Tony arrived in the fishing village mid-afternoon, and went in search of Drannar, hoping he wasn’t on one of the boats he saw dotting the sea beyond the piers. He stopped a boy racing down the main street, asking where Drannar lived. The boy pointed to one of the larger homes before dashing away to join a group of children who seemed to be playing hide-and-seek.
“Oh, to be young again,” Tony said under his breath as he walked to the house and rapped on the door.
It was opened by a female with dark, silver-streaked hair that Tony immediately surmised must be Drannar’s wife. He asked to be certain and then introduced himself when she said she was, telling him her name was Merlara. Then he said, “Is he home, yet?”
“I am afraid not,” she replied. “He is on the boat with our eldest boys. The
