Private Crashing Circumstances

[Millu Lee]

It had been a tough week for Millu. There weren't many droid-fixing jobs available and she had begun to think that trying her luck in Nexus Ortai had been a mistake. Plus, the little money she had saved on the previous planet was dwindling every day, and soon she wouldn't have enough to pay rent for the week. So she decided to take whatever job offer was available. It couldn't be that bad, right? Also, the teenager was more than tired of that planet, and any job that could get her off-world for a bit would be a blessing. There was also the problem of figuring out what she was to do with the knowledge that she was force-sensitive. That was a little further to the back of her mind but was still preoccupying.

A few hours of asking around, and boom, a job. It wasn't exactly thrilling or anything, but it would get her off-world and pay for at least three days of food. It couldn't be that hard to just pick up a few crates of fruit and other goods from Thaere Privo back to Nexus Ortai, and to her employer. And, she would get to drive a small ship - on her own! It was only the second time the girl had driven a ship, and she didn't have a license, but of course she didn't tell her employer that. For all he knew, she was experienced enough to drive anything. She was desperate after all.

And alas, it truly wasn't very hard, or at least it shouldn't have been. It had been a mistake of hers, really. She knew that she should have checked the fuel levels before going off. But, she didn't. And the fuel wasn't enough to get to Thaere Privo and back. So she landed on Vandor. It wasn't exactly a beautiful landing, and Millu was pretty sure that the already damaged surface of the ship had gained a few more scratches that she hoped her boss wouldn't notice. The girl knew nothing about this planet, except that it was frigid. And that was certainly true. She was definitely cold as kriff. Her surroundings were all white snow. Snow everywhere. She didn't know where to find a city, where to find fuel, where to find people, for Force's sake.

"I'm screwed." she thought as she stepped out of the ship.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

Out of all the places that Beric's ancestors could've chosen to be their home, Vandor was certainly an odd one; or, at the least, if Beric had been in charge the mountainous, icy planet would be far from his top lists. The planet was inhospitable at best, and downright vicious at worst. Suspended in perpetual winter, the only springs that Vandor and Frosthall saw were ones where the snowfall was only a couple of meters, instead of twenty or thirty. During the winters, the planet was virtually untouchable and unreachable by starcraft, with even the best pilots finding the freezing winds and below-zero temperatures challenging their skills. As the spring and summer, if you could call it that, came, the atmosphere began to warm up ever-so-slightly, reopening trade with Vandor and the rest of the world.

As protector of Vandor and Lord of Frosthall, it fell onto Beric to ensure that newcomers did not find themselves sudden victims to Vandor's climate; the market town's spaceport was nothing near state-of-the-art to guide pilots into it, and every so often an unlucky freighter would find themselves confused by the quickly-changing conditions of the planet, and be forced to make an unplanned landing. With Beric's knowledge in the force, his ability to augment weather and increase his physical stamina, strength, and speed, it often fell onto him to rescue those who'd crashed into the mountain lands around Frosthall. Perhaps it was not the most 'lordly' of duties, but there was no other man or machine to do it. Besides, the Lord of Frosthall felt that the adventures out into the cold to be invigorating, to say the least.

As he reached the crash site, stowing away the almost primitive tracking beacon that he'd use to navigate here, he was surprised to see a figure next to the downed ship. It was a good sign, with most pilots crashing onto the mountains getting themselves severely injured, or worse. But what piqued his interest even more as he neared the ship was the pilot herself; a girl, with long dark brown hair that looked to young to be an adult, much less own a starship. But then again, he reflected what he might appear as to her; a lone hermit, perhaps, covered almost completely in a fur cloak that only showed his face, walking down the side of a snowy mountainslope. Not exactly the ideal or expected rescue force, if she expected one at all in the first place. He was getting closer to the ship -- thirty more paces, perhaps, and he'd practically be touching it -- and decided to call out, in case she hadn't seen him. "Welcome, traveler," he shouted over the high-pitched wind squealing through the canyons of Vandor, "although I'm afraid that you haven't been given the warm welcome that you would expect," he said as he continued to trudge through the snow.

