The heavy wooden gate of the manor creaked open as Liam stepped into the courtyard, still clutching the trussed-up mother hen by its feet. Immediately, he was greeted by a cacophony of frantic clucking. To his utter bewilderment, two other hens were already strutting across the dirt, their feathers flying in a panicked flurry at his arrival.
"Master! Why did you bring another one?" Iris hurried to his side, nimbly dodging a stray feather. Her eyes flitted from Liam’s bruised face to the bird in his hand, a look of genuine confusion clouding her features.
"Where in the name of the ancestors did these two come from?" Liam asked, staring at the sudden influx of poultry as if they were invaders from a rival sect.
"One was brought by Mistress Elena," Iris explained, suppressing a giggle. "An
