Hours later, Toland was fast asleep in Kinic’s front room, nestled into the chair by the fire, his father’s coat wrapped around him.

Rin sat in the other chair, stroking his beard thoughtfully and gazing into the flames.

Kinic pushed entered the room as quietly as possible and Rin turned to look at him expectantly.

“They will all live,” Kinic whispered, settling into the final chair.

Rin sighed in relief and placed a great paw of a hand on Kinic’s shoulder, giving it a congratulatory squeeze.

Rin closed his eyes and let his body relax, flowing out into the chair.

“But Rin Ir,” Kinic continued.

Rin opened his eyes again, new concern rising at Kinic’s tone.

“There is something you should know. Unless I am very much mistaken, the two travelers out there… That is Katrina Kalashunilir Ester, the daughter of the King, next in line for the throne. Lying next to her is Jaran Alashunilir Shedan, the Archmage.”

Rin took to stroking his beard again.

“Are you sure?” he said finally.

“As certain as I can be. I only saw them briefly and from a distance, but how many people have hair and eyes like that?”

“Why would they not introduce themselves? If they were nobility they would have had us send a messenger for aid.”

Kinic shrugged.

“The Archmage himself and a Kalashunilir, even one as small and young as her, would have been extremely difficult to put in the state they are in. Their attackers would have had to have been determined and well prepared. If it wasn’t the wolf, then perhaps it was a group of assassins, they could have come here hoping to hide.”

“Which means allowing them to stay could put us all in danger,” Rin mused.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Kinic nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, staring into the fires like a pair of ancient augurs, as if they could gain the gift of prophecy by sheer persistence.

Toland turned over in his sleep, a leg falling out from underneath the coat and touching down onto the brown rug.

“We can’t send them away,” Rin said finally, “The man has no legs, we would have to throw him down the mountain to get him any meaningful distance away from us. I don’t want to speak for you, but I don’t have the stomach to throw a cripple over a ledge.”

Kinic sighed, “So, what do we do with them?”

“If they have come here to hide, then we shall hide them. They can stay with me for the time being. I can build a bed up in the attic, if people come looking for them they will be well out of sight in there.”

“He is out of critical condition, if we are careful we should be able to move him. Although I would prefer it if he could stay here for a few days at least.”

“It seems the gods have little time for what we would prefer these past days,” Rin closed his eyes again, sighing.

Kinic slid down in his chair too. His bed was only a few seconds walk, but he didn’t feel like he would make it.

“This should stay between us, for now,” Rin said, “It is bad enough they are outsiders, but if they are dangerous as well…”

“Should we really be making this decision on our own? This affects everyone. Surely at least Ir Shan should know.”

“Bah, if we tell him he will tell his damnable wife, and then it won’t be a secret any more, we’ll have a mob on our hands. If they need to know, we will tell them, but for now, everyone is safe and happy. Let’s not burn bridges before we’ve got to them.”

And with that, the men fell asleep.