Dain hesitates, gently scritching Miss Pants' head with two fingers. When he first spoke to the Captain of the Watch -- Lance -- the Captain had made it quite clear that speaking of the source for the ghosts might be dangerous. Dain's inclined to believe that, given the state of the woods, and he's avoided the topic ever since.

Then again, it's likely Detlef's asking out of concern other shepherds will return to follow up, so Dain can't very well say nothing. "I didn't find what caused them to appear so suddenly," he decides. "But I did find what stopped them, and they shouldn't be a problem again. Certainly not one that warrants further investigation."

Read: no other shepherds.

"It's impressive," he adds, deftly changing the subject, "that you can take care of so many animals in the winter, when things are scarce. Have you always done this?"