"What's wrong?" Tiero looks up from scrabbling after the books he'd dropped to see Mina's concerned face at his shoulder. Behind her is her brother Jakin. They are friendly, but he still feels his throat close in dread. "I -" he starts, but can't get any further. "Is it what Yllianvarar said?" she asks. "I need to speak to - to Inric," Tiero says, standing up but looking away from them. "I'm sorry," Mina says, "if he's not here, we can't -" Jakin interrupts with excited words in another language, then turns back to Tiero. "Tiero, does Inric have any, uh, obligation to you? Any promise? Because I think I know what we can do!"