Maker of Fire

Sidros, Singing Shrine, Black Falls, Cold Season 1st rot., 3rd day

It was a warm day for Cold Season with no wind. It was so nice that after mid repast, I procrastinated my math homework by practicing my new divine up on the gallery. The acoustics in the dome chamber were so good that I could tell several people had come into the Well of Sassoo. Then I heard the doors on the ground floor shut. That surprised me since the dome chamber is almost always kept open for people who want to make their devotions to the god.

Curious, I snuck a look around a column and saw what I assumed were high priestesses in their colorful robes and veils taking up seats in the Well. Aunt Senlyosart was there too, taking her ceremonial seat on the Throne of Judgment. She looked cross. She was wearing her housecoat and lounging robe, which meant she had been resting in bed. She complained this morning that her knee and ankle were hurting again. I think she overdid things yesterday at the handfasting, insisting on walking with the procession instead of taking a sedan chair or cart. She was stubborn that way. I wish she would listen to the Revered Twipdray more often. She would hurt less and get better faster if she did.

Twipdray told me that Aunt Senlyosart's leg had been crushed, her back broken, her skull fractured, her lung on one side collapsed, and her brain and spinal cord injured. She had many other lesser injuries, like crushed organs and broken limbs. Many healers worked for three days to save her life after the Battle of Black Falls. The infamous Usruldes the Wraith used forbidden magic to heal the worst of the brain and spine injuries, and the Queen performed a miracle in making a crushed leg whole again. Twip said that most healers would have amputated the leg as too far gone to save, but that the Queen was so good that she was able to put the many pieces of bones back together, even though some of the fragments were just tiny splinters.

The severity and extent of her injuries were why Twip was assigned to take care of Aunt Senlyosart full-time. Apparently, Aunt Senlyosart was almost completely helpless for an entire season after the battle and had to learn how to walk all over again. Many felt her recovery so far was nothing short of miraculous, though she still had a ways to go. Some thought that she might never recover complete use of her leg.

Twip disagreed. She said that Aunt Senlyosart needed to stretch her ligaments and tendons and rebuild her strength. The two of them spent half a bell every day doing what Aunt Senlyosart called her daily torture session. The problem was that Aunt Senlyosart was impatient and pushed herself too hard physically. I know Twip sometimes had to use the Grace of Mugash on Aunt Senlyosart to get her to stop trying so hard. Twip had already coopted me into reminding the high priestess not to overextend herself, and to fetch her when Aunt Senlyosart ignored me.

Now, poor Senlyosart had been dragged from her Twip-enforced bed rest by an unscheduled Convocation meeting in the Well. That left me trapped on the gallery until they left because I wasn't going to set foot on the ramp until they were gone. I had my divine and a book on how the Building Shrine managed the craft guilds. I needed to study the book for my catch-up class on Foskan culture and tradition. I hoped the scary high priestesses left before it started to cool off after the sixth bell.

Sitting cross-legged, I was working on tuning the divine and getting frustrated. Certain five and nine steps just didn't sound right to me, no matter what I did.

A soft girl's voice startled me. "If you'd like, trainee, I could show you a better way to tune. You'll have to do all the work because your fret board is too wide for my hands."

I looked up to see a Coyn girl a little older than me in a blue overtunic and a grey mantle. She had a kind smile. My growing empathy could feel she was nervous, even though her face simply smiled.

"You know the divine?"

"I sometimes play with the musicians here at the shrine. They humor me and allow me to jam with them."

"So why isn't my tuning working?" I wondered if this little thing really knew what she was talking about.

"Start with the bottom E string. Tune it and then tune the top E string. Next –"

"Wait, what's an E string?" Why was she labeling the sixth string with the letter for the vowel ē?

"Oh, blarg. I forgot. This is Foskos with its weird musical notation." She smacked herself on the forehead and rolled her eyes. That was when I noticed her eyes were an odd dark yellow color.

"Start with the sixth string and use it to tune the first," she said. "Put your ear next to the sound hole and play the two strings at the same time, turning the peg for the first string until you no longer hear any beats at the sound hole."

"Alright." I followed her instructions.

"Now play the sixth at the same time as the fifth fingered at the second fret. Tune the fifth string until you can't hear any beats. Without beats, it will sound like a single note, but fuller. That sounds pretty good. Now play the open sixth, along with the fifth and fourth strings, both fingered at the second fret, and tune the fourth until the beats go away. A little more, better, just a bit more. There! Doesn't that sound great? That's what's called a power chord, one that's got the primary, the fifth, and the octave but no third. When you're in tune, it will always sound like one really full note.

