telling amusing anecdotes. Einar quickly realised that he wasn’t doing very well at this, especially as the forced laughter sounded rather unconvincing. The First Officer, seated next to Alrik, kept his eyes fixed on his plate, and it was actually difficult to say anything about his mood. Meanwhile, the knight Livitus, sitting even further away, looked at everyone with condescension and resentment, which meant he did not come across as a good person to talk to.
Only Tahon, sitting at the end of the table opposite Einar, smiled and greeted the jarl’s sons warmly. The beastman also quickly struck up a conversation with Toinen, praising him for his fighting skills and asking him what weapons he had learnt to use. Surprisingly quickly, he drew all of Einar’s brothers and Captain Svenson into the conversation and managed to lift the mood somewhat, so that by the time the first course was served, the atmosphere was no longer quite so sombre.
The meal was enlivened mainly by the conversations between Ceet and the young Ansons. The other diners remained silent for various reasons, and it was not easy to draw them into any discussion. The strongest reaction came to Tahon’s suggestion; he offered to teach Einar a thing or two about sword fighting if he had time after dinner. He was quick to extend the same offer to anyone else who was interested. Toinen agreed before his mother could say a word, though she was already about to speak up. Einar soon realised that she wasn’t the only one who had objections; Livitus, who had suddenly become even more annoyed, and Hex, who seemed to have got a bit of a fright, were also preparing to voice their concerns.
All the brothers also reacted enthusiastically to the offer. Unfortunately, Surt remembered that he hadn’t finished, and would probably not finish for a few days yet, cataloguing the spoils they’d brought back. Bragi, however, was brought back to reality by their father's lingering gaze, and the eldest son politely apologised, saying he had to attend to his duties. So it was decided that
