Quentin shook his head. "Just stand there and watch us."
Tamis went silent. She sat with Quentin, studying the man, waiting to see what would happen. In the new light, her small face took on a different cast; she looked young and pretty and faintly exotic with her Elven features. Quentin found himself studying her as much as the stranger. He liked the calm, easy way she dealt with things, the way she was never flustered, the fact that she never overreacted. In another time and place, in other circumstances, he would have responded to that attraction; he did not think he could allow that there.
The sun crested the horizon and sent splinters of brilliant light chasing after the fading night. In the wake of their passing, the stranger's features were fully revealed. His skin had a reddish cast to it, almost copper. It gleamed faintly, as if it was oiled. His hair, redder still, if a shade lighter, was thick and tightly curled against his skull, cut short and left free. Even his eyes, now visible in the dawn, were vaguely cinnamon.
He continued to regard them, a statue carved of stone. For the first time, Quentin saw what might be a short javelin tucked into his leather belt behind his back, one end protruding.
"What is he carrying in his hand?" he whispered to Tamis.
She shook her head. "I think it's a blowgun, but I've never seen one that size. See the piece strapped to its middle? That would be a holder for the darts." She went silent again, then said, "We can't wait on this any longer. We have to see what he wants. Stay here while I wake the others."
She rose and moved from Panax to the Elven Hunters, waking each with a touch, bending close to caution them, to tell them not to react. One by one they sat up and looked over to where the stranger stood watching.
Tamis came back to Quentin and bent close. "This might be tricky. He won't be alone. There will be others in the trees. He wouldn't expose himself so completely if there wasn't someone protecting his back. He's offering himself as a decoy to see what we do. Let's not give him reason to think we mean him harm."
She stood up and walked slowly over to where he stood. She kept her hands at her sides and her weapons sheathed. Quentin heard her greet him in the Elven tongue and then, when he failed to respond, in several variants. None worked. She tried several Southland languages. Still nothing. She spoke bits of half a dozen Troll dialects, all without result.
Then all at once the stranger said something. When he spoke, his mouth opened to reveal that even his teeth were burnished copper instead of white. His speech was rough and guttural, and Quentin could not understand any of it. Tamis seemed perplexed, as well.
"Hold up a minute." Panax stood suddenly and walked over to them. "I think he's speaking in the Dwarf tongue, a very old dialect, a kind of hybrid. Let me try."
He spoke to the stranger, taking his time, trying out a few words, waiting for a response, then trying again. The stranger listened and finally replied. They went back and forth like this for several minutes before Panax turned back to his companions. "I'm getting some of it, but not all. Come over and stand with me. I think it's all right."
He went on talking with the stranger, Tamis staying close beside him, as Quentin, Kian, and Wye joined them.
"He says he's a Rindge. His people live in villages at the foot of those mountains behind him. They're native to this area, been here for centuries. They're hunters, and he's part of a hunting party that stumbled on us during the night." He glanced at Tamis. "You were right. He's not alone. There are other Rindge with him. I don't know how many, but I'd guess they're all around us."
"Ask him if he's seen anyone else besides us," Tamis suggested.
Panax spoke a few words and listened to the other's reply. "He says he hasn't seen anyone. He wants to know what we're doing here."
There was another exchange. Panax told the Rindge they had come to search for a treasure in the ruins of the city. The Rindge grew animated, punctuating his words with gestures and grunts. He said there wasn't any treasure, the city was very dangerous, and metal beasts would hunt them and fire would burn their eyes out. The city had eyes everywhere, and nothing came or went without being seen, except for the Rindge, who knew how to stay hidden.
Quentin and Tamis exchanged a quick glance. "How do the Rindge hide from the creepers?" she asked Panax.