"Third? Fifth? Octave?" I had never heard these words before.

"In Foskan notation, primary is one, the fifth is the eight step, and the octave is the one-repeater or thirteen step."

I decided this little girl might be onto something. "Go on."

Now we'll repeat this process, but going up one string. So play the fifth and the fourth fingered at the second fret. Yep, still sounds good. Now add the third string, again at the second fret, and eliminate the beats."

Thus, this Coyn talked me through a set of steps to tune the strings. My divine sounded great. Then she reached over and turned several pegs, screwing up my first perfect tuning job.

"What'd you do that for?"

"Do it again. Do it four or five times so you remember how it sounds. Both your fingers and your ears need to remember."

She sounded just like Master Uka, my prell master. After I performed five tunings, she started showing me something called overtones and how to use them to refine the tuning. She had just begun explaining overtones, twelves, and eights in terms of fractions when a big dark brown griffin flew past, climbing steeply. On his back was a rider in a hooded white fur coat. They passed so close that it startled me.

"What?" The little Coyn's head turned, and she watched the climbing griffin.

"Oh, bother," she smacked herself on the forehead again. "Watch that griffin. He'll climb way up and do a stall turn. On the way down, he and his rider will probably buzz one of the markets or the river at an extremely high speed."

"You know that griffin?"

"He is the Blessed Asgotl, Revelator of Sassoo. His rider today is my friend Moo."

"That's a funny name."

"It's a nickname. Her real name is Moo'upegan. Oh, there's the stall turn. Now watch them come down. This should be good."

The pair plummeted toward the ground. I had never seen a griffin fly that fast or tuck its wings in that close before. I was in awe of his flying. Then the griffin and the rider landed on the gallery and walked over to us.

"You haven't been here for a day and you're already turning the place upside down," the griffin said, dropping his head so his beak bumped the Coyn's chin. "People are looking for you. Usruldes has poor Cadrees flying the berms and levees out in the berry bogs and salt pans, thinking you might be out looking for some strange plant or strange potion ingredient no one has ever heard of before. You know it's something you would do, so searching out there is reasonable, but have mercy on that poor eagle."

"I'm w...waiting for the Convocation to leave, especially Kamagishi the brain sucker and the interrogatrix Fassex."

"Interrogatrix?"

"You know it fits."

"And Tom is worried about you. Did you know he paces when he's anxious?"

"Yes, I know."

"You should have left a note. You could even have taken me with you. We could have gone fishing. I am supposed to look after you, you know."

"Oh, blarg. Look, Blubber Brains, if I had left a note, it would have taken too long, and I would have gotten caught."

"Has anyone ever told you, Grandma, that you're incorrigible?"

"Why, Asgotl, that's the nicest compliment I think you've ever given me."

"Tom?" I asked. "Do you mean the Revered Tom, blessed by Galt?"

"That's right, youngster," the griffin tilted his head to speak to me.

"Are you her? The Blessed Emily!?"

The Coyn girl sighed and slumped. "Busted. Yep, I am Emily. Please don't hold it against me."

Before I could react, the rider laughed. It was a young woman. She jumped down and dropped her hood, revealing she was a silverhair, taller than Senlyosart. Then she bowed her head and held her hands out toward me, palms up. Was that an East Coast greeting?

"I, Moo'upegan nu Mattakwonk, greet the youngest Revered One. May I ask your name, blessed of Sassoo?" She looked up and smiled. "It's hard to miss your godmark." She had the clipped, nasal accent of the East Coast traders.

"Mattakwonk? As in the imperial house of Mattamesscontess?"

"Ah, you know your comparative kingdoms." The lady grinned.

Reflexively, I scrambled to my feet and made a proper Impotuan bow to royalty, one hand out, one hand behind my back. "I am Sidros Arkalkin, a ward of the Singing Shrine. I am honored to meet you, Exalted One."

"You have an Impotuan accent," the Exalted One said.

"I'm from Naver Province."

"Naver Province, filled with wheat fields west of the Stem River," she nodded, as if remembering lessons. Maybe she was.

"You're from Mattamesscontess," I stated. "What brought you here?"

"Asgotl, just now." She beamed at her own joke, and the griffin snorted.

