"But I wouldn't write Danut off, either. [...] You've got to know the old lore to be the smith in Morr's Seat, even if you don't blab about it so much."
"Worth a try," said Elsa with a shrug. "I'll see him tomorrow." Perhaps her offer of a month-long fire would have better success with the man who actually had to pay for the coal keeping his forge hot.
"I can take you round tomorrow, if you like. Everyone knows everyone round here."
"You can point the houses to me and I'll go myself," Elsa suggested. "It's probably better for you if people don't know you're the one sending me to them."
She had perhaps already made a mistake by associating too openly with the local collaborationist, instead of trying to befriend those who chafed under the Tileans' rule.