"Wouldn't be the first time I've stowed away in one of those..." Childermass would say that with a laugh if this were at all funnier. It isn't. "Stay here."

With that, he's climbing back to his feet and making his way into the dive bar proper. It won't take too long for him to wheedle one of the more good-natured bouncers to help him haul a drunken friend away. For a bit of a tip, of course, but let's be real. Childermass has nicked a few purses worth of money on the way here, so he isn't worried. So, he returns with help and they get Lambert up and out before anyone has to worry about unconscious vomiting on their floor.

It does take an awful lot of reassurances to get a room for an obviously dead drunk guest, however, and, again, paying quite a bit more. It does come with someone delivering cold water and some food -- something gentle and not like to turn a stomach -- to that same room.

"We have it for five hours," he tells Celandine once they've gotten Lambert settled and their hired help has gone on their way. It's one of the bigger, nicer rooms, definitely not something a normal, unsplit Childermass would ever splurge on. "So he had best wake up and get sober enough to walk by then."