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“At least the ale will be cheap” Snorri slapped what ht be our only copper on the beer-puddled counter

“Qu’est-ce que vous voulez boire?” the barkeep asked, still wiping someone’s spit from the tankard he intended to serve in

“Kesquer-what?” I leaned in over the counter, natural caution erased by six days of rain and the foul mood that torrent had exposed “Two ales The best you have!”

The man favoured me with the blankest of stares I drew breath to repeat myself rather more loudly

“Deux biéres s’il vous plaît et que vous vendez repas?” Snorri answered, sliding his coin forwards

“What the hell?” I blinked at hi over the barkeep’s reply “How—I mean—”

“I wasn’t raised speaking the Tongue, you know?” Snorri shook his head as if I were an idiot and took the first full tankard “When you’ve had to learn one new language you develop an interest in others”

I took the tankard fron The floating suds made an island that put me in mind of some alien place where they’d never heard of Red March and cut princes no slack That put a bad taste in my mouth before I’d even sipped it

“We of the North are great traders, you know?” Snorri continued, though what sign I’d given that I ine “Far o ships than in the holds of longboats returning froes Why, I myself—”

I turned away and tookSnorri to negotiate the food in whatever ue was required

Finding a space proved problematic The first burly peasant I approached refused toover his huge bowl of what looked to be shit soup, but slike “murdtet” as I moved off The rest of the ill-mannered louts kept to their seats, and in the end I had to squeeze into place beside a nearly spherical woin froiveknife—an ienerally not required for the consumption of soup—until Snorri ca offal

“Budge up,” he ordered, and the whole row of locals edged along, elatine as she undulated to the left, leaving sufficient room for the new addition