 

[Millu Lee]

She was trying to think. How the kriff would she get out of this?! Millu had gone through many tough spots in her five years alone, but this time it seemed final. She was doomed. There was no one around and if she tried to search around for a city, it was obvious that she would die of cold pretty soon. The girl was trying not to panic, and as the cold started to become almost unbearable, she knew that her only option would be to get inside the ship, for the cold would soon overwhelm her otherwise.
So she decided to go back inside her ship, because the temperature was probably much better there.

But she didn't go, because suddenly, out of nowhere, she saw a figure in the distance. It was a man, completely wrapped in furs. It seemed he was coming in her direction. Hope and suspicion battled inside Millu's head. "Where the hell did this man come from?" and "Could he be my ticket out of this frozen rock?" were the most proeminent thoughts. As the stranger got closer, she could distinguish his facial features, and concluded that he looked too polished to be a random hermit (if frozen hells even had hermits), but that still didn't answer the "should I trust him" question.

She was startled out of her thoughts when he was about thirty steps from her, and actually spoke. To her. He seemed nice enough by his words, but it never hurt to have a little caution. So she did what any sane being would when meeting a stranger in the middle of nowhere: "Thanks for the welcome, and just, can I ask.. who are you and where the hell did you come from? Also, I didn't expect any welcome since I didn't land here on purpose."


Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

The girl responded with appreciative, but cautious words. Beric could nor did blame her; as he'd ruminated earlier, he did make a rather odd figure all by himself, hiking through the sparsely populated and snow-covered mountains that made Vandor. He had reached her by now, close enough to talk without having to shout over the wind. "My apologies. I am Beric Layne, Lord of Frosthall and Vandor. And I'm sorry about your ship -- flying through Vandor for the first time can be an exceptionally challenging experience, even for the best pilots," Beric offered in consolidation, trying to soothe what he assumed was the girl's frayed nerves. As he said that, he took note of her clothing and its likely inadequacy in the face of Vandor's biting cold. He knew that he'd have to get the girl back to Frosthall, where it was warm and dry and enough to eat and recuperate before she was sent on her way before she froze to death out here.

But first, he needed to ascertain the state of the girl's ship and if it would ever fly again. The smell of ozone wrinkled Beric's nose, and the smoke pouring from the engine compartment was enough of a telltale sign to tell the Lord of Frosthall that the girl's ship would not be in flying condition for a while. "I can get a salvage team out to fly this over to the repair yard, but firsts we need to get you back to Frosthall. Are you hurt, or can you walk?" Beric said as he turned back to the girl beside him. "And pardon me, but I seem to not have gotten your name."

 

[Millu Lee]

"So he's nobility? Hm... I think that means I can trust him, but just to be safe, I won't say anything too telling. At least until I know I can trust him." Thought the girl while looking at the strange man in front of her. She noticed that he was looking at the ship behind her, and immediately, her thoughts shifted over to the crashed starship. "Oh no. Oh NO. I'm definitely screwed. I'm so screwed. There's no way this will take less than three days to repair, and by then, boss will know for sure that there's something wrong."

Millu was shivering, her boss's ship was damaged, and a stranger had just told her that she needed to be taken somewhere. "Well, this is the worst day of my life." As she mulled over Lord Beric's words, she realized that all this time that she was thinking and panicking inside, she had been staring at the man in front of her, and it probably looked creepy. So Millu started speaking. "Lord Beric..? Is it? Well, my name is Millu, and I'd be really grateful if you could get my ship repaired." she spoke as she shot him a small smile. In her five years on her own, Millu slowly learned that it was always good to be nice to people you just met, even if you didn't trust them entirely. It made everyone more compliant. And it's always better to make friends than enemies.

Though the girl wasn't sure about going places with this stranger she had just met, at least it would get her out of the cold, and if he was a bad person, she'd just have to find a way out later. "Besides, he can't be that bad of a person if he is worried about my safety." It seemed like sound reasoning. "I can walk, I just got a few scratches and bruises. I'm fine. I'd like to know what is this place you'll be taking me to, though." She was really kriffing cold. It would be good to get out of here.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

"She'll be able to be repaired, I can assure you of that. But it will take longer than a couple of days, I'm afraid. That wasn't the prettiest of landings," Beric said with a slight frown as the smell of ozone wafted over to the pair. Fort Ypso's repair capabilities would be able to handle a ship in such strikes condition as Millu's, but it would take a while for the town's single repairman to make all the necessary repairs. As they stood there on the mountainside, the wind increased in its intensity as Vadnor's sun began to lower on the horizon. The night would come soon, and with it lethally freezing temperatures that even Beric did not want to leave to chance.

