Ralph and the Pixie

Ralph grimaced to show that he was not about to be taken in by such an obvious ploy. ‘It’s pretty obvious, even to me, that you don’t kill or maim the men you’re training.’ Then, he caught the look on Birin’s face. ‘You’ve got to be joking!’

‘There is more to it than the scope of our present conversation,’ Birin told him. ‘Suffice it to say that there is an . . . element . . . within the Elven soldiery . . . indeed, within the Elven people, that needs to be . . . I believe the word is excised. You need not worry, however, for this matter does not concern you; your personal safety, therefore, is not at risk. Except,’ he added wryly, ‘for the usual injuries incurred in any sort of hard and dangerous training of a physical nature; especially where the use of instruments whose sole purpose is to kill is concerned.

‘However,’ he said, ‘to illustrate that which I just mentioned; you recall that in the Hall of the Thane, there was a man in robes, an older or middle-aged man, who may or may not have been an Elf, who presented Malina with a false document to sign.’

‘How could I forget?’ Ralph replied, tersely. ‘I wish I’d got a better look at him.’