anything else, just call me.’ She added, ruffling the boy’s hair and nodding slightly to the beastman. She quickly left to attend to her duties, and they were left alone once more.
‘Hmmm… A strong-willed woman,’ the knight suddenly seemed more interested in the maid in her prime than in breakfast.
‘Yes, but even so, compared to Mum, she’s very lenient.’ Einar quickly piled roasted meat and salted fish onto his plate, cut a thick slice of still-warm bread, and scooped up some fresh fruit to go with it.
‘At the feast, she seemed… Hmmm… Friendly?’ It seemed that Ceet sometimes had minor difficulties with the Ytren language, which was, however, widely used by merchants, making it, alongside Xuindonian, Dwarven, the Nakher dialect and Elvish, one of the most widespread languages.
‘She usually is, unless she catches us slacking off during lessons, or uncovers yet another of Kari and Leif’s antics.’ The boy sighed and set about eating. His companion watched him for a moment and, following his example, focused on his meal.
They ate their breakfast in silence, and it turned out that it wasn’t just Einar who ate for two; Tahon matched him in appetite, with the result that everything edible vanished from the table. They also emptied a jug of gethun juice and another of herbal tea.
‘Oh, I haven’t... hmmm... eaten so well in ages,’ muttered the knight, slumping lazily into his chair. ‘It’s nothing like the food on the ship, or even what they served us in Iverlis.’
‘I can well imagine.’ Einar was just finishing the fruit cake that the good Gudrid had brought them for dessert in the meantime. ‘The longest journey I’ve ever been on was a two-day voyage to a neighbouring jarl’s estate, and I must admit that when I got back, I couldn’t bear the sight of salted meat and sauerkraut for a whole week.’ He shuddered slightly, realising there wasn’t much time left before his first expedition, during which he’d have to make do with a monotonous diet.
‘You get used to it, but you still... hmmm... crave something
