managed to knock him down.’ He shrugged, feeling himself stiffen slightly. ‘A moment later, the other one appeared on the gangway and ran off shouting. Ignoring Tahon’s warnings, he drew his sword. In front of everyone, I asked if he wanted to challenge me to a duel and showed that I wasn’t carrying any weapons. Mocking our customs, the second legionnaire attacked me with his sword. For a moment I defended myself with my shield, until I managed to deflect the blow and knock him off balance. Seizing a moment of inattention, I struck him on the wrist with the hilt of my knife and slashed at him. The fall onto the quay was enough to stun him.’ Toinen rubbed his hands together nervously and looked around.
‘Hmmm. Interesting.’ Death leapt down from the altar, never taking his eyes off the shield in Einar’s hand. Thanatos approached Toinen and gently took hold of his forearm. Surprisingly, his hands were warm and soft. For a moment, he studied the image of the sath. ‘Interesting.’ The god repeated this and carefully ran his fingers over the engraved image of the monster. After a moment, he looked up and glanced around, as if realising he’d been preoccupied with something other than what he ought to be doing at that moment. ‘Well, yes,’ muttered Thanatos, looking Einar in the eye. Death was smiling. With a light tap, the god struck the centre of the buckler, which transformed back into a bracelet.
To Toinen, it seemed as though, for a split second, Thanatos had said something, but he couldn’t tell whether it was true or whether his vision had momentarily blurred. The god of death walked over to the altar and leapt back onto it. ‘Does anyone wish to say anything?’ he asked, looking around at the assembled crowd.
No one spoke up. Generally speaking, it seemed there was not a single person here who would willingly engage in conversation with Death. Thanatos finally clapped his hands and took a drink from his goblet.
‘If no one has anything else to add, it is time
