You're a very amusing fellow," he told Halt. "I'd like to brain you with my ax one of these days." Erak to Halt.

I'll think of something," he temporized, and Horace nodded wisely, satisfied that Halt would indeed think of something. In Horace's world, that was what Rangers did best, and the best thing a warrior apprentice could do was let the Ranger get on with thinking while a warrior took care of walloping anyone who needed to be walloped along the way. He settled back in the saddle, contented with his lot in life.

Idiots, Halt muttered. If we were here to cause trouble, we could simply ride them both down

Hunting party," Horace said Both Halt and Will looked at him sarcastically. "You think?" Will said. "Maybe they found the deer and brought him back to repair him.

I am the lord of Redmont Fief. He is my tenant. I am his commander. End of story. Ipso facto. Case-o closed-o.

If they invent a four legged chicken," Will said, "Horace will think he's gone to Heaven.

All we could get out of them was that they were taking us to 'Kurokuma'. We didn't know if that was a place or a person. What does it mean, by the way?' 'I'm told it's a term of great respect,' Horace said, unwilling to admit that he didn't know.