[ Winter will be more than happy to quit this place once their business is done, but there’s much left to do. There’s a whole lake to cross, a whole ruin to explore, a whole gaggle of gnomes to find (or whatever the collective noun for a group of gnomes is), and a True Soul’s head to bring back to an exceptionally vengeful mushroom.

They’re going to be here for a while.

He’s learning quickly to appreciate these moments of reprieve while they have them. ]

Oh, I’m sure they’ll turn up on some musty bookshelf or other. We could start a whole library with the tomes we’ve unearthed.

[ He lifts the bottle of wine. The glass catches in the firelight. ]

May I join you?