When he arrived at the clearing, the voices came to an abrupt halt. He heard two pairs of footsteps approaching him. One pair moved slowly towards him and the other quickly retreated to the edge of the clearing and disappeared. Simon lowered his gaze and waited for the owner of the second pair of feet to appear. He stood still and waited patiently for a few seconds and, as expected, the person didn't appear. So Simon raised his head to meet the face of the man who had previously been standing next to him, but was now no longer in view.

"Hello," said Simon.

"Hey," answered the guy.

They stood...