**
-
"They're bored of their own yearlings and fishing for whether we're soft after a public mark." Sigrid's mouth was flat. "Answer short. If you invite them in, invite them for work, not supper."
I took the strip to the map room. Magnus was already there with Anders's north-ridge summary, the two of them standing over the table like the morning had been designed for overlapping errands. I set Varglund's question between them.
Magnus read it once. "They want to see if the mark made you decorative."
"Then they can see the yearlings work and the slots stay conditional." I looked at Anders. "Draft: Frostfang trades training for grain weight and proof of bone, same as Eidsmark. No visitors without a working string on the ground. If Varglund wants a look, they send a hand who can sit a horse, not a letter that smells like testing."
