Oengus closed down the forge and went off to spend time with his sweetheart Ceana. He didn't say when he'd be back but I don't think he'll return until after Lughnasadh. The love he has for Ceana showed in the sparkle of his eyes when he galloped away on his new horse. Lucky man!

The Niafers great hall is open to everyone, so I go there in search of a meal and maybe some conversation. When I walk in, some of the warriors look at me sideways but since I've been seen at the forge and for a short while with the Red Poets war band, no one is openly hostile anymore. I am a Cumhaill and there's nothing to be done about it. Over time, I will prove my loyalty to my new clan.

I help myself to the meat in the communal kettle. No one stops me and so I take some ale too. Filling my belly, I think about how I had to sleep outside the gates when I first came here. Well, I came here with no good intentions. Now things are different. I look around the hall for anyone I remember from that night. The mead sotted red-haired war chief is not here but I see the old man Enna and the two young scouts with some other warriors, drinking and gaming at a table by the door.

Before I finish my supper, the doors of the hall fly open. The Rian Flidais and long-legged Niamh stride in. I drop my eating knife and stare. Another woman is with them, wearing traveling clothes and looking tired and dirty. An underfed wolfhound walks close beside her. The Rian greets everyone as she passes by and she gives me a nod. Niamh just looks around the hall with her usual sharp eye glare. A few clanspeople welcome the woman, and I hear her addressed as a healer.

This gets my attention. I watch and listen carefully while the Rian arranges hospitality for her. As soon as the healer's needs have been seen to, Flidais and Niamh leave her but she is not alone. She has many friends here who surround her and the hound with warm welcomes. I hear someone say her name.

Moss. I smile. Perfect name for a healer. I wonder if it is the name her parents gave her or if that's what she's called as a healer. The remains of my supper get cold and my ale gets warm but I don't notice.