And speaking of forthright young men, in a nice bit of poor timing for the most put upon of those Ewar is coming down the stairs at the end of this room to head toward them - specifically, toward Martel.

"Got it, sir," he says - and then he pauses, looking from Martel to Sparhawk and back again. He wouldn't have made himself so indispensible in Valdis by now if he weren't exceptionally good at reading a moment. "...I'll just go put it down with the others, then, see what else I can find. My lord. Pardon me."