince began his tantrum. Seeing the fury on Barius’s face, Jig took another step back, strategically putting a thick tree between himself and the prince.

“Once we’re home, I’ll take you to one of the healing temples. You’ve more than enough gold sitting around to buy a simple regeneration. Besides, if he was wanting to finish you off, he’d have slit your throat rather than lay you out with a magic lullaby.” Darnak glanced at Riana and twirled a lock of his beard. “If it was your brother who was doing this, that is.”

“Of course it was him,” Barius snapped. “Fearful of my success, he seeks to steal the rod which is rightfully mine.”

Jig didn’t say anything. Darnak had so far kept his suspicions to himself, and Jig didn’t want to draw any attention he could avoid. At least Riana had the foresight to dispose of the finger. She had flung it far into the woods, then wiped her knife on the prince’s white shirt.

He found it peculiar the way these adventurers thought anything they found was “rightfully” theirs. Why couldn’t they come out and admit they were stealing from the monsters? Nothing wrong with that. Goblins and hobgoblins did it all the time. True, it was mostly hobgoblins stealing from the goblins, but that was part of life. Why this nonsense about the rod really belonging to Barius? Did he think Straum should rush out and present the rod to him? Should the goblins have given over their meager treasure because it “rightfully” belonged to Barius?

No wonder the prince was so bitter and angry. All that treasure was rightfully his, and none of the current owners were considerate enough to realize it.

“We should be off,” Barius snapped. “We’ve no time for slumber. If we are to catch my treacherous brother, we must leave at once.”

Barius had taken four steps before Darnak raised his voice and said, “Before you’re running too far, you might want to ask which way your brother was headed.”

Jig pointed. Barius straightened his shoulders and, refusing to make eye contact with Jig, turned and walked back the way Jig had indicated.

Darnak grabbed the lantern in one hand, hoisted his pack with the other, and followed. “Come on, then. He’ll be setting quite a trot until he burns off the worst of his temper.”

“Are you sure we should go after Ryslind in the dark?” Jig asked as he half jogged alongside the dwarf. “If we wait until the sun comes back . . . it does come back, doesn’t it?”