Morning came to Grimridge without softness.
The great hall still held the cots from the night attack, the interlocked lines of them now part sleeping arrangement, part statement of intent. The side passage remained blocked with chairs and a nailed board over the wash room latch. The continuation ledger sat open near the route board with Elin's furious mark still scored across the line that tried to reduce the center names into something portable. One of the wall men had taken the first watch beside the hearth while another crossed the north door line with a bowl of hot water and a face already set for a long day.
Sable stood at the table with the bandage fresh under her dress and the deeper ache in her body made honest by too little sleep and too much strain.
