Elihu smiles at hearing that Kreyu offered him shelter and beer. "That is quite like her. She is kind, sometimes even to her own detriment."

"I am not entirely surprised by the bandits," Elihu admits. "The neighboring kingdom is having considerable political unrest, internal strife, and that breeds desperate men and those willing to take advantage of them."

"Where are you from, originally? I thought I had at least a passing knowledge of all of the peoples on this side of the great sea, but I have not met your kind before."