Thorn allowed a thin smile and looked at his own staff. So many questions. This man put him in mind of a good half of the animals on his staff: eagle, deer, fox, and serpent. Which would turn out to be strongest?
A proper answer to all of them would take hours. The question of greatest import must be the one answered first. Who Thorn was to this man did not matter. What he knew he had already stated. His reason for accusing the Ulfings was an verbal attack rather than a question, and he mentally deflected it. Who sent him was not to the point. That left one question most needful to answer.
"I do no man's bidding," Thorn said calmly, looking the lord in the eye. "I do and say what I know to be best and right. It is now yours to decide what to do with what you have heard, for your heart tells you that it is true. Do well and it may be enough."
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