He closed the book and set it aside, then drew into a sitting position. "I would ask after the success of your journey, but it appears that I am looking at it. Muddy cloaks and a few odds and ends pilfered from the dead. Have you nothing else to show for yourselves?"

Daniel swallowed hard. He tried to think of an excuse, but the words ran together in a stream of pointlessness. Malick would see anything he had to offer before he could utter it.

"There was a storm, ...