Oslang smiled. ‘I’m just teasing you a little,’ he said. ‘Something of a risk with a guest, but my feeling was that you’d take it in good part.’ Before Antyr could in fact respond, Oslang edged his chair a little closer and became instructive. ‘I’m at far greater risk of sounding smug when I tell you about us, because it was an interesting question. There is authority here, of course. A pecking order’s inevitable whenever there’s more than one person present — it’s the nature of the creatures we are. But, on the whole, it’s not a rigid thing and we manage to avoid the worst excesses of the pack.’ Tarrian’s ears went up. Abruptly, Oslang was earnest. ‘We were created by Ethriss to acquire knowledge — and perhaps wisdom — so that it could be brought to bear against a terrible enemy. But he a