"We'll be going to Frosthall, my home. It's the closest structure to here, and you'll be able to stay and recuperate. We do not lack for room," the man said with a slight smile as he began to walk back the way he came. Beric's footprints had almost been re-covered by the relentless snow, but the man knew these mountains well; he would not get lost easily. Turning back around after he had walked ten paces or so, he rose a gloved hand and called out back to the girl. "I would come if I were you -- the cold during the night will be deadly in this cold," he yelled over the wind.

 

[Millu Lee]

Millu's face went through multiple expressions as Lord Beric explained that her ship would be repaired, but not so quickly. She would probably lose half of the money her employer had promised, since she would end up staying in Vandor for a least a week. There goes my good food. Damn. Her week had just gotten worse. She wasn't angry, though. Just resigned. Lately the girl hadn't been having much luck with anything, really.

After the accident with her last job and finding out she was force sensitive, the naive part of her being had hope for a moment that somehow, the galaxy would conspire in her favor and some kind of knight would pop out of nowhere and take her to an order, and she would finally be able to change the galaxy for the better as she always dreamed. She'd be some kind of protector of the poor and downtrod. And that is just one more dumb dream that is never going to come true.

But nothing had happened, and her situation in life had just been getting worse. She had spaced out again when she heard Lord Beric call to her. Duh, of course she would go with him. It's either that or dying out in the cold. And for bad as her life was, if there was something she wasn't willing to give up was her life. Millu then picked up her pace, in order to keep up with the man's strides. Treading through snow was actually harder than it seemed. "Is it too far from here? I'm really cold and walking through all this snow is hard!" sure, it probably sounded whiny, but Millu couldn't take all this white, cold, frozen hell around her. How the heck could this guy manage this everyday was beyond her understanding.

The teenager took her shawl that was around her neck and wrapped it around her torso. It was thin and didn't do much against the cold, but at least it was something. "I hope his house has some kind of heater!" the girl mumbled under her breath, only just loud enough to be heard if Lord Beric strained his hearing.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

The wind whipped around the pair as they trekked across the mountain landscape. Beric's trailblazing provided a somewhat clear path for the young girl -- her name was Millu, Beric had to remind himself -- to make her way without falling. The route back to Frosthall was mostly benign, but like all hikes on Vandor, any misstep provided an ample slide down icy slopes before a final, fatal fall. For Vandorian natives who'd lived among these dangers their whole life, it unfazed them; typically with offworlders, not so much. Beneath his fur cloak, Beric was quite warm, but he knew that the girl hadn't dressed for the weather. Subtly, he began to augment the air around her, heating it up so that she would not freeze, but not too much that it would make a visible difference. He wasn't deliberately trying to hide his Force powers from the girl, but in most cases, he didn't try to flaunt it, and this situation was no exception.

"It shouldn't be much further -- at the very least, you won't freeze before you get there," Beric called back in response to the girl's question, which had been shouted over the wind and cold. As he continued to walk, something began to feel off; a feeling in his gut, telling him that something around them was not right. He'd barely had time to turn around before the massive crack rang throughout the mountains of a boulder breaking free, falling at an insane velocity -- towards the girl. Beric didn't have time to even shout the girl's name, and instead, a mere cry of warning was all he could manage as the boulder tumbled towards Millu.

 

[Millu Lee]

Millu trekked through the icy slopes of Vandor, falling a little behind her rescuer. She was careful to step exactly where his footprints (way bigger than hers) fell in the snow. She was surprised, the air was getting warmer around her, and she was no longer shivering. Sure it was still cold, but it was bearable now. It was strange, seeing as it was supposed to only get colder as daylight dimmed and gave way into the dark of night.

They walked slowly, but keeping a steady pace; and if Lord Beric was to be trusted, they would reach the place he called home soon. She was glad for that- and a little aprehensive. But now was not the time to worry. For now, she would keep her mind in the way and try to-


CRACK!


