"Friends? What friends? With the wagon, you mean? They went the other way, looking for help. I were supposed to go this way, and if I found it first..." The weight of Thorus' foot on his chest made the boy cough, and he trailed off. The rope's magic had slackened, but it was still tangled around his feet, and with the larger man near standing on him, he wasn't about to be going much of anywhere.

"Alright, alright, look.." he began, "I'm not gonna do a runner. Can I sit up?"