Like the laundry room in which the damp laundry hangs in the wintertime. [ Thinking of the castle he'll never live in again. ]

I hope he doesn't. But if he does, he'll have earned a lot of dislike from anyone you've told your story to. [ He's imagining Rube being met by a about fifty irate Hadrielites! ]

Yes. Mostly for fires in the woods or fields. If a structure caught fire, we just pulled everybody out fast and let it burn down. But as for war with the Null. . . I strongly suspect we will be fighting them again. They seem to have a knack for finding the gods, and therefore, us. Yes, we can all do it, but nobody likes non-stop action without food or rest.