In a long, pregnant silence, Nesaku raised his head from his meal, to look towards Logue. A sheen a sweat shone on the dun’s hide, although his eyes were still bright and alert. Not unaffected, merely prepared and familiar with the Earthen Furnace’s heat.

Still, Nesaku felt it behoved him to be polite, at least somewhat. They had spent much of their journey so far in silence. Logue occasionally offering to fill it with a handful of folksy stories combining surface anecdotes with his experiences in the dungeon. Nesaku had grunted in appropriate places, but had not exactly encouraged conversation.

They were here to fill a contract, nothing more and nothing less.

Which perhaps would go more smoothly, should something go awry, if Logue thought he was polite.

“Would you care to partake?” Nesaku rumbled, inclining his muzzle slightly towards the green-wrapped packages between his hooves.

“Partake?” Logue repeated, and if Nesaku hadn’t known any better, he would have said amusement coloured the Courser’s tone. He decided to know better.

“These are spell-wrapped. Shinda,” Nesaku barked, summoning the servant to life with a rattle of bones, “take Logue these.” He pushed two of the packages forward, and the cloaked skeleton hurried forward with a clatter, snatching up the packages and taking them to the other Courser, holding them out.

Logue inclined his head, murmuring a low thank you, nosing at the packages the servant laid down for him. “They’re cold?” He said with surprise, testing the edge of one with his teeth.

“Spell-wrapped,” Nesaku repeated again with a grunt. “I was made aware of the affects of the furnace, these seemed to be a reasonable solution.”

Logue nodded, taking a bite from the package and humming his approval. Snatching up the rest of the piece to chew happily.

“Do you do the magic yourself?” Logue asked, curiously. Cocking his head, apparently more interested in the beginning of conversation, than in consuming the second package Nesaku had offered.

The heraldic straightened a little. “I can. But these were gifts from my betrothed.”

Logue’s mouth curved in a smile. “Ah. I imagine that must be difficult to leave behind.”

Nesaku’s lack of an answer seemed to belie that remark.