to it.
"I wish I could give you something," he said.
"What?"
"In exchange for my ring."
"I haven't given you the ring yet."
"Your description is good enough."
Caer smiled. "When things are back to normal, I'll make you your ring, and you can give me a present."
He nodded. But deep down, he wondered when that would be. Could things be normal again anytime soon? Or ever? "Normal" for him meant living in Light World, and for Caer, it meant living in Dark World.
The nervous tension he thought he had slept away crept back.
Caer touched his arm. "Hey, do you hear someone?"
The sound of footsteps echoed through the cave. Eref stood, hoping they didn't signal the arrival of a soldier. Surely there had to be at least one safe place in Dark World.
"Don't look so worried," the Exile said, creaking in from the shadows. "It's only me."
Eref released his breath and sat back down.
The Exile dropped a pile of plants onto his desk. "Caer," he said. "Would you help sort these for me? I'm trying to make healing ointments. You're good with those, aren't you?"
She stood up but stayed close to Eref. "Yes," she said.
"Then get them started for me, if you don't mind. I have to talk to Eref about something."
Eref grabbed Caer's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She smiled back and walked over to the huge stack of plants.
"Come here, Eref," the Exile said, hobbling over to the thin river. "Let's not bother Caer while she works. Those leaves and sticks can be tough to sort. I can't ever do it without cussing at least fifteen times." He winked and waved Eref over.
"They don't bother me," Caer said cheerfully from the desk.
Eref followed the Exile and sat down by his side.
Water meandered lazily before them, its murky color making their reflections hazy. It came in from the mouth of the cave and wound its way back through a small corner of the cavern out of sight.
"Do you know where this river leads, Eref?"
"No."
"It's as large as all of Dark World. In fact, it is even bigger than that," he said.
"How can it be bigger?"
The Exile hesitated. Then he seemed to come to a decision. "Do you like puzzles?"
"What?"
"Sometimes the only way to solve your problems is to think your way through. This river, for instance, is larger than Dark World. But that can't be possible."
Eref didn't understand.
"You are in the middle of enormous problems right now," the Exile said. "And the only way you will succeed - the only way you can survive - is by solving riddles. Do you think you're up to the task?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's start with something easy. I'm going to give you a series of sentences. Every other sentence will be a lie, and every other sentence will be true. Can you listen to what I say and decide which sentences are true?"
"I guess so," Eref said. He felt a sinking disappointment. Was the old man crazy? He wasn't making any sense.
The Exile cleared his throat. "Listen carefully: Dark World is bigger than Light World by only twelve feet around the perimeter. Light World has more species of animals than Dark World. Light and Dark World share the same government. Light and Dark World have the same population. Dark World was not always called Dark World. The next sentence will be a lie. That last sentence was a lie. This river is deeper than twenty feet. I know magic. My tunic was given to me by a Dark Person. This river connects Dark World and Light World. I became the Exile when I tried to take over Light World. My favorite food is Dark food. This riddle contains six lies."
Eref thought hard. That was a lot of information to digest.
"Now," said the Exile. "Choose one thing from my true sentences that you would like me to explain."
Eref stared at the murky water and went through everything sentence by sentence. There was a way to sort it out. He knew there was. The Exile had given him clues.
After a minute, the Exile spoke. "Are you ready?"
Eref nodded. "Yes."
"What would you like to ask?"
"How can this river connect Dark World to Light World?"
The Exile's expression changed from a stoic stone face to the contented smile of a proud teacher. "Well done."
Eref waited.
"Now you've earned your answer. Do you see where the river runs around that far corner of the cave?"
"Yes."
"What do you see coming from beyond that wall?"
Eref peered down the cave toward the bend where the river ran.