Well, the dive had been amazing flying. I wanted to try it.

"Asgotl, can you take Sidros for a stall turn?" asked the Exalted Moo'upegan. Did she read my mind?

"He doesn't have levitation magic if he falls," Asgotl replied.

"I can fix this," Emily said. "We can stuff Ud's shirt over his head. He could look out the neck hole or wear it around his neck. Everyone, turn around." So we did. A moment later, the Prophet made me kneel down and stuffed a Coyn-sized white sleeveless shirt over my head. "This is a magic tool, Sidros. You won't get hurt if you fall if you're wearing it. I believe it should fit on your head." The shirt stretched uncomfortably as it went over my nose, but once my eyes lined up with the neck hole, it wasn't bad at all. It fit like a sock.

The Exalted Moo'upegan helped me onto the griffin's back and strapped me into the saddle. "You need to wrap the bridle strap around your wrists like this," she advised. "The force of the wind will push you back, so you need to be holding on with the bridle strap to stay forward." She then fastened a belt from the back of the saddle tree around my waist and cinched it. "The pressure and speed are extreme. The waist belt will keep you in the saddle in case you pass out."

"Can that happen?" I asked.

"Yes, if the drop is too fast. And you're not used to flying. Changing altitude quickly can mess with your balance. It will be your first time, so it's prudent to make sure you stay seated. Keep your head close to Asgolt's neck on the descent. It will help to cut down on how much your eyes water when going fast."

"I'll take it easy on him," the Blessed Asgotl said. "Sidros isn't dressed for flying, so I'll make the flight short, or he'll get too cold. Is he ready?"

"Yes. I hope you find it fun, Sidros, because I'm sure I, Asgotl, and Emily will get into trouble for letting you do this."

"Then, we're off. Hold on tight, youngling."

The initial leap off the gallery took me by surprise. Asgotl first flew around the dome, and then he started climbing. He flew up and up and up. The view was amazing. Then he lost speed as his ascent steepened. For a scary moment, it felt like Asgotl was motionless with his beak pointing up at the blue of the sky. Then, he fell over to the side, and my stomach felt like it was going to erupt out of my mouth. My head spun as we fell sideways and then straight down.

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It took me a few moments to orient myself as we plummeted downward. With tears streaming from my eyes from the speed, Asgotl took us over the river and the docks. I felt like I could have reached out and touched the masts of the tallest riverboats. We were going so fast that the docks flashed past us in less than two breaths. We were still flying at speed as we approached the turn in the river before the big waterfall and the canal locks.

By the time we returned and landed on the gallery, Aunt Senlyosart had joined the Exalted One and the Prophet on the gallery. The Prophet was backed up against Moo'upegan, and it looked like my Mistress was delivering contrary words at her.

Senlyosart turned as Asgotl landed and rounded on the griffin.

"You miserable, incorrible, bad example of a revelator, the only reason you aren't being sent for twenty years of hauling sulfur from the mines at Kas is because the Queen asked me to leave your disciplining to her. And you, Sidros, are too young to be flying by yourself. Saddles aren't built for children."

"Holy One, if I may," Asgotl said, "this saddle has been modified to accommodate someone as small as Emily. And Sidros had Ud's magic shirt, so he was safer than I was in that flight."

"I understand now why the Queen becomes so vexed with you at times." Then Senlyosart removed the shirt and handed it to the Prophet. "You, young man," she skewered me with her eyes. "I thought this was your time to be working on your mathematics assignment from Master Yox."

"I was practicing my divine when the Well filled up with high priestesses, so I was waiting for them to go away before coming down," I admitted. "I have until dinner to finish my homework. But the Blessed Emily gave me a really great lesson on playing the divine. It was worth the extra dining hall duty if I got caught with an undone assignment."

"You have a bell and a half before dinner, child, so you'd better go and get your work done." She undid the saddle straps and lifted me down from Asgotl's back. "The Well is now empty, so you don't need to worry about any unexpected guests in the shrine." She sighed. "Was it fun?"

"It was completely and totally wicked!" I tried not to smile but failed. "Can I do it again?"

"Not if you want me to survive chewing my fingernails off, young man. Now scoot. I need to finish intimidating the Prophet."

"But I was the one who suggested that Asgotl take the Revered One for a ride," the Exalted Moo'upegan said.

"You're visiting royalty," Senlyosart shook her head. "I need to avoid any actions that might precipitate a war."

