“Nonetheless,” said Issar, “he’ll be fine. You asked where we found him. Yesterday afternoon, Runagar and I were out on a mission for the queen. Coming home through the forest at dusk, we smelled barwood sap and realized a tree must have been violated. We searched the grove and found it, liquid seeping from a puncture that looked like it was made by a knife.

    “In our forest, violation of a barwood tree is uncommon, but can obviously be perilous. It had to have been an act of desperation or total ignorance, and in either case whoever did it might need help. But no one was in sight. What we found were kirin footprints leading to the tree and the tracks of a large bird leading away. Af...

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