‘That’s a little daring – even for a Troll,’ Stragen noted.

‘I’m not so sure,’ Ulath disagreed. ‘I think Ghwerig was totally safe in that cave of his – at least safe from Azash. He didn’t have too much to protect him from Sparhawk as it turned out, though.’

‘Would one of you like to clarify that a bit?’ Tynian asked him. ‘You Thalesians are the experts on Trolls.’

‘I’m not sure how much light we can throw on it,’ Stragen said. ‘We know a little bit more about Trolls than other Elenes, but not very much.’ He laughed. ‘When our ancestors first came to Thalesia, they couldn’t tell Trolls from Ogres or bears. The Styrics told us most of what we know. It seems that when the Styrics first came to Thalesia, there were a few confrontations between the Younger Styric Gods and the Troll-Gods. The Troll-Gods realized fairly early on that they were badly overmatched, and they went into hiding. The legends say that Ghwerig and Bhelliom and the rings were sort of involved in hiding them. It’s generally believed that they’re somewhere in Ghwerig’s cave and that Bhelliom’s somehow protecting them from the Styric Gods.’ He looked at Ulath. ‘Wasn’t that sort of what you were getting at?’ he asked.

Ulath nodded. ‘When you combine Bhelliom and the Troll-Gods, you’re talking about enough power to make even Azash step around it a little carefully. That’s probably why Ghwerig could make the kind of threats he did.’

‘How many Troll-Gods are there?’ Kalten asked.

‘Five, aren’t there, Ulath?’ Stragen said.

Ulath nodded. ‘The God of Eat,’ he supplied, ‘the God of Kill, the God of –’ He broke off and gave Sephrenia a slightly embarrassed look. ‘Um – let’s just call it the God of Fertility,’ he continued lamely. ‘Then there’s the God of Ice – all kinds of weather, I suppose – and the God of Fire. Trolls have a fairly simple view of the world.’

‘Then Azash would have known about it when Sparhawk came out of the cave with Bhelliom and the rings,’ Tynian said, ‘and He probably would have followed.’

‘With unfriendly intentions,’ Talen added.

‘He’s done it before,’ Kurik shrugged. ‘He sent the Damork to chase Sparhawk all over Rendor and the Seeker to try to run us down in Lamorkand. At least He’s predictable.’

Bevier was frowning. ‘I think we’re overlooking something here,’ he said.

‘Such as?’ Kalten asked.

‘I can’t quite put my finger on it,’ Bevier admitted, ‘but I get the feeling that it’s fairly important.’