"Don't worry, little Emily," Moo'upegan said, "I'll protect you from the high priestess." She grinned and patted the Coyn on the head.

"Holy One, I have your chair," the Revered Twipdray appeared, pushing the wheeled chair.

"I was going to go down the way I came up," Aunt Senlyosart said.

"Yes, the Queen told me you levitated. Yes, levitation would be quicker for you. No, I will take you back down myself because you are going back to bed. You need to keep that leg up, and that won't happen when you sneak back into your office. Don't glower at me in that tone of voice, Holy One. Both you and I know that's what you intended to do. I swear you're forty-seven going on four. Don't force me to use the Grace of Mugash on you . . . again."

Emily, Singing Shrine, Black Falls, Cold Season, 1st rot., 3rd day

Asgotl stepped between me and Moo'upegan as Senlyosart, Sidros, and Twipdray headed down the ramp.

"Psst, Emily. Put your shirt back on. I want to show you something, but it involves some flying."

"Blubber Brains, both of us are already in line for more verbal flogging. I'm sure Aylem is waiting in ambush somewhere at the bottom of the ramp. I wouldn't be surprised if Lisaykos were lurking too."

"It will only take a moment, Em. Besides, we're already in the stew pot with just about everyone, so a little more trouble will not substantially change that. So get that shirt on and let's go before someone catches us."

"You certainly don't want me to figure out you're up to no good," Moo said, grinning. "Don't force me to stop you. I'm just going to stroll ever so slowly down the ramp . . ."

I ducked behind a pillar and took care of putting on Ud's shirt.

"You didn't need to hide, Em," Asgotl chuckled. "There's no one up here other than you and me." He lay down so I could climb up into the saddle.

"I can see at least ten mounts in the air, Blubber Brains." I strapped myself onto the saddle.

"Make sure you wrap the bridle straps around your wrists good and tight, Em. You ready?"

"Whenever you are."

Asgotl stood up and leapt off the edge of the gallery. What a show off. He could have used one of the four roof platforms on top of the four wings that radiated off the northwest and southwest quadrants of the dome.

From the air, the Singing Shrine was asymmetrical. The dome wasn't circular. It was a fat oval with the long axis aligned east-west. It was also freestanding, one of only two in the kingdom. The other freestanding dome was the Crystal Shrine, which was made of quarried pumice. In contrast, the dome at the Singing Shrine was made of Ud's solidified web, which appeared whiter than white in the sunlight.

Abutting the dome chamber to the east was a smaller dome, a story shorter. The top floor housed a performance hall with a landing platform and doors for mounts. The second and third floors housed classrooms, lecture halls, and offices. The ground floor was the antechamber to the dome chamber. Four wings jutted out from the smaller dome, two on the north and two on the south.

The main entrance into the shrine was on the east end of the structure, with great bronze doors between two towers. The three sets of doors were tall enough that eagles could walk into the shrine.

Looking down at the shrine from above, I realized that if I squinted just right, the outline of the shrine building was a spider. The lesser dome was the cephalothorax. The great dome was the abdomen. The towers were truncated pedipalps, and the eight wings were the spider legs.

This was my second time in Black Falls since the shrine had been rebuilt. The first time was when I stopped here with Kamagishi, Moxsef, and Sutsusum, on our way back from Sussbesschem to attend Kayseo's wedding. Because of the riots and the need to get to Aybhas, I spent my short visit entirely at the garrison, so I never noticed the layout of the shrine. Now that I was joyriding with Asgotl, I had time to sightsee, and the design of the shrine is what I saw. I wonder if anyone else had noticed.

As Asgotl began his climb, a rider on an eagle followed us. In fact, the eagle closed the gap between us. He got close enough that I recognized Cadrees, which meant the rider had to be Usruldes. I wondered if he was wearing his wraith suit or his Lord Irhessa suit instead.

Once Asgotl initiated the stall turn, I lost sight of Usruldes and Cadrees. The dive took us over the river. While Asgotl was still gliding faster than normal flight, he squawked. That was his warning to me to hold on tight. He had never used the warning before. Then, the world tilted to the left, and it kept tilting. I looked left at the ground. Then, I looked up at the ground. Soon, I looked to my right at the ground.

Asgotl had perfected a barrel roll.

As we leveled out and banked to return to the shrine, Usruldes and Cadrees caught up and flew alongside. Usruldes made a point of folding his arms and glowering at me. He did that all the way to the dome.

