Since there was no Wednesday Snippet this week and since it is Friday I thought I would post the opening paragraph for The Cauldron Bound. I have posted it before,  but it is tweaked now.

As he walked through the settlement in the early morning sunshine, Aodh was glad for his fur tunic. The day might be sunny, but the air still carried a bite of winter. The settlement was quiet around him as he headed toward the chieftain’s roundhouse in the center of the settlement. There were no smoke coming from the smoke holes, no animals braying, no children playing. The fact that it was early was only part of the reason. Most of the silence stemmed from the heavy toll the war had taken. He nodded to a yawning man that was stumbling in the direction of the jakes. As he approached the round house he tried to figure out why he had been summoned. Bradach might be fond of me, but I am young for a warband leader. Too young, according to some people. He exhaled. Before the war begun, he hadn’t planned to become a warrior, but a smith. Like the rest of his clan, the war had changed his life.
He pushed away the thoughts, and opened the gate in the wicker fence around the Chieftain’s roundhouse. He stepped inside, closing the gate before any of the precious hens or goats could escape. He walked down the tramped up path leading to the door and knocked on the door. He was startled when the door opened and the Chieftain stood in the doorway. Normally opening the door was a duty assigned to children.