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have lived to tell the story,” said Hartz.
    “Look who’s talking!” replied Komir. “Your head is like granite!” He took a swig of the watered wine.
    “You haven’t told us how you managed to escape, Komir,” said Kayti. “How did you deal with all of them? There were too many, even for a skilled warrior like you. You should be dead, and instead of that all you have is a nasty gash on your head.” There was a touch of suspicion in her voice.
    “I don’t want to talk about it. I killed them. I’m alive and they’re not. That’s all that matters.” The Norriel looked at his friend. In his eyes he could see that Hartz knew what had really happened, that this mysterious energy which lived inside Komir had awakened like a beast from the abyss without his knowing why or how. But it had saved his life.
    “Let him be, Kayti. If Komir says he dealt with them, then they’re dead. How he did it is none of our business.”
    “Well, it seems strange that he won’t tell us more. It must have been a really exceptional fight if he managed to survive against so many attackers. What happened? Why don’t you want us to know?”
    “My head hurts too much for so many questions. Leave me alone,” said Komir.
    “Leave it, Kayti. The good news is he survived that treacherous ambush. And that’s that!”
    Komir was thankful for his friend’s defense. He knew that Hartz was aware of how he hated the thing which made him different, the thing which set him apart from his peers. Luckily Hartz understood him and never pressed him for details. Even after that fateful and public incident during the Ceremony of the Bear he had not mentioned it, nor would he ever. He respected his friend’s privacy, his secret. He was the best of friends…
    The white-armored warrior took off her gauntlets and left them on the table.
    “We were attacked simultaneously,” she said. “That requires coordination, means, a plan and a brain behind the whole operation.” She sat down at the table and poured herself a glass of wine.
    “And they were pretty deft,” added Hartz.
    “Yes, they were either mercenaries, or hired soldiers, “said Komir. “They knew what they were doing. They weren’t simple ruffians from the back streets.”
    “An attack like this, with two groups, carried out almost simultaneously, has to have been planned and meditated at length,” said Kayti. “They wanted us dead, all three of us.”
    “Why would anyone want to kill us?” said Hartz. “We’re new to the city, and we haven’t got into any trouble since we arrived, or at least none that matters.”
    “I can only think it’s something to do with the Ilenian temple we found,” said Kayti. She poured herself more wine.
    “It doesn’t make sense, nobody knows we found it,” said Komir, shaking his head.
    “Nobody? Are you sure of that? Several members of the Temple of Light know…” said Kayti.
    “Do you think they would talk?” asked Hartz uneasily.
    “Maybe,” said Kayti. “After all, even men of faith have their weaknesses, even the fleshly kind…”
    “Absolutely not!” protested Lindaro. He was just coming back with a jug of water, an old metal washbasin, some cloths and a piece of soap. “Nobody in the temple has mentioned anything about the discovery. The study of the Ilenian underground temple is being carried out in the utmost secrecy. I can vouch for my brother-priests, each and every one of them. I’ve known them for years, and many a hardship we’ve shared. They’re devout, and their character is upright. They wouldn’t stoop to treason.”
    “I agree with Lindaro,” said Hartz, taking the jug of water from the priest and beginning to clean Komir’s head-wound. The washed-out blood dripped down the injured man’s shoulders, forming a puddle on the floor.
    “If it’s nothing to do with the temple and the treasures we’ve found, what could be the reason for the attack?” asked Kayti.
    Lindaro sat down beside her. “It