Going downstairs in the morning.

By the time Ria left her room, there was a wonderful smell coming from downstairs. Harvald was roasting a haunch of meat in the fireplace. The others were already up, and they were getting ready to eat.

Ria sat with them. Karn was there, sitting in the chair he appeared in in her dream. He shot her a strange smile when he saw her descending the stairs, and she looked away quickly, feeling a rush of warmth in her cheeks... and elsewhere. Brudd, however, sat in the chair her dream-self had been sitting in, so she sat between Yolna and Denni.

"Here you are, red-maned one," Harvald said, handing her a plate that held a slice of meat and a pile of mashed potato. "Now that you are all here, I will leave you to your questing. If you need me, I will be outside, patrolling the grounds."

With that, the big man left the seven youths alone.

"Okay," said Josk. He unfolded a map. "Let's make a plan."

"I say we go southeast, to the forest of the elves," Brudd said. "I have never had an elf woman, but I hear they're soft and willing if you can catch one."

"I think the kingdom of Alsforn is a good target," said Yolna. "Lots of riches there. And it's by the coast."

"We could go even farther south," said Hanna. "If we attack the orc camps, we could still return with a great prize, and it would be to the benefit of all human lands."

"But we don't care about Alsforn or and the rest," Yolna sneered. "We're just going to raid them, too."

"Are you okay, Ria?" Denni asked. "You seem distracted."

"I'm fine," Ria said. "Although..."