of these homes are situated around a single hearth within, like the still-glowing heart of the slumbering beast. Some have a basement level of varying spaciousness, but the common practice seems to be to dig the staircase behind the hearth, suspending it in the ceiling of the floor below so it can provide warmth throughout. An enchanter named Llether entreated me to his manor for a round of drinks after I agreed to add his name to the list of Ienas's grievances upon the local economy; the above-ground adobe carapace serves only as an entryway to his home, and is centered not around a hearth but a large circular planter, a skylight allowing for the
cultivation of several species of flower not native to the ashy, dust-swept region: a very robust Gold Kanet centerpiece with a starburst of Willow Flowers emanating from the Gold Kanet in a field of Stoneflower. He told me very proudly that he tends them himself.
This morning I decided to buy a hot meal - I had spent so much the night before (almost 160 septims) that I saw no harm in doing so. I asked the first guard I encountered where the Sarandas residence is. They didn't say anything, but pointed behind me: across the lane from the inn, two houses down. They seemed confused. I imagine I looked embarrassed.