down her body.

She was in the act of replacing a sort of leather harness upon her
person and Bram Forest realized she had just returned from bathing at
whatever place the unseen water gurgled and laughed and that she was
now dressing herself.

He held his peace until the act was completed, not wishing to
embarrass her by making his consciousness known while she was nude.

After a few moments, the harness was in place and she rose to stand
erect and shake out her dark shining hair. Bram Forest chose this time
to speak. "I do not know who you are, but I am obviously in your debt.
My gratitude."

The girl reacted like a startled fawn and drew back several paces.
"You have regained consciousness?"

"It seems so. Where is this place and how came I here?"

"We brought you."

Bram Forest's brow furrowed in thought. "Oh, yes. Now I remember.
There were a group of people such as you at the place I tried to fight
the dark swordsman with his own weapons." Bram Forest chuckled
ruefully. "It seems I did not fare so well."

"When we discovered you were not our god, the others wanted to leave
you there to die but I resisted this as being inhuman and made them
bring you here."

"Where are the rest?"

"They have returned."

"Returned whence?"

The girl lowered her beautiful head sadly. "That I cannot tell you."

* * * * *

Bram Forest smiled. "Be not so sad. The fact that you prefer to keep
the information to yourself is no reason for near-tears."

"I am not sad for that reason, sire."

"Then why?"

"Because you asked the question and are even more surely therefore,
not our god."

Bram Forest was deeply curious and half-amused at the trend of this
conversation. "Tell me this, then. Why does my asking the question
eliminate all possibility of my being your god?"

"Because if you were the god we seek and yearn for, you would not have
to ask where my people went. You would know."

"Instead of clarifying the situation," Bram Forest mused, "each
question sends me deeper and deeper into a mental labyrinth."

"We risked our lives in going to the place you found us. It was
forbidden to credit the ancient legend of our people. Therefore--"

"What legend?"

"That upon this day and at that place our god would appear to deliver
us."

* * * * *

Bram Forest, now desperately seeking a question that would clarify
rather than further befuddle, held up his