Heron Lake Plateau nervous messed up marionette floating 'round on a prison ship

Njord thought it was unlike Towhee to dip out of a conversation. Usually, she loved being in everybody’s business…. Odd, Njord thought to himself. Yet the Laird let his mother-in-law slip away without a fuss. “I willnae be long,” he promised her.

The stranger offered a polite word and introduced himself as Boone. “There arenae many clans in the Hinterlands,” Njord agreed. “Just us… though a group has been settlin’ somewhere near tha Strath,” he advised. “Tis a quiet region. An’ verrae beautiful.” Njord’s pelagic gaze looked across the blue lake and the vibrant greenery beyond.

“Where are ye travelin’ from?” he wondered aloud. “It’s been a while since I’ve traveled far. Do ye bring news from the outside?” he asked. What was life like in the great beyond?