"Alphinaud healed Claudius' wounds again and again," he says, a little more slowly. "He kept them fighting." As with their own Claudius, the alternate Claudius had been animated, expressive, charming -- and the dullness of his voice as he reached this part of the tale was striking because of it. "It was when they thought themselves safe that one of the knights attacked from above, with a lance that could halt healing aether. Haurchefant shielded Claudius, and did not stop even when his shield broke."