As the group near the bar stand pondering the fowl in the yard, holiday music and laughter burst from the office, where Joe Offer has been hiding out watching animated greeting cards. MMario and the others peer through the doorway, share a laugh, then shrug off the idea of eating the visiting critters. "It'd be like trying to cook and eat Big Bird," he's heard to mutter, wiping a tear from his cheek. "We'll stick with what we have, auroch, wyvern, salmon, pickled herring and a lot of baked goods that seem to have piled up over on the sideboard over there. Tons of drunken fruitcake seems to have crept in from another thread."

I hope you don't mind my putting words in your mouth, Leo!