The birds were beginning to sing as Asphodel rolled over in her blankets. She half-opened her eyes.
Suddenly, she was wide awake and sitting up.
There on a log, feeding the fire with some fresh twigs, was a dwarf. He had chestnut-brown hair and a beard. His eyes were hazel, and he wore leather armor. A folded grey cloak lay on the floor by his side.
Panic rising, she looked around for Carthinal and saw him lying slumped against the log on which he had been sitting. She jumped to her feet in a fighting crouch, ready to use her combat skills. She took in the dwarf and noticed his crossbow lying on the floor by his side, with the bolts next to it. Also lying there was a dwarven battle axe.
She sniffed the air. She could smell cooking meat, and saw a rabbit on a spit over the fire.
“Well,
