[Envinyatar]

It was late afternoon before Derufin came back to the Inn. His headache had cleared in the peaceful setting of the clearing around The Pool, and his stomach had quieted down with the help of Cook’s strong peppermint tea. So much better was his stomach, in fact, that it had started to protest it was in need of sustenance.

‘Come, Falmar,’ he said, twisting his fingers in the horse’s mane, and leaping up to clamber onto her back, ‘we should see to the other denizens of the stable. Vanwe, I think, has probably been kept quite busy with the attic, and I’m sure the ponies and horses are chafing in their stalls.’

Derufin turned her head southwest and headed across the Great East Road and to the turn-off for the Inn. He was pleased to see, as he rode up, that someone had brought the horses to the out door pen beneath the great tree. He settled Falmar in with the others, and forked some fresh hay into the hayracks on each end of the wooden fenced oval.

A quick trip to his room for a fresh shirt, and a few handfulls of water sluiced over his face and he deemed himself ready to go back into the hubbub of the Inn. Passing the mirror just inside the door to his room, he stopped, running his hands over the stubble sprouted there on his jowls. ‘No time to shave!’ his stomach grumbled at him, urging him out the door.

The back door to the kitchen was open and the smells of the lamb and vegetable stew cook was making enticed him into a quickened pace. ‘Well,’ he said, entering the fragrant arena, and stealing a cookie from the racks cooling near the door, ‘I’m back! What’s to eat?’

Cami hurried through, a verdigris sconce in her hands. ‘There you are!’ she said, shaking the rather ugly item at him as if to emphasize her point. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you!’ She took his hand and pulled him out toward the door to the Common Room. ‘Come with me! I have need of you!’
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Please note that the time in the Inn has now moved to late afternoon.