The hunters came back late afternoon and the crowd just stopped.
One full second of complete silence.
Then everyone started talking at once.
"How much is that—"
"That's from one day?"
"They got ELK—"
"Is that three boar or four—"
Kito pushed through to the front, looked at everything laid out, turned around and grabbed the arm of the nearest person.
"THAT IS SO MUCH MEAT," he said.
"I know," the person said.
"THAT IS SO MUCH."
"I can see it, Kito."
"But do you understand how much that IS—"
Talon and Renn walked in at the back. Talon said something. Renn made a short sound. They kept walking.
ฅᨐฅ ⚞ • ⚟ ฅᨐฅ
The fire started early because nobody wanted to wait.
Ordinary food. Regular evening meal. But people sat down faster than usual and closer together and the mood was nothing like any evening before it.
Bren put his cup down.
"River crossing," he said. "Three of us. Simple job."
"Was it simple?" Serak asked.
"It was supposed to be simple."
"But was it actually—"
