Barth sputtered and gasped as the deluge of freezing water drenched his head; he threw his arms out as if trying to swim to the surface, seeking the banks of the frigid river he'd been plunged into, before scrabbling his way right off the bed.<br/><br/>There was the sensation of falling, and then he was landing facedown on the wooden floor with a resounding thump that brought whatever bit of him had been clinging to the remnants of sleep back to wakefulness. Ausan's cheerful voice reached his ears, and he squinted up at her through bloodshot eyes as he slowly pushed himself into a seated position alongside the bed.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"I wanted a drink, not a drowning," </span>he grumbled as he rubbed at his temples, looking away from the piercing light streaming in through the window where the woman stood.<span style="color: #FFFF00"> "And I don't snore." </span><br/><br/>He knew she was probably right, but he'd never actually heard himself snore (obviously) so he couldn't be certain. In any case his current state of mind meant he wouldn't be making any admissions at the moment. On the bright side, he was so wet and cold that his headache no longer seemed quite as bad as it had before.<br/><br/>He stumped over to the table and plopped down in front of the tray of food, blinking blearily down at the meal before peering up at Ausan.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"If we leave within the hour we should arrive with more than enough time to spare," </span>he said as he seized a slice of salted pork and took a large bite out of it.<span style="color: #FFFF00">"It might be nothing at all," </span>he continued, his words already muffled by the food in his mouth, but still proceeding to use his teeth to rip a chunk out of the bread that was also on the platter,<span style="color: #FFFF00">"but I'm curious to see what they want. Haven't seen folks come up from the south countryside in ages - I heard about trouble with Plains people, but it's all probably all just wind and rumor." </span><br/><br/>He paused long enough to swallow his food, before taking a drink of water that emptied the cup after only two massive gulps. He followed up the drink with the remainder of the pork, before grabbing the second of the two cups in front of him and draining it. He really<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>quite parched.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Still, I'd like to be there to see what they want,"</span>he intoned, ignoring the cold water dripping down his back from his damp hair.<span style="color: #FFFF00">"At the worst it might be a bandit raid or two, but at least that falls under what the army can actually handle. Not everyone can fight like a Benthey."</span><br/><br/>He pushed the platter away from him and stood up, feeling much better after the second of the morning's two helpings of water. It helped that this time he'd actually gotten to<span style="font-style: italic">drink</span>it as opposed to swimming in it.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"If you've eaten, let's be off."</span>