Asgotl, the show-off, flew into the dome and landed in front of the Well of Sassoo. Cadrees followed.

"You!" Usruldes was off Cadrees and next to me faster than I could undo my saddle straps. He was in his Lord Irhessa suit, complete with courier cape under the flying cloak. "When you're off doing stuff for gods, I worry less on the premise that the gods will watch over you. But when you're here, in my jurisdiction, could you please make sure you have a shadow before you go running off? You've been missing since you left the parting grounds this morning."

"What? I snuck out without a wraith on my tail?"

"All day." He threw his hands in the air. "We're shorthanded right now. Some prophet who shall remain nameless but whose initials are Emily Courage was sharing a wraith with Tom, whom she sometimes sleeps with. The wraith followed Tom as he fetched more morning buns, and the Prophet snuck out without a shadow."

"No way! I ditched a wraith." I pumped a fist. "Yes!"

"I don't see any reason to celebrate. Your safety is my responsibility." He stopped the glowering routine and sighed, slumping his shoulders and shaking his head. "Given your ability to attract trouble, I do worry about you, Em. I have two squads of lady wraiths flying down right now to take on watching over you and your friend, the Empress. The first ones will arrive this evening. The rest will be here tomorrow. You won't even know they're there, like usual. For tonight and tomorrow morning, please stick with Tom, so his wraiths can keep an eye on you. Mother is not heading back until tomorrow to give Melk more time to recover. I assume you're heading to Aybhas with her."

"Oh, crappola. Tom. I'm doomed."

"Try to be kind to the poor man. He's been pacing a hole in the Holy Senlyosart's rushmats since you snuck out. He worries about you more than he lets on. It's alright, you know, to share those burdens you carry on those tiny shoulders of yours. Galt didn't bless Tom just because he's pretty and plays the divine. Just a suggestion, Great Bug."

"Oh."

"I feel the Queen walking this way," Usruldes said to Asgotl. "If you want to make an escape, Great One, now's the time." Usruldes cast a charm to undo all my saddle straps and lifted me in his arms. "Go, you stubborn feather head. The Queen wi'll be easier to deal with when she cools off."

Asgotl nodded. "Thanks, friend." With that, he was gone, winging his way out through the gallery.

And then, there was Aylem looming over me. I tried to hide behind Usruldes's arms while this force of nature bore down upon me. I was going to say something, but the sight of those two monstrous fists unnerved me, and all my gumption fled.

"How many lashes before something that little dies?"

"Thirty. Bet you ten silver."

You are a memory. Get out of here. I don't have time for you.

"You mean, it will survive thirty lashes or it will die before thirty lashes?"

"It will die before thirty lashes?"

"What about if it lives to thirty and then dies immediately afterward?"

"Then I lose, because it lived to see thirty lashes."

Get out of my brain. Get out of here. Out! Out! Out!

" . . . ur eyes. That's it. Look at my finger . . ."

"Creepy thing. I ain't ever seen one don't scream when lashed."

"That was thirty. You lose. Pay up."

" . . . ily . . . can you look at your right hand? Emily? Come on, Em. I know you can hear me. Now, look right here, at your . . . "

" . . . not sure she hears you. Her eyes focused for a breath, and then we lost her again. Now, look here? Em? You hear me, little one?"

Why was Usruldes asking weird questions?

"Yes, you hear me. That's good. Can you nod, little one? Can I see a nod for yes?"

I nodded.

"How about shaking your head no?"

I shook.

"Can you talk, little one?"

"Don't think so."

"Got it." Usruldes grinned at me. "Talking is currently not available."

I nodded.

"My inclination is to call for my mother, Great One," Usruldes said to someone behind me who I couldn't see. "You triggered a bad memory. It was a vivid recollection which overlapped as an hallucination on top of her current waking perception."

A large sigh erupted in back of me. "Curse my lack of control," Aylem said. "I know better than this. Yes, call for your mother. I'm the one who set Emily off again, so I shouldn't be around her for now. Please let me know when it is safe to pay her a goodwill visit."

My memory was a muddle after that. My next coherent thought came when I woke up in a Cosm-sized bed. I was in a brushed linen nightgown and soft stockings.

"Oh, look! The bed bear awakens!" Tom gushed. "How kind of you to rejoin the world of the living, miss run-away-from-home." His tone of voice shifted from sarcastic to worried without transition. "How are you feeling? Lisaykos will be coming, now that you're awake."

