Emmaline emerged having found  some clothing to her liking. Though she missed the dress of her homeland she was willing to be practical and admit that the heavy dresses of Altdorf and Nuln would be a death sentence in the heat of Araby. She had eschwed anything that looked like it came from a harem and while the Emir evidently had a wife, fine living had obviously enlarged her to the point that Emmaline couldn’t wear any of her clothes. Fortunately the Emir also had a daughter whose clothing was close enough in size for Emmaline to make do. She wore a dress of dress of cloth of gold, white linen that had been woven with gold thread. It hung from one shoulder in the Tilean fashion and was probably intended to be paired with a gausy over garment but she had neglected to bother with one. She shot Amal a suspicious look, and glanced after the departing parrot.

Outside the clamor of the slave hunt could be heard and there were even a few pillars of smoke, dark against the night sky, where over enthusiastic hunters, or desperate slaves had managed to set building afire. Though guards with torches passed in the street below none even glanced at the wrought iron gate with its drowsy guards. Emmaline took a seat on the cushions laid out before the table, Araybian’s didn’t use chairs in the same fashion as Imperial’s and she wondered what some of the rotund nobles she had met would do if they were ever asked to sit cross legged. Seizing a knife she sliced off several thick pices of pork and then did the same with the beef before finally grabbing a peach and taking a bite out of it. The food on the caravan had been plain, and what they had taken from the bandits cave had been difficult to enjoy with a vast ogre chewing up corpses at every meal.

Seizing a random bottle of wine she plucked out the cork and took a long drink from the neck of the bottle. It was rich and sweet and probably very expensive, but it was the first alcohol she had enjoyed since her capture and it tasted delightful.

“Not bad,” she said around a mouthful of food.

“I had some dwarven ale once, but I dont really remember what it tasted like, or much of the rest of the night,” she admitted.