"Had an absolutely crazy Leshen contract." Eskel says, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of bragging. "The damn thing might have been as old as the Conjunction and it was clever. Tracked it for days And then I lost him, would you believe?" He shakes his head. "Well, I'm combing the edge of the woods and I come to this crossroads." He toes off his boots, rolling his shoulders. "And there's an old man sitting there, still as a stone, with a huge black wolf at his feet. He was sitting with a little bowl for alms in front of him. And I said 'You shouldn't be out here, old man, it's dangerous' and he goes..." Eskel drops his voice to a shuddering creak. "'Come closer, my son, for I am old as the mountains and I cannot hear.'" Eskel shakes his head. "I shoulda known but my medallion didn't jump until it was too late. The old lifted his head and his eyes were like burning embers in a sea of black. And the then the wolf was on top of me."