New Questions Around the Fire

The fire crackled and spoke as the night was forced back by the amber light of the flames. Kline looked Lafayette over slowly across from the fire as he and Kalena were drinking. He did not look like a bandit, more like a noble, and this only concerned him more. “Yes, we will pay the young Master a visit.” He added when Kalena was speaking of Tyreth. “He need not know you directed me to him, and if his Uncle is dead, then I am sure he would want to know what we found. If anything, it will show us the truth of the matter.” Kline said firmly as he watched Kalena become drunk.

He smiled, was she really becoming drunk, or was she putting on a show. He did not know, and it dawned on him, he did not know either of them well.

He pushed the idea back when she kissed his cheek; his face burned bright red as she whispered. He focused on the words but the kiss was like a hot echo on his flesh he could not ignore.

He watched her vanish into the tent, watching the tent for a while after she left.

The darkness was like a black veil around them, not even the sky was through the trees above them. The fire danced between them as they sat in silence a moment, the woods filling the quiet with the sounds of the night creatures.

"So your traveling companion is quite something, is she not?" he asked Kline as he corked the wine. The man didn't seem to want any, so he was put it away. "What sorts of wines do you produce at your le cru... vineyards?" he questioned as he took a drink. "Merlort? Pino nior? Resling?" he took a sip of wine.

Kline shrugged. “To be honest, I do not know. I only own the place, I have people who have lived there for generations who tend the fields and make the wine. Some of the bottles they have in the collection are older than me, older then Dalen itself.” He said and leaned back on a bedroll. The large man reclined, his feet out to the side of the fire and half of him illuminated by it. “I am not really a fan of wine, I prefer ales or drinks more fitting to brace a man. Old habit I guess, I did not grow up drinking the stuff, it was more for the rich, the slave owners and the nobles.” He shrugged.

“You did?” He asked. “You seem, well, out of place here, tell me about yourself. How did you get here?” He asked softly. “What about your family? What are you looking for here? What do you do for a living? Do you have to work?”