"About the temple?"
"He's right. Collapsed just as Og left. Most of it anyway. The last I saw, the first seven or eight stories still stood, if somewhat shakily," said Cheyne. "You are thinking about your father?" he asked the selkie.
"Yes. Did you see him?" she asked.
"No. But we did hear him just before the temple fell. Perhaps he escaped."
"Perhaps he did. Perhaps he is right here behind you," said a voice from over Cheyne's shoulder. Frijan turned, her face incredulous.
"Father? No… how can this be? My sire is no bent greybeard."
"And my daughter no tall, strong woman. You forget, child, how long I have been imprisoned by the poisoner. I forgot, too. It was, to say the least, a shock to find myself with bent back and bowed legs. The poison has done me grave harm, it seems. Fortunately, I met the delta guards, and they helped me to cover most of the damage up with this rag."
He leaned hard on his newly cut walking stick and pointed to his ill-fitting tunic. Claria eyed it closely,