As they waited, a wagon arrived, which had been located and brought to bear the wounded and their tenders. Once the group was under way, Pran approached Ralph silently, and they rode side by side. Eventually, Pran said, ‘You fought well. I could scarcely believe what I was seeing.’
Ralph looked uncomfortable. ‘I was going to apologize for what I did. I wasn’t thinking at all . . . it was just blind instinct taking over.’
Pran raised an eyebrow at this. ‘Your instincts seem to serve you well.’
Ralph didn’t respond at first. Eventually, he said, ‘What do you think about all of this? About what that Goblin said about Prince Cir? What do you suppose this means?’
Pran was silent for some time, lost in some distant memory. At last, he replied, ‘The Thane has long suspected that Prince Cir has been associating himself with some . . .’ he paused to search for words, ‘outside influence. Such as Goblins. We . . . the Thane was never able to prove his suspicions, but there was, and remains, a preponderance of evidence, however indirect, which points invariably to such a conclusion.
‘What is most worrisome is the fact that neither Prince Cir nor the King are so utterly careful, nor so skilful, as to think to conceal either their actions or their motives.’ He shook his head at his own thoughts. ‘Perhaps my mind searches for clues beyond the obvious, but which, to my eyes, are unrecognizable. After all, it could well be that it is not so much something in the King and his son that determines their actions, but rather, something that is lacking; and therefore would conveyance of their motives be utterly foiled.’