"He couldn't have been," Childermass says matter-of-factly, though he does only stop to loom over the coughing, confused storybook Vinculus rather than leaning down to help him up. There's time. This isn't exactly real. Lambert mentioning the 'other one' has his attention instead.

The witcher will be unfortunate enough to find that Childermass can only give him a puzzled frown over that. Whether it's the story following a part he simply isn't aware of — or, in this case, making sure he follows it — or that the Raven King's spell is strong enough to even contest this, well... It's not like Childermass can say. He doesn't even remember.

"Other one? Lambert, it's just us and a horse out here..."