[littlemanpoet]

She glanced at Nydfara with a grin. "Yes, as always." She looked to the front again and switched the side of meat to her other hand, away from him. "And you dally before setting to your own work." It was a playful jibe.

Why was he suddenly talking to her now? What had she done to earn his notice? Did she really want it? These questions raced through her mind. But they were quickly followed by even more pressing questions: what was on his mind when he was so quiet? Where had he come from? What had he been up to in the past? She would place coin on it, had she any, that his life was not so different than hers.

"But I want to know," she continued, "why have you worked with such a will on the old ruin when most folks here like to vary what they do?"