The meticulous care with which the operation in Sicily was planned has paid dividends. Our casualties in men, in ships and materiel have been low—in fact, far below our estimate.

There was a decided ugliness to the patch of waste ground.

According to elflore, I imagine they would find such a cause most interesting. They might remain skeptical of our reasons, but certainly no more dubious than the dwarves."

Apparently the nearest ice cream spot was a mile or two down the streets of a fragile neighborhood with dilapidated homes, some sprayed with graffiti. It was the hoodiest hood I'd ever seen selling ice cream, definitely not a place for snobs.