“You can’t keep this up forever. Having each of his raids take place before all the others, so each one becomes the first one. Always taking the enemy completely by surprise. Eventually you’re going to go back so far that nobody will want to join the rebellion because it’ll be before Haddamander and Hagia did anything bad. Back when the People’s Revolutionary Council ruled and nobody really hated them all that much, except the royalists.”

“Good grasp of history,” said Umbo.

“Well, it’s not really history, is it? Since at this moment, here in Vadeshfold, those events are still a few centuries ahead. You aren’t even born yet.”

“Nor are you,” said Umbo. “And on the timeline that exists now in Ramfold, you never will be.”

“It was kind of you to save me from temporal oblivion,” said Square.

“Sometimes you talk way too much like Rigg.”

“He’s your best friend,” said Square.

“Maybe you are, now,” said Umbo.

“Well, maybe I’m his best friend, too. Because he sees the end of these raids coming. And then it’ll be time for real war, against prepared enemies, and a lot of people will die.”

“They all volunteered,” said Umbo.

“That doesn’t mean dying isn’t just as dead,” said Square. “And when they kill Haddamander’s soldiers, won’t it be even worse, because they volunteered to do it?”

“No, Haddamander’s soldiers won’t be any deader because they were slain by volunteers,” said Umbo.

“Morally worse,” said Square. “Wronger. I think that’s how it feels to Rigg.”

Umbo knew he was right, and so said nothing.

“Why can’t you admit when you’re wrong?” said Square.

“You were right,” said Umbo, “but I wasn’t wrong, because I didn’t disagree with you.”

“But you can’t say it.”

It was time to prod him back onto the topic. “What is it that doesn’t feel right to you, Square?”

“For Rigg to have to keep leading raids as Captain Toad.”

Now Umbo understood what Square was getting at. “We’re not bringing any more facemasks into Ramfold.”

“You won’t be,” said Square. “I’m not talking about bringing any more of my people there.”

“Your people!” said Umbo. “There are only six of you who got the masks as babies, and you’re the oldest.”

“I’m not the one who decided when they should arrive here. But you know I’m talking about my future people. The ones who got facemasks as adults, because they wanted to be like Loaf. What are they training for, if not to fight in Ramfold?”

“If we need them,” said Umbo. “If we can’t win any other way.”

“Because what’s wrong becomes right when the need is great,” said Square.

“Because what’s perilous becomes worth the risk when alterna­tives reduce to zero,” said Umbo. “Not every decision can be framed as right and wrong.”