"That's the one," she affirms. "Never trust a man who don't keep himself clean shaven up to the ears."

The advice rolls off her tongue without much thought. It's familiar, but she has not idea where it came from. A proverb, perhaps? She suddenly wishes their book woman had been a philosophical tome as opposed to a bestiary. Not that the proverbs of one world might match up to another.

"We got to talkin', and he means to put us all back in our places. Or as near to 'em as he can get. When did you run into him?"