Suddenly there was a boulder falling from above, and there was a scream of warning, and then she was in the ground, her hands raised as to instinctively protect her face- and the massive rock that was supposed to have crushed the girl in the spot was falling down the slope, thrown far from her.

It took a moment or two for Millu to realize what had happened. Kriff! I used the force!

She hoped for a moment that her mysterious rescuer somehow hadn't seen that, but who was she trying to kid, of course he had seen it. She had just thrown a boulder for Force's sake.

The best she could do now was hope for the best. Because she definitely wasn't planning on telling this stranger about her force-sensitiviness.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

Beric's eyes narrowed as the boulder plummeted into the fast-falling darkness. The feat he'd just seen, and the shining light that had terminated from her life presence just now -- it reminded him of another occasion. But the Vandorian night was coming on rapidly, and it would soon be upon them; something that Beric had no intention of risking. Now would not be the time for questions, he concluded, and instead silently turned back towards the direction of their path, trekking once more along the snowy slopes of Vandor.

It was not a long time, perhaps half an hour, before the two finally made it to Frosthall. The light from her massive sconces and watchtowers poured out over the mountains around them, a beacon of warmth that could be seen for miles around them. As they neared closer and closer, Beric could spy the heavy open doors of Frosthall, light from the inside pouring out onto the snow-trodden paths around it. A few more steps and they would be on the path, but now that they were so close, Beric felt he had to inquire into the event that had happened earlier. And rather than simply use his words, he decided on a different method, unorthodox but one that might be more likely to yield actual results.

Spying a small chunk of rock, likely left from some masonry done on the entrance, he picked it up with his hand, spinning and throwing the rock at the face of the girl in one fluid motion, accelerating the projectiles speed with the force. If the girl was truly sensitive with the Force, then she'd be able to deflect this rock in another instinctive action -- if she wasn't, then the rock would knock her out, and none would be the wiser.

 

[Millu Lee]

Millu was very surprised when her rescuer didn't say a word about the incident with the boulder and her use of the Force. Maybe the universe is finally hearing me and he didn't notice anything? Although that would be very unlikely, seeing as she threw a boulder down the mountainside. This is suspicious. I'll have to keep an eye out for trouble.

She continued following him, as her plan had not changed in the slightest, after all,it was getting dark already, and Millu most definitely did not want to stay out at night. Who knows what kinds of animals lurked around, ready to eat an unsuspecting human, or who knows how much colder it was going to get as night progressed. She was just going to have to stay alert.

About half an hour later, and they arrived near a... Castle? Mansion? Manor? Estate? Well, the girl did not know what exactly to call the massive building she could see in the distance, but it was probably this Frosthall Lord Beric had mentioned, seeing as they were heading in its direction. They were almost to the path that led into the door, when the man she was walking with suddenly picked up a small rock and threw it at her face?!

Millu lifted her hands to protect her face again, and again, sent the rock flying a few meters out. What the hutt?! Was he trying to kill her?!?

"Oi! What the flying kriff was that?! 'The kark were you trying to do??! I could have kriffing died!" Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, the rock was too small to kill a person. But - in her defense- if it had been a pointy rock, she totally would have died. Also, now he totally knew she was force-sensitive. Nice going, Millu. Two times in a single day. Now he won't have any doubts. Ugh.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

As the rock flew away from Millu in a very obvious altered vector, and as her life essence seemed almost to flare out through the force, Beric couldn't help but feel a small surge of pride. He'd been able to crack this case, and almost without speaking any words. Coupled with that pride was a sense of relief; he hadn't been quite sure, and if that rock had hit Millu's face, it wouldn't have been pretty. "I grant you that what I just did was perhaps not the most proper way of asking things, but you gave me an answer regardless," Beric said as he peered towards the girl, containing his emotions and maintaining a neutral voice. The Lord of Frosthall stood several steps taller on the stairs in front of the girl, casting a shadow on her in front of the lights of Frosthall's interior. "What do you know of your gift in the Force?" He asked, rather plainly. The secret was out, and the girl did not have much if anything, more to hide.

