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must have something to do with your past actions,” he said.
    Hartz raised his eyes from Komir’s wound and fixed them on Kayti. He tried to make her feel uncomfortable so as to make her talk about what he was sure she was hiding from them. But the redhead did not even flinch. She remained quiet, with a defiant, haughty expression on her face.
    “Don’t look at me with that troll face,” she scolded.
    “Troll? Me?” Hartz sounded offended. “And… what the hell is a troll?”
    Kayti, taken by surprise, began to laugh heartily.
    Lindaro could not help laughing too. “A troll is a huge, hairy monster, wild and savage” he explained, “vaguely human in shape but really more like an ape because of its long arms, its muscular torso and the way it runs. The beast usually has long brown hair, huge tusks and claws, and it’s said it has the strength of four men. It’s very dangerous.”
    “Oh… I’d never heard of them. There aren’t any in the highlands …” said Hartz, a little embarrassed.
    “That’s not surprising,” Lindaro went on. “They’ve been exterminated in most of the civilized lands. But Tremia is an enormous continent, and parts of it are still wild and unexplored. They still inhabit hidden places, far away from men, along with other nightmarish creatures.”
    “You mean I could get to see one?” said Hartz, suddenly alive with excitement.
    “Yes, my dear friend, although I wouldn’t advise it. It’s a cruel wild beast and it would dismember you. I wouldn’t recommend that you go looking for other creatures either, like the giant man-eating spider, the titanic king scorpion or any other horrors from the deep.”
    “Well, now I want to see a troll!” said Hartz with conviction.
    Kayti shook her head and rolled her eyes.
    “Are you going to stitch up my head or let me bleed to death?” Komir asked his friend.
    “I’m going to give you a very pretty scar, don’t you worry,” Hartz assured him. He had regained his usual good humor.
    “The attack… it was ordered. There’s a price on our heads,” said Komir gravely.
    “What? A price on your heads?” repeated Lindaro uneasily. “How do you know?”
    “The leader of the group which attacked me thought I was finished, and he told me. Someone had put a price on our heads, someone called Lotas.”
    “Lotas the Ruthless?” said Lindaro in a trembling voice.
    “Do you know him?” Komir was surprised.
    “Not really, no. But I’ve heard of him… He’s one of the biggest smugglers of the lower parts of town. From what I’ve heard he controls all the contraband of the port. He’s said to be a very dangerous, unscrupulous man. He’d sell his own mother to the Nocean slave-traders, pardon my bluntness.”
    “Well, the men who attacked me were his men, that much I know.”
    “Are you sure?” said Hartz, completing another stitch on his friend’s head.
    “Yes,” Komir said. “I am.” He took another swig of wine to help dull the headache which had begun to torment him.
    “Stay still,” said Hartz.
    “I don’t understand,” said Lindaro. Why would they want you dead?”
    “I think it’s more a question of who wants us dead,” said Hartz as he made another stitch.
    “I don’t see how anyone could have anything against two recently-arrived Norriel,” said Lindaro. He came closer and examined the stitches on Komir’s head. “I don’t see how it could be anything to do with the discovery of the Ilenian Temple either. I’m convinced that nobody else knows of its existence yet. Which only leaves us with one question.” He looked towards Kayti.
    “Is there anything you wish to tell us?” asked Hartz forcefully. He left the needle on the table and looked at the young redhead, who was calmly pouring herself more wine.
    She raised her glass in a toast and said reproachfully, “Funny that in a room full of men, the only person who gets accused is a woman.”
    “Don’t evade the question, Kayti,” said Komir