Tark bowed his head, but couldn't help a little snort. "You are kind. I appreciate that. But I am just a craftsman, not an artist. Still, perhaps I did put some extra effort into Heimdall's statue. I do like the idea of a watchman, a guard who watches more for trouble on the outside of a community than within it." He left it at that, but given the prejudice half-orcs suffered in some communities, perhaps he had had some bad experiences with town guards in the past. "You are a good singer," he remarked, suggesting "you should come sing in the Blackthorn Inn one day," before the shifting of people and conversations drew him away.<br/><br/>But there were other people to talk with, many of them echoing Tark's compliment for Mialla's singing, among them a young elven woman, daughter of the local master carpenter, who was quite interested in hearing about Mialla's travels and the lands beyond the Frontier Baronies.<br/><br/>That woman, Elevinia, could also provide some of the local tales and was not kept as busy by various conversations as the stonemason. It turned out that the area didn't have many truly original tales, and those there were were more local events concerning local people far more than epic heroes. Other tales concerned the failed settlements that could be found in some parts of the Baronies. At least half of those stories turned out to be variations of themes common in morality stories, warnings about hubris, ignoring the gods, and other human mistakes. There wasn't much there that a trained bard hadn't heard before in one form or other.<br/><br/>As the evening progressed food and drink were served, and as the mead began to flow Mialla was asked to sing a few songs of her choice, but also given ample time to fill her own stomach. Conversations became a bit louder as more alcohol was consumed, people began to tell a few jokes or talked about events of the ending year that they found amusing, tales of small mishaps that they found funny in hindsight.<br/><br/>The festive mood could have easily lasted well into the night, but then someone who had ventured outside the temple returned with the news that a heavy snowfall had started and that convinced many people to return to the village a little earlier than they might otherwise have. Soon half the attendants had filtered out of the temple and the remaining people began to form some smaller groups and conversations quieted again a little. The baroness found a place on a bench next to Mialla and stretched her legs. "Hope you enjoyed yourself at least a little? Bit of a shame so many had to leave so early, but the snow was on the air all day."