 

[Millu Lee]

The nerve of this man! It didn't matter that he was a noble, or that he wanted to know if she was force-sensitive or not. You simply do NOT throw a rock at someone like this, especially a guest. That's rude. So she decided to tell him that. Sure, he did look kind of- actually very- intimidating where he was, standing, blocking the light, but Millu did not let that mess up her resolve. That was NOT the right way to get answers. At all.

"It doesn't matter if you were trying to know if I am force-sensitive. That was plain rude- and dangerous. And also, you took an answer from me I didn't want to give. That's not cool. You should apologise."

She should probably dial it back a bit. The object of her outrage was a Lord after all. That and she probably sounded annoying. Yeah. That.

"I mean, you could have just asked, and to be honest, I probably would have lied, but can't you Jedi sense lies and that sort of stuff? Besides, why is it any of your business what I know?"

By then Millu was hugging her arms and looking down. She was kind of embarrassed about exploding like that, but to be fair, it WAS rude, and it could have seriously hurt her.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

As the girl voiced her outrage, Beric felt a multitude of emotions rashing in waves through the force, emanating strongly from the girl. Confusion, hurt, anger, embarrassment; they were all convoluted together, grappling with one another for supremacy. She had some right to feel so, Beric acknowledged, knowing that she'd just faced a ship crash and hike through the frozen mountains of Vandor in clothing ill-suited to the task. The fact that the girl was likely facing hunger as well was not improving her mood, Beric sensed.

"I am no Jedi," Beric simply said as he stood on the steps of Frosthall. "There are things I must ask you, people who would be interested to meet you -- but now is not the time nor the place. Come," he said, beckoning into the warmth of the castle walls. "There is hot food and drink inside, and a comfortable bed should you choose to stay the night. Given that it is freezing outside, I suggest you do," he said with a tone of finality before turning and walking into the gates of Frosthall. He didn't look back to see if Millu was following, but he sensed that she probably would.

 

[Millu Lee]

Millu was surprised with Lord Beric's response. If he wasn't a Jedi, then what the kriff was he? By now she knew that he was also force-sensitive, and was trying to know if she was too. It didn't make sense in her head, if he was force-sensitive and actually knew how to do things with it, then he had to be a Jedi, right? Or was he one of those bad people who used the force to kill others? If he was so, she'd have to keep an eye out - he had thrown a rock at her, who knows if he would try to kill her in her sleep?

She would have to follow him to his castle though, because she definitely didn't want to freeze out there. So the girl followed her rescuer up the steps and into the Entrance Hall. It was beautiful inside, sure it was cold and very humid, but at the very least it wasn't freezing like the outside. Her endless curiosity was pretty much turned on by then, and so Millu picked up her pace a little so she could be a little closer to Lord Beric, and thus, it would be easier to ask the million questions swimming around in her head.

"Hm.. Can I ask questions? If you aren't a Jedi, then what are you? This place is beautiful, and huge! Does it ever get warmer, though? Where are we going exactly? What kind of food is there- you said there was food..? I'm probably asking too many questions- sorry."

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

After Beric's words and invitation, the girl's anger seemed to have abated, and Beric was secretly grateful for that. Despite all of his experience dealing with conflict as Lord of Frosthall and as a Knight Obsidian, he still felt sorry for the girl that paced alongside him; she'd lost her ship, probably her only means of making credits currently, and her only way off the planet. If Beric was in her position, he wouldn't be cheery, either. As the smell of food wafted from the kitchens and dining hall of the castle, Beric suspected that it too might have been a calming factor.

He listened patiently as the girl asked questions one after another, and when she was done he answered each of them slowly and thoughtfully. "I am a member of the Knights of Obsidian, a peacekeeping organization in the Confederacy. I'm afraid it doesn't get much warmer than this, although after a while you get used to it. Right now, we're going to the dining hall, and I suspect there will be a wide arrangement of different foodstuff. If none of it caters to your taste, I would be more than happy to send a special request to the kitchens," Beric said with a kind smile as they reached the end of the corridor and the ajar wooden doors into the dining hall, motioning for Millut to enter in first out of politeness.

