Porcupine Ridge haruspex

He paused for a moment, then nodded.

It did, at first, Hex admitted. In the caverns, when I heard nothing else. . .and then the whispers. I thought I might be going crazy. Perhaps he had, he thought, recalling the mad Mayfair at the lake. When they didn't go away, after I got back, I knew they meant well.

As far as her last question, the man smiled ruefully. I don't think they're bad, he murmured. But they could show me signs that are bad. If so, I'll use those to keep us safe.

There was one voice in particular that seemed louder than the others, warm and beguiling. He would not tell Nutuyikruk that it was the sound of his old lover—whom sickness had taken from him far too soon.

Far too soon, and because of his error.

He would continue to instruct Nutu of the importance of this work—but the 'why,' he would conceal for far longer.