"It's not much, but it's home." Aurion approached the cottage and opened the door. "My dad made it with his own two hands. I added a few things since then, but most of the credit goes to him." He ushered them inside and lit the fireplace. It lit the whole room in a warm orange glow, and scented the house with a smoky fragrance of rich earth. There was a strong, sweet smell of peaches, cinnamon, and baking bread. The room was long and low with a dark-beamed ceiling and white plaster walls.<br/>Above their heads, two dead pheasants hung by their necks from a hook in one of the beams, their red, brown and gold feathers catching the last rays of the sun that came in through the window.<br/>"Sit yourselves down, we've been on our feet for a long time now."