"I don't see why I'd want to leave their wives out just because I don't know versions of them! Perhaps they'll be familiar."

"All right." He nods to someone. "We'll want one of the banquet halls, then. We can bring the statue in case Annie arrives during dinner."

"What are we having?" Belmarniss asks Cam.

"Lots of things. My people are good at food."

He leads them to a banquet hall. More people file in. Five brothers of the pharaoh, and some of their wives and children, and eight wives of the pharaoh (seated separately), and the pharaoh's mother, and attendants.

Cam does a headcount, assesses the size of the table, pauses to ask, "You want some new dishes or to provide those yourselves?"

"We will use ours, thank you."

"Lay 'em out, say when."

Servants do this.

And now there are foods! They are many and varied, chowder to cheese platter to chicken fingers. "If anybody has an allergy, tell me."

Osirians are impressed!

Rubelite has no table manners and bites into an entire loaf of bread but then appears likely to consume the entire loaf of bread herself!

Pelape enjoys her picklepot.

He sits far away from Cor and eats small bites of nearby things very slowly.

Cor sits between Belmarniss and Cam and ignores his Maitimo and tries everything within reach.

Annie lands with one foot in the eggnog pitcher.

He waves off his security. "It's like I invited her, sort of. Tongues."

"...Tongues?" she says in perfect Osirian.

"Prestidigitation - come over here off the table, I'll clean you up."

Annie picks her way off the table in Belmarniss's direction. "Where's Rirosseth?"

He gestures at the statue. "She thought you were dead and asked us to make her not conscious." He can give her the cloak and fix it, now.

" - what -"

"Annie!!!!"

"I'm not dead!!!"

"How are you not dead?" She flings herself at her.