"It's a couple of byroads past the main square. Tucked between a blacksmith's shop and a chandler," Merradin said immediately, and he looked at her again. He gave her a comforting smile, and opened his side a bit more in case she wanted to press further against him. They already looked like two lovers, walking side-to-side like that and with their hands together.
It was with gentle concern that he felt her tenseness. To a being such as him, it was easy to hear her breath shorten oh so slightly, to smell that faint tinge of fear that all animals gave off when they expected an attack.
"I have wines and such in my lair, but there's something about the froth of a freshly poured Adelan red in a wooden mug that just sits right with me. And the atmosphere, and the smells..."
He trailed off again, but for a shorter time, wrinkling his nose as he spoke again.
"Well, not always the smells."