"I’ve no choice," Finnbhear said, still offering the stick. "This is by the prince’s command. And it isn’t for everyone, Duinn. This is for you. You are not under a bond-geis like the others; merely a painful curse. What’s one more curse when it means your freedom from MacKegan, eh? So. Swear to me, Duinn of the mountains, that should this be a trick, should you raise a hand toward Bodb Derg, try to escape me before reaching the Moonstone, do anything which goes against what I have been told, or should your companions do the same, you will be subject to the power I have placed within.
“If your intentions are honest ones, Blacksmith, you’ve nothing to fear from this black stick. But, if any harm comes to me through you in any way, even if its only a good intention of your companions, it wi