"What bell is it?"

"Quarter past the seventh bell. Most everyone is finishing up with dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Not sure. I haven't eaten since mid repast, so I should try to eat something. You eaten?"

"No, I took over watching so the others could eat. Lord Irhessa promised to bring me something."

"Tom, what happened? Why am I in bed, and I don't know how I got here?"

"The Queen triggered a flashback."

"The last thing I remember is Lord Irhessa expressing his concern in the dome, after Asgotl and I landed. Was the Queen there? I don't remember."

"I think I will let the Blessed Lisaykos answer those questions for you, Mouse."

"Is Asgotl okay? He did a barrel roll. I'm sure Aylem had a cow. Tell me Asgotl is alright."

"The Queen has returned to Is'syal. Asgotl is at the mounts' residence, waiting to give you a ride to Aybhas. Does that answer your question?"

"Sounds like he's fine. That's good. What for dinner? I smell something yummy."

"That's because it is yummy," Usruldes said, barging into the bedroom with a tray table piled with skewers. "I bring fried salt shrimp and berry sauce, a Black Falls specialty. There should be more than enough for all three of us."

While we ate, Lisaykos arrived. When the food was gone, she shooed Tom and Usruldes out. Then, the two of us had a talk. She warned me that the Convocation wanted to meet with me in five days, on the eighth day of the rotation.

"I would prefer that you rest for two to three rotations before facing my sisters of the Convocation," Lisaykos stated, sitting back in her armchair and steepling her fingers. "However, the Convocation would not tolerate that. I'm the one who suggested a half rotation, which is long enough for you to relax a bit, but short enough that my sisters would agree to it. I'm sorry it is so short. Regardless, I will follow Lyappis's advice and prescribe that you goof off for four days. Just be in Aybhas for morning repast on the eighth day.

"If you visit the hot springs, please take Aylem or my son with you. I've also arranged a hired griffin for the Empress while she's here. He's Kalstrebl. He was the mount of one of the wraiths who died in the attack on the Healing Shrine last year. He'll be flying down in the morning. I also have an invitation for you from the Holy Sutsusum and Irralray, to visit the new road and the bridge project at Kas. And, of course, you could sneak off to your little house in Omexkel at the Building Shrine, where Raoleer has a variety of glass and rubber creations she wants to show you.

"Last, the Gang of Three will be at the new manse in Pinisla through the end of the rotation. Kayseo has set up a guest room just for you and Tom. She hinted that you should come and visit. That would allow you to meet Twessera and Thuorfosi's future husbands. Well, Thuorfosi hasn't formally agreed yet, but her sister, who is Thuorfosi's current head of household, has already sealed the contract. And the signs we observed during the handfasting were quite good."

"We?"

"Katsa and me. It's harder marrying off sons, and my daughter has three."

"That was a spontaneous smile, Lisaykos, and now you are grinning. Are you setting up Thuorfosi with one of the Gunndit grandsons?"

"Nothing is official until all parties have sealed the contract. I have no other statement to make at this time."

"Maybe I should kidnap you, and we can run off to the hot springs. I feel like I need to hear three seasons of news, and I can't think of a better source."

"Wouldn't Kamagishi be better at this than I?"

"Maybe her delivery would be a bit bubbly in spots, but I estimate the factual content would be equivalent. Both of you have skewed worldviews as nobles, so you notice and report similar things, like the great game of arranged marriages and economic opportunities presented by a proposed bridge over the Rig River Ravine. But then, when she's done telling me the news, she will bribe me for details about the latest adventure. She has a bribe that I have no fortitude to turn down. Kamagishi has me already wrapped up and ready to victimize, and we both know it. So, no, I believe I would like to hear the news from you, please."

"But crossing the Great Cracks? At this time of year?"

"We don't need to go to the hot springs if you don't want to. Though your brother sounded interested in them. The weather is really nice for the start of the Cold Season. Sleeping in the shelters is comfortable with a barrier and some warmth charms. If the weather holds for two or three days, now would be the time. I'm sure you haven't been camping in a while, so it'll be fun – fishing for dinner, cooking over a fire, sleeping under the stars . . ."

"You mean, outside? That's for small holders and hunters. And cooking over a fire? Emily, dearest, I know nothing about cooking, and I have never caught a fish. No, not my idea of fun."