He takes his money. People disperse. She has a tied-up squirming stranger.

She'll redo the ropes so she can carry Segda home. "You're going to be dead inside a month at this rate."

"I told you! I told you I want it!"

"People don't get everything they want."

Hissss.

"People sometimes go "hmmm, I want that, but it's a bad idea for whatever reason, so I'm not going to take it even though I want it." Do your people never do that."

"Always. Always always always I never ever want to go there again."

"Ah. Okay. Well, you don't always have to do that but you do sometimes have to do that. There is a middle ground where you do mostly whatever you want but not things which will make people kill you, like taking their stuff or attacking them."

Segda doesn't answer.

"And until you seem to have it figured out I'm going to have to keep you tied up all the time, apparently."

"No! No I don't want to be tied up! I want out!"

"Well, maybe magic works fine here even though I'm the only one to have it and I can go to Amilu and cast healing spells on miscellaneous local nobility and get a nice place to live where you can run around doing whatever the fuck you want but until then, you have to be tied up."

"Noooooooo!" Squirm squirm squirm.

"If you'd rather I can leave you back out in the forest instead."

Squirm squirm squirm squirm.

Isel takes Segda back to the room she's renting and collapses on the bed and stares at the ceiling (with occasional glances at Segda).

Segda attempts to wriggle free very determinedly.

"So in the village everyone always does what the people in charge say?"

"Mmhm."

"And if someone ever doesn't, then they're mad?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Well. You can have anything you want, but you have to earn the money for it yourself. If you want the necklace, you have to find a job and work and earn money until you can buy it. Does that work?"

"What job?"

"Staying out of trouble. Every day you stay out of trouble I'll give you a coin."

"I don't understand."