It was a good thing that Hadrian took the next dance. The smell of male hormones was almost overpowering and I probably came close to starting a riot. Fortunately the fact that I was attached to the Inquisitor's retinue managed to keep them in check, ranking highly in the quasi-relgious world view that these space faring barbarians had adopted. It also helped that Hadrian was a good dancer, more exuberant than I imagined for a high and mighty inquisitor. When the dance finally ended we took our seats and joined the feast.

"I bet your dance on the table was quite something," I whispered to Hadrian who made a sound that might have been a chuckle or a choke. Urien was standing at the head of the table, draped in his great fur cloak and speaking at length. I understood that he was ritually recounting some exploit, though whether in service to Hadrian or on his own homeworld wasn't clear. It was possible he was compressing an adventure in the stars into a traditional form, an old technique to provide poetic structure for a tale. Unbidden one of the servitors brought me a basin of water and I was able to wash my feet of the food and drink I had stepped in during my dance. The fact that I had trampled it didn't seem to be any bar to appetite though. The food ran heavily to cooked meat, grox, ambull and other less identifiable fare. Fortunately there were a fair amount of fruit and vegetables, as well as hot bread that allowed me to soak up some of the amasec. Toast after toast was proposed, each drunk down with sweet smelling mead or amasec. I sipped but minded my intake, aware that getting drunk in a room full of barbarians whom I had just subjected to a mating dance might have consequences that ranged from unpleasant to unsurvivable.

It was deep into the ships night cycle when we finally left and I was well and truly drunk. Hadrian was somewhat better off and was able to hold me up as we headed back towards the passenger quaters. I was still draped in the bunting and my shift and my feet were still bare, picking up an unplesant coating of lubricant and dirt from the deck.

"I dont 'spose..." I paused, speaking with the deliberation of one who knows they are very drunk, "tat we will get a chance to go shopping before we... Inquisit?"