Dawn Dance, Stables, Night of Day 7 of Carriage Week
Stablemaster Harrigan supervised the loading of kegs of beer donated by the visiting noble houses. No one ever went hungry or thirsty at the Dawn Dance. The families never made a big show of their generosity, but each year there would be deliveries of kegs of ale, bread and cheese, smoked meats, popping corn, and bushels of pears and apples that would show up at the stables beginning once the procession was over.

The stablemaster had cleared the animals out to temporary quarters in the rear courtyard and supervised the cleaning of the stables. Servants were beginning to arrive no that the feast had begun in the main hall. Guest house servants first; the House Vasille staff would arrive later as work got finished in the main hall and ballroom. As people arrived, they pitched in to help set up tables and chairs and to move the food and the kegs into place. At this point there wasn't much need to organize. Everyone was good about helping each other, and once each new arrival had worked a bit they settled down for a drink or a game of cards or dice. A few couples paired off and made for quieter darker corners of the stables; there'd be more of that as the night wore on.

One of the House Pax staff had brought a fiddle and started up a little bit of early dancing, although the main part of the music and dancing wouldn't begin until King Spackle arrived to officially preside over the revelry.

Harrigan paused his work to fill a mug of cider. It looked to be a good night.