"Point." He smiled and shrugged. "This is why your last kidnappers put you to torture. Maybe you talked, but you didn't tell them anything they wanted to hear."

"They're Eurastadians. That's probably where they spend all the energy they build up repressing their sinful desire for their own wives." Neely stood up, stretched, and pulled out the shirt to see if it was dry. It was, mostly, but it was still warm enough to go without until it dries completely. "That's the worst thing for it, letting them know you're not useful. That's when you pretend to belong to someone important and try to negotiate."

"You got lucky," he told her seriously. "Do you want to go back in the sack or travel by pocket?"

"It depends on if you mean 'accidentally' or 'deliberately,'" Neely replied. "Pocket? This actually works; if anyone asks me why I'm travelling, I can say I'm looking for a cure for you."

Neely gave her a surprised look. "There are no giant spiders in the south of Erin," he said. "Giant owls, yes, but they'd be more interested in me than you. You wouldn't even make up a mouthful in your current state. Worry about me running out of food and cooking you."