Chapter 5
The village of Dun Nas wanted to celebrate, naturally.
The councilors were thoroughly pleased, and wine and ale and cakes appeared, along with a spontaneous gathering that filled up the inn and overflowed into the square. Even the innkeeper decided that mercenaries were safe to associate with, and offered drinks on the house, or at least paid for by the Council. Aric, with a lot on his mind, smiled and was social for a few minutes—maintaining good relations—and requested hot water, and a bathing-tub, and clean towels. The innkeeper blinked at him, processed the fact that a tired mercenary might prefer privacy, and agreed.
Back upstairs, in the relative quiet—the noise echoed, raucous—he cared for Emrys, by the light of the lamps, in their shared small room.
Em stayed quiet
