"A fight, if I understand correctly," he said, watching a Kedan below haggle the price of some fruit at a market stall. He hesitated, and then corrected himself. "Perhaps more of a battle. My apologies, I wasn't there and haven't gotten much of the details yet. But the creature who so kindly allows us use of its back was ...gravely affected. And the man responsible murdered five of its children."

There was something about the way his jaw tightened and his fist clenched that betrayed the roiling fury under his otherwise controlled and composed demeanor.

"I believe, before, it was bringing people deliberately. Now...? I'm not so sure. Many things are uncertain at the present time, it seems."