Garander wanted to be sure he understood this. “So you don’t have a home?”
“I do not.”
Even if that was true-and Garander was not yet convinced-it left the stranger’s origins a mystery. “Where did you come from, then?” he asked.
“I do not know. I do not remember. I have always lived in the forest.”
Garander frowned. “I don’t believe that. You must have come from somewhere.”
“Garander, you’re being rude,” Ishta said.
“He merely wishes to protect his family,” Tesk said. “That is good of him.”
“He doesn’t need to protect me! He stole my talisman!”
“I didn’t steal it! The Baron of Varag did.”
“Well, you gave it to the baron!”
“Father made me!”
“But you did it!”
Garander glared at her helplessly, then turned to Tesk. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s a family disagreement; we shouldn’t be speaking of it here in front of you.”
“I am not troubled,” Tesk answered. “I am glad to hear human voices. I have been alone a very long time.”
“You have? How long?”
Again, the stranger made that curious movement, lifting his shoulders and then dropping them. “I do not know,” he said. “Several years.”
“That’s why he talks funny!” Ishta said.
“Is that right?” Garander asked.
The stranger hesitated.
“He’s forgotten how to act normal!” Ishta insisted.
“Or he wasn’t normal in the first place,” Garander said. “It sounds to me as if he grew up speaking another language, and hasn’t learned Ethsharitic very well.”
The stranger smiled, a tight, humorless little smile, but he did not say anything; he neither confirmed nor denied Garander’s guess.
“If you’ve lived alone in the woods for years,” Garander asked, “how do you keep your clothes so neat? Why haven’t they worn out?”
“They were very well made to begin with,” Tesk said. “I am careful with them. I wash them and I repair them when necessary.”
“Who made them for you?”
Tesk stared at him without blinking for several seconds before replying, “I do not remember.”
“You don’t know where you got that hat?”
“No. I have had it for as long as I can remember.”
“Stop asking him silly questions!” Ishta said, stamping a foot. “He’s my friend, not some stranger who’s planning to steal our things.”
“How do you know he isn’t?” Garander asked.
“Because he hasn’t done it yet! Garander, he’s been living out here for ages, but he hasn’t taken anything.”
“So what does he eat?” Garander demanded of his sister.
She looked at Tesk, who said, “I catch animals for meat. I gather berries and nuts and apples when they are in season.”
“You can live on that?”
“I do not need much. I do not exert myself needlessly.”
Garander had no evidence that this was anything but the simple truth, and in any case it didn’t really matter. He dropped the subject and got to the important point. “What do you want with my sister?”
Tesk looked surprised. “Nothing,” he said. “We met by chance. We spoke. We enjoyed the conversation, so she has returned several times to speak again.”
“That’s all?”
“I have been alone a long time. Any human contact is welcome.”
“Then why haven’t you come out of the woods and found a place for yourself among other people?”
Tesk blinked. He took several seconds to consider before answering, “I do not know.”
That surprised even Ishta. “You don’t?” she asked.
“I had not thought about it.”
“You can come home with us!” Ishta exclaimed.
“Hold on,” Garander said, before Tesk responded. “I don’t know about that. Father probably doesn’t want us bringing strangers home.”
“We could ask him.”
“Please do not,” Tesk said. “I am content as I am. I do not wish to intrude on your family.”
“I don’t-” Garander began.
“Are you sure?” Ishta interrupted.
“I am quite certain, Ishta. I do not wish to inconvenience anyone.”
“If you’re willing to work, it might not be an inconvenience,” Garander suggested.
Tesk shook his head. “No. I am content living in the forest.”
“I should tell our father you’re here-” Garander began.
“No!” Ishta and Tesk exclaimed simultaneously.
“I do not wish to worry anyone,” Tesk added. “He would be concerned about my presence.”
“He’d want to drive Tesk away!” Ishta said.
Garander could not argue with either of these statements, but he said, “I don’t like keeping things secret from him.”
“I do!” Ishta said. “You saw what happened when you showed him that talisman! You still owe me for that, Garander, and I want you to promise not to tell Father about Tesk!”
Garander bit his lip as he glowered at his sister.
“You won’t do anything stupid?” he asked her.
“No!”
“You’ll tell me if Tesk does anything he shouldn’t? If he steals anything, or tries to hurt anyone?”
“I promise.”
“I will not steal anything or harm anyone,” Tesk said. “But I understand why you do not take my word.”
Garander glanced at him, then turned back to Ishta.
“And after this we’re even? No more apologies or demands or anything?”
“If you keep this secret I’ll forgive you for the talisman. I’ll even owe you a favor!”
Garander smiled. “Then how can I refuse? But I will tell Father all about Tesk if you go missing, or anything.”
Ishta glanced at Tesk, then nodded. “That’s fair.”
“Then we’re all set.” He turned back to the black-clad stranger. “So what’s your native language? You don’t sound as if you grew up with Ethsharitic.”
“I have not spoken much,” Tesk said. “For as long as I can remember, I have had no one to speak to.”
That did not actually answer the question, Garander noticed. This Tesk apparently had some secrets of his own. “I’m told that up in Sardiron people mix their Ethsharitic with the old Northern tongue,” he remarked.
Tesk looked puzzled. “Sardiron?”
“Sardiron of the Waters. It’s north of here. The Council of Barons meets there.”
Tesk looked politely blank. “Council of Barons?”
Garander sighed. “Some of the commanders of the old army don’t accept the authority of the overlords of Ethshar,” he said. “They each claimed a piece of land, and they call themselves barons, and they have a council where they meet to decide what to do.”
“And what do the overlords of Ethshar say about this?” Tesk asked. Garander thought he heard a note of concern in the stranger’s voice.
“They say the Northern taint in these lands has driven these men mad, and it’s not worth fighting over, and they’ll come to their senses in time. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never seen any of the overlords myself.”
“No, of course not.”
“Have you ever seen an overlord?” Ishta asked Tesk.
He smiled. “No, I have not. I live in the forest; what would one of the mighty rulers of Ethshar be doing in such a place?”
Garander smiled in return. Although he still had no idea what the man was doing here, he was starting to like Tesk.
They chatted for a few more minutes, and Garander grew steadily more comfortable with the stranger. His speech was awkward, but he seemed pleasant and calm. At last, though, Garander said, “We should be getting back, before our parents miss us. They’ll want us to help with supper.”
Ishta opened her mouth to protest, but Tesk said, “Yes. You should. But I will see you again?”
Garander nodded, and Ishta said, “Of course!”
They turned and headed back toward the farm. Garander glanced over his shoulder to see Tesk standing there, watching them go-but then the stranger moved, so fast that Garander thought he must be imagining it, and leapt for a tree branch. A moment later he had climbed up and vanished among the treetops.