He even went so far as to break the tension.
Looking up at the gathered godlings, he asked lightly, "Tell me, how old is the oldest among all of you?"
The godlings exchanged glances, momentarily caught off guard. Then, one by one, they pointed toward a beautiful mermaid godling standing among them.
She frowned as she noticed the attention suddenly focused on her.
With genuine curiosity, the old man continued, "And how old might you be, milady?"
The mermaid scoffed.
"Two hundred and forty-five," she replied sharply. "And even at your age, you have not learned not to ask a lady her age."
A collective gasp rippled through the stands.
Even Gram, wrapped in his brooding silence, glanced her way, surprised by the number, then again by the fact that she looked no older than a woman in her twenties.
The old man laughed, the sound warm and unrestrained.
It earned him a glare from the mermaid godling.
