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He must have dozed off for he’s startled awake when Miko sticks his head in the tent to say, “Dinner’s ready.”

“Be right there,” he says as he sits up. The interior of the tent is dark, the sun must have gone down already. Miko holds the flap open for him while he gets up and makes his way outside.

From the entrance to his tent, he has a commanding view of the Sea as it stretches eastward to the horizon. A few boats are still upon its surface, the lights from their lanterns visible in the deepening gloom of twilight as they make their way home.

“Is Delia back yet?” he asks.

“Not yet,” replies Miko. “Illan said if she wasn’t back soon he was going to send someone to find her.

“She should have been back by now,” he says worried. He spies Illan over to the side near the campfire getting a plate of food from Nerrin who pulled cook duty this evening. Son of an innkeeper, he tends to cook better than most and pulls it more often than the others. Miko they won’t allow to perform this particular duty. Uther said he tried to poison them all the last time. James had to admit the stuff he put in that concoction he called stew didn’t go well together.

Walking over, he accepts a plate from Nerrin and walks with Illan off to the side. “She’s not back yet?” he asks.

Shaking his head, Illan replies, “No, she’s not. Give her another half hour and we’ll send Scar and Potbelly to find her.”

“Alright,” he agrees, concern in his voice.

Jiron is eating with his sister Tersa near the slingers’ area, Aleya and Errin are with them as well. Those four tend to be together more than the others. A bond has grown between Aleya and Errin, and it seems Tersa has begun to join their group. Perhaps because they’re the only girls among all the men. Delia, though a woman as well, is in a position of authority which puts her at some distance from them.

“Finally!” Miko exclaims from the side of the camp closest to Pyrtlin.

James looks up to see Delia returning with the three lads in tow. The packs they’re carrying are bulging from the food they acquired. He finishes the last of his food quickly and hands his tray back to Nerrin on his way over to greet her. “We were getting worried about you,” he says.

“Now don’t be fretting,” she says. “I ran into someone I knew from back before the City fell and we got to talking.”

Behind her James sees Moyil grinning and gesturing with his hand, moving the fingers to the thumb over and over while mouthing ‘yackity yackity yackity’. She glances over her shoulder at him and he stops, all the while putting on an innocent face. James can’t help but smile.

She must have caught what he was doing out of the corner of her eye because her lips curl into a slight frown. Turning back to James, she says, “We bought as much as we could carry. The prices are more than we thought, things around here are scarce. If we succeed, I may start trading between Cardri and Madoc. There’s a profit to be made here.” Despite having put her trading career on hold for the time being, she still sees things as a trader would.

“I’m sure there is,” he says.

Turning back to her helpers, she says, “Moyil, if you would be so kind as to help me distribute these among the packhorses before you eat, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“But I’m hungry,” he complains. He looks to James for help.

“Don’t look at me,” he says.

Crestfallen and starving, he takes the packs from Jace and Caleb and proceeds over to where the horses are tied.

Delia flashes James a grin and follows him over. Maybe he’ll think twice before making fun of her behind her back again.

After everyone, including Moyil who received a scant portion due to his lateness in reaching the cook pot, finishes eating they come together at the center fire pit near the center of camp. There they continue in the tradition James had established back at The Ranch where stories are told and songs are sung.

Tonight Scar and Potbelly are in rare form as they relate a tale of how back at the City of Light when they were