Arvid said, “Come on, we can leave the thralls to get the rest. I am hungry and Gudrun will be expecting me to turn up soon. She always knows when the boat is coming in. Gunnar will come by later, when he is finished with our lord.”
He stepped back on to the boat and shouldered his iron bound chest. Gwenn did the same, and followed him along the jetty and into the town. They walked side by side on the path following the sandy shores of the river and Arvid pointed out the tanneries and smelters hard by the dock area. Gwenn wrinkled her nose at the acrid odor of the chemicals used in leather processing. She peered with interest in the blacksmith’s shop, and had a brief moment of homesickness when she saw a tall leather-aproned man bending over an anvil. But her attention was soon diverted a
