Bearclaw Valley A life of pain is the pain of life, and you can never escape it

Whether Ashlar understood or not, Aventus couldn't glean it from his response. He watched the man go, watched the silvery slash of fur on his back rippling with his retreat, and wondered how long Ashlar would last in Ursus without Avicus to vouch for him.

Aventus didn't see whatever it was that Avicus saw in Ashlar, but there was time to turn that around. He resolved that when he was healed, he would test the worth of the Starbone and find where it was that Ashlar fit in Ursus, if he fit at all.