[piosenniel]

The ride back to the Inn was a silent one. Laurie appeared to be deep in thought as Nell trudged alongside ‘Falmar, and Pio did not wish to intrude.
Only the clop , clop of the hooves on the dirt path broke the quiet.

The Elf’s own mind was turned to thoughts of simpler days. The Foam singers, that is how the Telerin had named themselves. Their voices and the harmony of their very movements adding truth to their naming. They had taken her in as one of their own, teaching her to love the sea. A child of Ulmo she had become, brown under the sun, her arms and legs taking her far into the currents and deep into the depths. She had reveled in the freedom, even now wishing she could sink into the salty arms of the waves.

She shook off these wandering thoughts as they approached the Inn, and turned into its courtyard. They stabled the horses and after wiping them down and feeding them, Pio turned to go into the Dragon. She paused, looking to see if Laurie was coming in also.

Laurie stood near Nell still, and Pio drew near her. ‘If you wish to speak with me of the matters that were brought up at Amaranthas, please feel free to come to my rooms later. I will leave it up to you to ask what you wish to know.’

Pio walked slowly to the door of the Green Dragon and entered the familiar warmth and gaiety of the Common Room. She went behind the bar, and grabbed an apron off the hook to put on.

‘Ale on the House!’ she announced loudly to the room, smiling broadly. Reaching below to the shelves beneath the bar, she began setting up rows of pint glasses on the bar top.