Richard hung his pack over the back of his chair, taking the cat out and handing him to Kahlan. She put him in her lap, where he immediately began purring as she stroked his back. Zedd sat to his other side. Chase put a shirt over his big frame and lit several lamps that hung from heavy oak beams. Chase had felled the trees, hewed the beams out, and placed them by himself. The names of the children were carved along the side of one. Behind his chair at the table was a fireplace made of stones he had collected in his travels over the years. Each had a unique shape, color, and texture. Chase would tell anyone who would listen where each had come from, and what sort of trouble he had encountered in retrieving it. A simple wooden bowl, full of apples, sat in the center of the stout pine table.

Emma removed the bowl of apples and replaced it with a pot of tea and a jar of honey, then passed around mugs. She told Richard to remove his shirt and turn his chair so she could clean his wounds, a task not unfamiliar to her. With a stiff brush and hot soapy water she scrubbed his back as if she were cleaning a dirty kettle.

Richard bit his bottom lip, holding his breath at times, and scrunched his eyes closed in pain as she worked. She apologized for hurting him, but said she had to get all the dirt out or it would be worse later. When she was finished cleaning the gashes, she patted his back dry with a towel and applied a cool salve while Chase got him a clean shirt. Richard was glad to put the shirt on, as it provided him at least a symbol of protection from her further ministering.

Emma smiled to the three guests. “Would anyone like something to eat?”

Zedd lifted a hand. “Well, I wouldn’t mind…” Richard and Kahlan both shot him a withering glare. He shrank back into his chair. “No. Nothing for us. Thank you.”

Emma stood behind Chase, combing her fingers affectionately through his hair. He sat in undisguised agony, barely able to tolerate her public display of sentiment. At last he leaned forward, using the excuse of pouring tea to put a stop to it.

With a frown, Chase pushed the honey across the table. “Richard, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve had a talent for sidestepping trouble. But lately, you seem to be losing your footing.”

Before Richard could answer, Lee, one of their daughters, appeared in the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her fists. Chase scowled at her. She pouted back.

Chase sighed. “You’ve got to be the ugliest child I’ve ever seen.”

Her pout turned to a beaming grin. Lee ran over to him, threw her arms around his leg, put her head on his knee, and hugged it tight. He mussed her hair.

“Back to bed with you, little one.”

“Wait,” Zedd spoke up. “Lee, come here.” She went around the table. “My old cat has been complaining that he has no children to play with.” Lee stole a peek toward Kahlan’s lap. “Do you know of any children he could visit?”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Zedd, he could stay here! He would have fun with us!”

“Really? Well then, he will stay here for a visit.”

“All right, Lee,” Emma said, “off to bed with you.”

Richard looked up. “Emma, could you do me a favor? Do you have any traveling clothes Kahlan could borrow?”

Emma looked Kahlan over. “Well, her shoulders are too big for my clothes, and her legs are too long, but the older girls have things I think would work nicely.” She smiled warmly at Kahlan and held out a hand. “Come on, dear, let’s see what we can find.” Kahlan handed Cat to Lee and took her other hand. “I hope Cat won’t be a bother. He insists on sleeping on your bed with you.”

“Oh, no,” Lee said earnestly, “that will be fine.”

As they left the room Emma knowingly shut the door.

Chase took a sip of tea. “Well?”

“Well, you know the conspiracy my brother was talking about? It’s worse than he knows.”

“That so,” Chase said noncommittally.

Richard pulled the Sword of Truth from its scabbard and laid it on the table between them. The polished blade gleamed. Chase leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, lifting the sword with his fingertips. He let it roll into his palms, inspecting it closely, running his fingers over the word Truth on the hilt and down the fuller on each side of the blade, testing the sharpness of the edge. He betrayed nothing more than mild curiosity.

“Not unusual for a sword to be named, but typically the name is engraved on the blade. I’ve never seen the name on the hilt.” Chase was waiting for someone else to say something consequential.

“Chase, you’ve seen this sword before,” Richard admonished. “You know what it is.”

“I have. But, I’ve never seen it this close.” His eyes came up, dark and intense. “The point is, Richard, what are you doing with it?”

Richard peered back with equal intensity. “It was given to me by a great and noble wizard.”

Chase’s forehead wrinkled into a sober frown. He looked to Zedd. “What’s your part in this, Zedd?”

Zedd leaned forward, a small smile on his thin lips. “I’m the one who gave it to him.”

Chase leaned back in his chair, shaking his head slowly. “The spirits be praised,” he whispered. “A real Seeker. At last.”

“We don’t have much time,” Richard said. “I need to know some things about the boundary.”

Chase let out a deep sigh as he rose and went to the hearth. He leaned an arm on the mantel, staring into the flames. The other two waited while the big man picked at the rough wood of the mantel as if trying to pick his words.

“Richard, do you know what my job is?”

Richard shrugged. “Keeping people away from the boundary, for their own good.”

Chase shook his head. “Do you know how to get rid of wolves?”

“Go out and hunt them, I guess.”

The boundary warden shook his head again. “That might get a few, but more would be born, and in the end, you have just as many. If you really want to have fewer wolves, you hunt their food. You trap rabbits, so to speak. It’s easier. If there is less food, fewer pups will be born. In the end you have fewer wolves. That’s my job. I hunt rabbits.”

Richard felt a wave of fright ripple through him.

“Most people don’t understand the boundary, or what we do. They think it’s just some stupid law we enforce. Many are afraid of the boundary, mostly older people. Many others think they know what’s best and go up there to poach. They aren’t afraid of the boundary, so we make them afraid of the wardens. That’s something real to them, and we keep it real. They don’t like it, but out of fear of us, they stay away. To a few it’s a game, to see if they can get away with it. We don’t expect to catch them all—we don’t really care. What we care about is scaring enough of them so the wolves in the boundary won’t have enough rabbits to get stronger.

“We protect the people, but not by preventing them from going into the boundary. Anyone stupid enough to do that is beyond our help. Our job is to keep most away, keep the boundary weak enough so the things in there can’t come out and get everyone else. The wardens have all seen things that have gotten loose. We all understand—others don’t. Lately, more and more things have been getting loose. Your brother’s government may pay us, but they don’t understand, either—our allegiance is not to them, nor to any rule of law. Our only duty is to protect the people from the things that come out of the darkness. We consider ourselves sovereign. We take orders when it doesn’t hinder our job. It keeps matters friendly. But if the time ever comes, well, we follow our own cause, our own orders.”

He sat back at the table, leaning forward on his elbows. “Ultimately, there is only one whose orders we will follow, because our cause is a part of his larger cause. That one is the true Seeker.” He picked up the sword in his big hands and held it out to Richard, looking him in the eyes. “I pledge my life and loyalty to the Seeker.”