The family came forward together, the man moving first with one hand held out behind him like he meant to catch his wife if the ground gave under her, though she walked steady enough on her own.
The girl stayed pressed between them, mostly hidden by her mother's skirts, only the crown of her head showing above the fabric, dark hair sticking up three different directions where sleep or the road had left it that way.
All three of them wore the very gray look the whole queue behind them shared, cold worn in deep enough that a hot meal and a night indoors wouldn't change it entirely. Not yet.
Godmar set the tally board flat against his forearm and waited until the three of them had stopped in front of him before speaking. No sense starting the questions on people still finding their footing after however many days on the road.
"Right. Mornin'."
He tapped the charcoal against the board's edge without writing yet. "Names, so I know what to put down."
