‘Are you going back to Heirn’s tonight?’ Rinter asked as casually as he could, anxious, despite his euphoria, not to lose his contact with Atlon.
‘No, I’ve got a place in the Jyolan,’ Pinnatte replied. ‘Well, a room and three blankets at the moment, until I can get a bed and some bits of furniture.’
Rinter tried to look pleased but it was not easy and he stammered a little when he spoke. ‘Oh. That’s lucky. Are you going to tell Heirn and Atlon about your good fortune?’
Pinnatte hesitated. The blacksmith had been decent enough to him — offered him a home, albeit temporary, and a bed — and kindness was not a common thing in his life. But his thoughts about Atlon were buffeting to and fro. He too had been kind and helpful, yet he had also been intrusive — prying into matters that did not c
