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couple wagons before returning with a
threadbare shirt, holy pants, and a heavy felt blanket. Thal
accepted them happily and after a glance at the men to see how the
clothing went on he gave the cloak back to Andreli and untied his
wolf skin. He set the fur on the ground and stepped into his
pants.
    “Oh, he’s not shy,” Emerald remarked as she
covered her eyes while still peeping through parted fingers at his
nakedness. A few female giggles came from the crowd.
    Once he had the shirt on too, he bent to
retrieve his fur. Andreli glimpsed the writing on the inside.
    “What’s that?” he asked and reached for the
fur.
    Thal snatched it to his chest.
    Andreli took back his hand. He gathered that
this single item possessed by the naked stranger was deeply
precious.
    “I saw writing on it. Maybe it can tell us
about you,” Andreli tried to explain.
    Thal frowned and held his fur tightly.
    “It can wait till morning,” Emerald
proposed.
    Andreli nodded. The strange young man had
likely experienced some awful trauma. Andreli chose to extend
hospitality and be patient for answers.
    When he withdrew, he shooed the rest of the
people back to their respective camps. Thal draped his fur across
his shoulders and settled on the ground with his blanket. He looked
up at Emerald. Her heart melted for him. He was communicating so
much with his eyes, and all of it was so kind and good. She planned
to make him a fine breakfast.
    Stooping beside him, she gently ran a hand
over his peculiar hair because she could not resist. The firelight
glinted off every color that hair could be, just like his eyes
seemed to be every color at once. Thal did not mind the hint of
intimacy. Her kindness was easy to trust, and he was relieved to no
longer be alone.
    “You’ll remember how to talk. I know it. I’m
good at knowing things, Thal Forest-Born,” Emerald said.
    Her choice of words lit up his mind with
comprehension. Thal sat up abruptly and startled her. He grabbed
the edge of her shawl to keep her close. “Forest!” he said, using
the word easily and properly. “I…chose…the…forest,” he said.
    Emerald patted his hand. “That’s plain to
see. Rest,” she insisted.
    Thal fell back. “Rest,” he agreed.
    Emerald watched him drift into sleep. He was
like some demigod in a wicked dream, beautiful and troubled.
     
     

Chapter 5. Much Devilry
Afoot
    The next morning when Thal opened his eyes
four children were leaning over him. They squealed, clutched each
other, and then ran in separate directions. He sat up and scratched
his head. The sun was well up and people were going about their
business throughout the camp. He was quite surprised to have slept
late amid so many people, but his exhaustion was much
alleviated.
    Emerald and Andreli were sitting by the
cooking fire. The woman was frying sausages in a pan that looked
like it had survived canon fire. Andreli was fussing over his
mustache while looking in a little metal mirror.
    “Good morning,” he said.
    The words parted the clouds of Thal’s
mind.
    “Good morning, Andreli,” he said slowly.
    The man lifted his eyebrows. “Your head is
clear this morning,” he remarked.
    “I told you he spoke last night,” Emerald
said. She grinned at Thal. Her teeth were big and broad like her
hips. “He was just waiting for a chance to speak to me alone,” she
added saucily.
    Andreli humphed.
    Emerald slid the sausages onto a plate
alongside some freshly plucked greens and a dilapidated hunk of rye
bread. “Eat up, Thal,” she said.
    He accepted it gratefully. He bit into one
and hissed at the burning juice but kept chewing.
    Andreli put away his mirror. “Be grateful,
stranger. Emerald never shares her sausages with anyone,” he
said.
    “How would you know?” Emerald said. “Anyway,
the poor lad needs his strength back.”
    Andreli glanced at Thal’s physique. Judging
from what the men who had encountered Thal last night had told him,
the young man had no lack of