oh, for fox's sake | Glowfic Constellation

"Only once. It's along a river, and by the sea. Built into the hills and cliffs. More people than I could count, doing all kinds of work. Craftsmen of all kinds, musicians and painters, doctors and chemists, rich lords walking the same street as humble dockworkers, schools, shipyards. I didn't stay long and I can't compare it to other cities, but it seemed a busy and cheerful place."

"That's nice. I like coasts. And bunches of people all mixed together."

"It felt very - overwhelming to me at the time. And smelly. Though I hear that's gotten better, somehow. I could see what people mean when they say pastures are nice and peaceful."

He fidgets one arm nervously, tapping at the cart's edge. "I can go back home if it's too much, if I can't find a school to study at. Boring, or overwhelming? Peaceful, or exciting? Hmm."

"Some people get used to cities, some don't.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'may you live in interesting times?' A lot of people disagree about whether it's a blessing or a curse."

"Can't say I have. Makes sense, though. And I'm committing to this, I've tried the first path, time to try the other and see if I like it any better. There's different kinds of 'interesting', of course. Fighting rings for the bloody-minded, books for the scholars, pubs for the revelers."

"It's worthwhile trying things.

I think the different ideas of interesting are where half the arguments come from. Back home, there's a bunch of scholars shouting 'I wanted it to be interesting because of the printing press! Not a civil war! It should be interesting differently!'"

"Hmph. Well call me blind but I can't see why anyone would think war and pestilence is interesting. Books and debate, of course. Drink and gambling and debauchery, I see the appeal. Even fighting I get that some people want and need that kind of thing. But war's just bad for everyone. My great-grandfather told tales of the war against the Welsh and how it turned men to monsters."

Marena isn't sure how literal the 'turned into monsters' thing is, but she isn't going to ask.

"Some people just find war exhilarating. They're-- deeply weird, but I've met a few.

And some more don't find it interesting-- but they like the opportunity to do good, and there are few places that need good people as much as a war."

"Oh, I understand that. Saving another's life surely must be a very fulfilling thing. We've had peace in our time, until the Neuroi invasion, thank God. I've never so much as seen a killing blade or an arrow not meant for deer."

"Yeah, war's generally bad"

"Truth, amen." With that George settles in for a quiet ride. The weather is clear and warm and bright.

They get to the next town in about an hour and a half. With a few rows of streets, several manor houses, and a grander church than the previous one, it's almost enough of a town to get lost in. George heads for the inn near the outskirts and pays to stable his horse and store his cart, then heads inside.

...There's something different about the lack-of-Essence here. It's not quite so lack-y in one direction. A faint whisper of energy and power coming from somewhere in the middle of town.

"Hey, George, do you mind if I quickly hop off and investigate something?"

"...I've no claim on you, of course, madam witch." He glances at the stableworkers, "Just mind to find me again tonight or early in the morning, or I may need to leave without you and you'll need another guide."

"This shouldn't take that long, I'll be able to meet up in the morning."

And she heads to the middle of town, towards the not-Essence weirdness.

It's coming from an old lady sitting in the front garden of one of the fancier houses, dressed in a fancy outfit in a strange fashion, smoking something out of a pipe. She fingers a jeweled ring, turning it over and over in her hand as she watches passers-by. She holds herself like someone who used to be alert and active, but is very, very tired now.

"Hello?"

She sets down the pipe and puts the ring on and gives Marena a skeptical look. "Hello. Who are you?"

"I'm Marena, I'm just passing through. I was just wondering what you were up to? "

"Why, I am simply enjoying the time I have left in this world as best I can. And you, an inappropriately dressed foreigner, come to chat with an old witch in an out of the way town? I must admit I am curious what you want."

Aha, a witch! An actual witch! Who she can mine for information! Subtly!

(And now she knows what witches being around feels like.)

"I got lost in a magic forest. That's a bad description of what happened, but it'll do. I'm slowly working my way back towards civilisation, and I thought I might pop by to say hello to one of my people."