"Secrets." Twistfinger chuckled without a trace of warmth. "I’d wager at least one of you knew how Eru used his magic. Not you, Mane. Until just now you thought I deserved death for killing him. Or were you the one who knew, Grenn of the Rapids? No, you’re off balance, just like Mane. What about you, Slowscarred? You’re a man of influence. Your dreams range wide; you learned from Dule's own students. Maybe you're the one who knew what Eru was doing."

The Walker was taken aback. There had been whisperings of rogue factions with ideas so absurd that the Walker had not quite been able to believe them. Those factions, the Gardeners said, claimed that there was something wrong with the work of protecting world-hearts. They had twisted this sacred duty into sinister conspiracy, espousing some sort of anarchy in its place. The Walker did not know the details; indeed, they did not want to know.