With no further response from Julan, Janius switched to a friendlier tone. [i]"Well good on you, Leeus. Train hard enough and I think you could make your father proud."[/i] His smile faded. [i]"In fact, Julan, just earlier I learned from your mother a bit more about the significance of the leviathan marks. Kaleeth?"[/i] He looked up to her. [i]"I've had two serious talks with the boy already today. Do you want to take over?"[/i]

[hr]
This time, Calia had put aside her food and drink to weave her fingers together while she listened.

"Isn't that still a big risk?" Monderyn commented. "We can't really know for sure if there's a market for our wine in the Dominion."

Calia's smile returned. "You are right, Monderyn. We do not. But that does not mean we cannot find out." She looked to Gwindir. "What we usually do ourselves when presenting to distributors is carry a small case of a selection of our wines to present to taverns and stores to taste for themselves. With the resellers convinced, we can receive orders directly. While it is unusual for such orders to travel between tense nation states, I do not think it impossible. And, indeed, this may be a way to test the waters. Now, we were intending to give you a bottle as a gift today, but perhaps if Rossarm is amenable to the idea, we could send you away with several. From there would you be able to see those extra bottles brought to interested parties in the Dominion?"

Llarasa was still uneasy. "I'm not sure that father would want to trade out that far. Doesn't he harbour a dislike for...well, the people living in the Dominion?"

"Nonsense! He will not have to deal with them personally." Calia waved him off dismissively. "What do you think, Gwindir?"