Dinner was a relaxed, hotchpotch affair, formal dining being an alien concept to Tartaria. A large pan of mostly unidentifiable sludge, that looked horrendous but smelled delicious, had been dumped on a hot stone beside the fire. There was a ladle in it so that people could help themselves. A pile of mismatched dishes and a basket of bread chunks had been left beside it. No cutlery or flatware of any kind was in evidence.
Familiar with this kind of arrangement, Iona was well aware that those who didn’t help themselves would starve so she rounded up the adventurers and herded them towards the food – all apart from Derek. She had gone to wake him up but found him sprawled face down, spread-eagled across his bed and Adarius"s bed beside it. He was cuddling an empty stoneware flask and mutter
