In the morning, Pettic woke to hear the sounds of the village coming awake. A cockerel crowed somewhere to the north, where he had entered the village. He heard the rattle of plates and the laughter of children as people prepared the first meal of the day.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes before dressing and going through to the living area of the hut. He found someone had been in and left water and a crude type of soap for him to wash. He rummaged in his pack until he found a razor and washed and shaved himself.
Just as he was finishing and towelling himself dry, someone rattled the bead curtain at the entrance. He assumed this was a request to enter and called out to the person to come in.
The curtain parted and a very pretty girl entered carrying a tray laden with unleavened bread and c
