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You say, 'Hail, Sephrin Harkin'
Sephrin Harkin says, 'Ah! Hello! I'm Sephrin. I run the stables here, have done so for [years] now. Let me know if you or your horse need any assistance.'
You say, 'years'
Sephrin Harkin says, 'It may not seem exciting to someone like you. You've surely seen fantastical things in your time, but I am proud of it. I was just a lad. Helping my father handle his trade business. We traveled a bit bringing goods to those that needed them. We never went far. The world can be dangerous, as you well know. So, we were not wealthy, but we were happy enough. One day we arrived at a small village with half a dozen baskets of apples when we saw [smoke].'
You say, 'smoke'
Sephrin Harkin says, 'Yes, but not the kind you see from a small camp or something. This was a lot of smoke. We rushed in to help and found one of the huts was on fire and a second was starting up. People were running back and forth to the river with buckets, doing everything they could to protect their homes. They were so busy that they did not [hear] what I heard.'
You say, 'hear'
Sephrin Harkin says, 'I heard crying. I don't know what came over me, but I rushed into the hut that was starting to burn and found a [cat] with kittens inside. I managed to get the lot of them out. It only took me a month to recover from the burns. I did most of my recovery here in the inn. Lady Shalowain herself tended to me. She gave me the task of tending the stables.'
You say, 'cat'
Sephrin Harkin says, 'I guess that incident did instill me with a love for cats. I do tend to feed them when they come by looking for a meal. Three or four of them now seem to live in the stable these days. Don't let Lady Shalowain know. I don't know if she likes cats that much. Her dog, Allegro, thank goodness, is too lazy to bother the cats, so it seems safe enough for them here.'