For most of Mialla's performance the baroness had looked out the window while she sipped her wine. But while she listened to the song, she also pondered why a young woman would travel the frontier alone, in the middle of December. That Mialla had been surprised by the weather she found not easy to believe. Anyone who traveled more than a few miles during the winter had to expect adverse weather and plan accordingly. And Scarborough had been mentioned, a town large enough to offer more opportunities for a singer than the small manors and baronial courts of the frontier. Then again, Mialla's reasons for being on the road where her own, a curiosity certainly, but not any great concern for Kirborg and its baroness, as far as could be told.<br/><br/>"Yes, it was. You have a good voice, I'd say." She offered her guest a small smile and an approving nod, before she pushed her cup a little towards the half-elven singer. "If you wouldn't mind filling my cup again? And help yourself to a drink while you are at it, least your throat goes dry or you catch a cold. We want you able to sing, don't we?"<br/><br/>She wouldn't turn the bard away, send her back into the cold, of that the baroness Waldgreen was certain. At least for a night or two, Mialla would be allowed to stay. If she was able to offer some songs in gratitude, all the better.<br/><br/>"Now, what are we going to do with you?" she still asked, in the tone of one thinking out loud. "A warm meal and a place to stay tonight you'll certainly have, and perhaps you can entertain in the main hall during supper this evening in return? But if you are looking for a place to spend the winter months there are a few questions I have, and some conditions."<br/><br/>She fixed her pale eyes on Mialla's face, a trace of her smile still lingering on her lips. "One question is, if you are, to the best of your knowledge, free of commutable diseases, contagious curses, and anything the like. The other question... Are you wanted by the law of Lancrest or any of the baronies here at Lancrest's western border, or the authorities of any other civilized kingdom or domain? Answer me truthfully and perhaps we can find you a place to stay a while."