Despite his ire, Belloc pitied Dorain. The elven harwynglaive seemed lost without Lily's friendship. She was the only woman in the company, and was likewise the only representative of elvenkind. Perhaps thinking to avoid making her discomfort obvious, she avoided the others altogether, and Brogan most of all. Belloc smiled at this, for in the same breath she attached herself to the old wizard as though she were his granddaughter, despite the fact that Brogan was always near at hand. Belloc did what he could to brighten the young woman's spirits, telling her stories, and asking after her family, some of whom he knew. But he could do nothing for the underlying pain that left her separate from the others each night, wrapped tightly in her blankets under the comfortless stars.
On the fifteenth day they were met by a scout who escorted them to Belloc's home at the edge of the Black Wood. Belloc went directly to his study, accompanied by Dorain, Brogan, and the two captains who assisted him in leading his small army. The horses, meanwhile, were turned out to pasture and guarded for the night, the soldiers led to a field kitchen and fed, and were later bedded down in tents dotting a field behind Belloc's house.
Old Burli was his taciturn old self, and greeted the old wizard with a curt nod. Caspar and his sons, Mullen and Pip, however, greeted Belloc warmly, and did their best to make Brogan, Dorain and Belloc's two captain's feel at home.