 

[Millu Lee]

The more she followed Lord Beric and listened to him talk, actually answer her questions (it had been a long time since someone actually was that patient with her) and go about things as if she hadn't just insulted him like crazy, the more Millu reached the conclusion that this man probably wasn't a bad person, and that he probably could be trusted. That was good, she didn't want to have revealed her force-sensitiveness (albeit against her will) to an untrustworthy being.

He said they were going to a dining hall of some kind. That was great. The girl couldn't stop the rumbling of her stomach. "Uh, I don't really have any special tastes, I'll eat whatever.."

She was a bit startled when Lord Beric motioned for her to enter the hall first, but did it happily. The dining hall was even bore grand that where they had been just now, and Millu was sure that she had never stepped into a place such as this. Also, the table was huge! And the variety of foods seemed wonderful! She definitely couldn't wait to eat, Force, it would probably be the biggest meal of her life!

Millu knew almost nothing about ettiquete, but she knew that it was unpolite for a guest to eat before their host, so she decided to stay standing, waiting for Lord Beric's directions, after all, she probably had insulted him enough already.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee ​

Frosthall's dining hall was built to hold an extremely large capacity -- it had been boasted that all of Vandor could be comfortably fed and quartered in Frosthall. Although that statement was quite dubious on its own, it had to have some credence; the dining hall was exceptionally large, and Vandor's population was generally small. Regardless of how true that statement was, though, Frosthall's dining hall was seldom ever filled to capacity. On this night, like so many others, it was in fact quite far from it. Guardsmen, off-duty servants, and others who lived at Frosthall sat together, totaling no more than sixty people. They had clustered around the three trestles closest to the high table, where Beric and others of importance ate and rank. The chair to the left of Beric's sat empty, reserved customarily for guests of honor, and Beric now indicated to Millu that she could take her seat there.

Giving her time to sit, he stood at his own place and waited a moment for the dining hall to quiet down and for the assembled to give his attention. "Good evening to you all," Beric began, "and a thanks that we are blessed with food and warmth in this dead of winter." The gathered guards and servants raised their tankards in salute. Vandor was no easy world to survive on, and frozen corpses found on watches and in neglected rooms reminded everyone of that, some time or another. "As for other matters, I would like to introduce you to this young lady, Millu. Her ship crashed on the frozen outback, and she'll be staying for a short time to recuperate and get back on her feet. As long as she is in the castle, I ask that you treat her with the utmost respect," Beric said while gesturing towards the girl seated at his left. A polite clapping came from the audience as he introduced her. "Now, carry on," Beric said with a smile to the roars of approval from the crowd.

As the rest of the dining hall resumed their eating, Beric sat down himself and began to serve himself portions of the dishes placed before him -- slices of nerf steaks, grinjer bone broth, and as a dessert a slice of meiloorun tart, its flaky crust still hot from the kitchens. Frosthall's food would not probably most healthy in the galaxy, but it was hearty and full of energy to help with a human's metabolism on these cold, dark days.

 

[Millu Lee]

Millu sat in the chair her rescuer had indicated to her, and was now waiting for his speech to end, in order to eat. There were quite a few people in the table with them - since the table was so massive, it was sure to be able to hold a lot of people. It was almost empty now even though there were many seated there.

The girl blushed when Lord Beric introduced her - she wasn't used to being in the spotlight of so many people - and gave them a little wave of her hand when they clapped for her. "Hi." she spoke, probably not loud enough to be heard by even half the table.

Now that they were apparently free to eat, Millu set her sights on the food available. There was plenty of food to choose from, she was quite overwhelmed, to be honest. Most of it she had never eaten in her life, some she hadn't ever even seen. But the girl was hungry as kriff, so she just paid attention to what Lord Beric put in his plate and picked what looked the tastiest out of the dishes her rescuer was eating. If she liked it, she could always ask what it was later.

Beric Layne

 

[Beric Layne]

V A N D O R
Millu Lee
​

The high table ate in silence, and Beric chewed thoughtfully. Setting down his utensil, he turned towards Millu, who'd begun to eat as well. "Would you mind if I ask you where you come from?" he inquired lightly, trying to stay in the fine line between interrogation and polite conversation. He cut up a piece of nerf steak as he did so, biting into it after he spoke. The Lord of Frosthall was beginning to realize that he was quite hungry, and it took quite some restraint to not simply devour the plate before him.