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‘Other oddities, I’ll be glad to be rid of’

‘The same could be said of you,’ Denaos muttered as he slunk forward ‘At the very least, don’t expect rave’

‘And don’t expecton yours,’ Lenk replied sharply ‘But I didn’t call you out here to just insult you’

‘Just insultto kick‘I had so to--’

‘You should kick him’

Dreadaeleon’s voice was as sullen as his froas long His eyes shifted irately toward Denaos, who ue et fro a brow

‘For …’ Whatever it was that flashed across Dreadaeleon’s face, only Denaos seemed to catch it ‘A secret’

‘Secrets,’ the priestess repeated quietly ‘I suppose he knows all about that, doesn’t he?’

This tie shifted, as though he tried on and discarded a le breath many times over When he finally chose one, the blankness on his face was as cool as his tone of voice

‘Everyone knows so about theht in her throat, as though he had hurled that sentence like a dagger and struck her squarely in the heart Her ears lowered, flattened against her head as a thick and aard silence s to hide the scowls darting from face to face

And, like the baffled eye of a half-naked storle raised brow to his co?’

‘Not at all’ Kataria spoke up with a swiftness that , really Nerves are … you knoorn, fro sand up our collective rear ends for a while’

‘Six days,’ Dreadaeleon said, nodding, ‘since we arrived’

‘Since ere shipwrecked,’ Asper pointed out

‘Yes, we’ve been over this,’ Lenk snarled, rubbing his brow ‘And now, it’s over’

A panoply of furrowed brows and confused looks ?’ Denaos asked ‘We don’t have the tome, don’t have a boat, we certainly aren’t paid and, in fact, seeive or take, since we started’

‘Not to mention the fact that Kataria has, in fact, told you that netherlings are on the island,’ Dreadaeleon pointed out

‘And I think Denaosabout demons, didn’t he?’ Kataria asked

‘Yes, but when you found the each other,’ Lenk replied ‘And none of them saw you, did they?’

A choral attempt at inconspicuousness assaulted Kataria’s ears: Dreadaeleon cleared his throat and appeared to study the sky overhead, Denaos sniffed and spared a mo for a holy sy her eyes doard The shict couldn’t afford to furrow her brow at the, expectant stare upon her

She blinked, then shook her head briefly

‘No one,’ she replied ‘The netherlings were busy with the demons, as you say’

‘And likely the sas,’ Lenk replied, rolling his shoulders ‘So what’s the proble,’ Asper interjected ‘Between the presence of the longfaces, the demons, the lizardmen and the noted absence of the presences of the toold,’ Denaos added, ‘our dignity, and so forth …’

‘Point being,’ Asper said after shooting the rogue a silencing glare, ‘things certainly don’t look over’

‘Because you’re not looking at it with the proper perspective,’ Lenk replied ‘What you’re seeing is the broth, not the meat’

‘The what?’

‘I wrote about it earlier’

‘How does that help any--’

‘As I was saying, you’re only seeing e don’t have: the toin with, so that’s no great loss’ He offered a weak smile around the circle ‘But we do have each other We have our lives We should hold on to them’

Kataria wasn’t quite certain what he expected, be it a raucous chorus of cheering approval or a weary sigh of resignation and agree of his eyes that he wasn’t expecting the choked snort Denaos forced through a crooked grin

‘You girl,’ the rogue cackled and held up his hands for peace ‘No, no, sorry, Ito our feirl’

‘Don’t feign bravery now, you roach,’ Lenk snarled at hier to run e started this’

‘And I still aree with your philosophy, but not your reasons Let’s not go acting like you give a damn over everyone’s lives at this point, not after we’ve nearly died … how hly thirteen since we left the Riptide,’ Dreadaeleon interjected ‘Those are only the potential deaths by injury, of course Taking into account factors such as accidents, disease and preh, the tally rises considerably’

‘All of which you reh until now,’ Denaos said, scratching his chin ‘What’s changed?’

Lenk ue to hear, nor did he offer one to anyone Still, Kataria saw it in the brief flash of blue as he cast her a sidelong glimpse It was only the barest sliver of azure, but she could see his answer in the sudden softness of his stare, the quiet thaw of his eyes Soed; what it was, he would not say to her or any of the others

And so, as he stood silent, she ignored the feeling that she should follow and spoke up

‘The longest-lived rat doesn’t ask why a cruue ‘The fact that this one standing in front ofstepped on should beelse’

She had expected anything froue: a sneer, a snide coer he had soly concealed These she was prepared for; these she had retorts for Thus, when he angled his eyes away fro more, she was struck du, ‘I don’t expect anyone to follohere they don’t want to If any of you wish to stay here, carve out whatever life you care to a – purple, black or otherwise – rips off your head and eats it, feel free to’ He sniffed ‘Anyone else is free to listen to my plan’