Saelud stares in horror at what Clay told him before a nervous laugh finally escapes him, "You told them that?" His hand goes to his mouth as more laugher starts coming from him, "I'm sorry but lad you are so small. Saying that is like having a kitten trying to take on a bear. I would have told them no at some point when my courage returned.

Lusseriel was sitting near the fire in Barnavon, wide awake. Nearby she could see one of her companions sleeping. She knew that Ardirien was standing guard nearby.

She picked up her notebook from her backpack and started writing:

There is no answer to why we are the way we are. We eat dinner with swords for knives and we sing laments for brothers that we drown out with blood like wine. ‘It’s nature’, he says, telling me that I was a warrior from the day I was born, that I was brought forth from my mother screaming my cries of war and my father named me something gentle in hopes of deterring that blood-bath.

The sun did not climb as high into the sky now. Not even at midday. The light felt different, and it stirred both man and beast into preparations for harvesting, storing, and readying for the winter to come. 

Egfor held the axe between him and the other man. He was having none of this. Egfor hissed, pressing the axe closer to Wolf, "Don't you dare use that tone on me. Just be honest with me." He struggled to keep his voice calm, his hand trembling, "How long have you been with her?"

The little blonde boy lay on the floor of the landing, peering over the edge to the floor below. It was beyond his bed time and he knew it would be dire if he was caught awake. 
A man burst through the front doors, his clothes and hair a mess, stumbling and clutching a nearly empty bottle of mead. He slurred incoherently and looked around with wild eyes.

Clay moves around the inn looking for one of the many familiar faces around. He spots Saelud as the man passes the kitchen but notices quickly that he is with someone else so he stays back. His shoulders moving in a small shrug as he walks around looking for other people he might know. 

Having much time to reflect upon the events of the past half-year, Laicamiril looked once more upon her reflection in the tall mirror that graced the corner of the room she shared with her husband. Arthandron had gone off early to try his hand at falconing with a pair of Cirdan's master-builders. He did love to pick up new things. She was left alone with her thoughts, many of which led down the rocky, slick slope to regrets. Such as it ever was, she thought, reflexively dismissing the notion that her flight from Tol Lochul's confines had been other than the best course.