“Olla!” he hollered at the house. A minute later, the door opened and Olla came out to the gate.

“Bren,” she said warmly, “It is good to see you. Would you like to come in for some tea? Where is the family?”

“Inside the wagon. It is getting late and we wanted to get settled at the inn before we started visiting, but I had an important letter for you from Tarana from South Hill.” He held out the letter and Olla took it. He turned away to get back up on the wagon.

“Wait, Bren,” Olla said as he was climbing up. “How long will you be here?”

‘Just through tomorrow, then leaving the next morning, did you need me to take something?” he asked.

“Yes, I think I do. I’ll have it ready before you leave,” she turned to go back into her house.

Bren snapped the reins over the backs of his oxen. They heaved forward, straining against the heavy weight of the wagon. Once it started to roll, they eased up to a slow plodding. The road sloped downhill toward the center of the village and Bren had to keep his hand on the brake to keep the wagon from crashing over the oxen. Pulling the wagon back around behind the blacksmith’s shop, his brother pulled his wagon up next to it. The men began unhitching the oxen from the wagons, the blacksmith had given them the use of his back pasture to let the animals graze while they stayed. Della, Laeg and the children went up to the inn to get rooms and settle in for the night.

Bren and Kern went into the tavern. Della had already gotten them bowls of a thick stew and loaves of a dark brown bread. The children were finished eating, so she took them upstairs to get them into bed.

The tavern grew busier as the evening progressed. Mara, the bar maid, was kept spinning around the room, filling mugs and serving food. Laeg followed her with his eyes, Bren noticed. A few men joined them at their table, trading news and stories for a while. One of the men started complaining about the weather. The other agreed, saying that the cold season was coming much too soon. The storm a couple nights ago had caused a great deal of damage from the wind, and the trees were almost bare already. Kern mentioned the branch that had fallen across the road, and the other men told him that the storm had been much worse farther north. After many mugs of ale, the two brothers called it a night. They went up to their rooms to turn in. They would be making the rounds the next day, visiting and collecting messages.