We\u2019re outside a small settlement, but I decided to stay with the camp rather than head into town. I\u2019ve been avoiding the places we visited when I was last here because\u2026I don\u2019t know why. I guess I just don\u2019t want to deal with it.<\/span><\/p>\n I was playing my flute casually, just some light and airy pieces that put some music out there without demanding attention. Something people could either listen or just talk over depending on their mood. I\u2019d been doing this for half an hour with a small crowd around me when that group of three surprised me by taking seats at the fire. They had gone into town earlier\u2013the sudden quiet was almost startling\u2013but now they were back.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow about something we can dance to?\u201d one of the two men asked.<\/span><\/p>\n And just like that, I was trapped. I was still raw from two days of trying to keep away from them, but I couldn\u2019t ignore the request without being rude. And I <\/span>wanted <\/span><\/i>to be rude, surely, but that was on <\/span>me<\/span><\/i>. They\u2019d not done anything to deserve it. Not really.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, fine. I could hide behind my flute (I felt Iskaryn bristle at that thought). I went with an estampie because they have open endings and aren’t too tiring. Just a few sections in, there was clapping and foot-stomping, then someone brought over a wooden crate, and I had a real, if rustic, percussion line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The man who requested the change in music was dancing with the woman from their group, and a handful of others had joined in. We had gone from a quiet, relaxing night to a small but lively party in just a few minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n I switched us to a carole, and almost immediately a circle formed, everyone interlocking arms. This was more relaxed and a bit easier, but ten minutes in, I brought it to a close because I needed a break. There were hoots and applause as I sat down and took a long drink of water.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThanks for that. Most fun we\u2019ve had in over a week,\u201d I heard someone say off to my left. I turned to look in time to see one of the men from that group settling next to me. \u201cTraveling through this country is like an extended wake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t know what I was expecting him to say, but it wasn\u2019t that. It caught me off guard.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI spent three days in Saringallow,\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m fairly sure that\u2019s what passes for entertainment there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He chuckled politely in response. \u201cI\u2019m Pates. My friends here are Agelus and Paulana.\u201d They both settled next to him and extended their arms in greeting.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Aemi.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This was not what I needed. But. I could feel Iskaryn pushing on me, and I knew why. I needed to get over this\u2026whatever it was. I wasn\u2019t ready to answer questions, though, so I employed the age-old strategy of asking them about themselves first.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat takes you to Elidir, Pates?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re renewing a push for a passage north and put out a call. We\u2019re answering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Demand for Isgeri exports has always been high in Molthune, and the safest routes between the two all pass through Druma, which ruthlessly exploits this advantage. Lately, Druma has been raising tariffs on goods coming from Isger, and Cheliax started paying attention. With their influence waning elsewhere, they\u2019re making another push to invest in Isger. Opening a passage north and kicking Druma from the table would be something of a two-fer.<\/span><\/p>\n This is basic Druma. They teach us this stuff practically before we learn to read. And, for the next half hour, it gave us something to talk about that wasn\u2019t me.<\/span><\/p>\n Then the grace period expired. \u201cSo how about you? What has <\/span>you <\/span><\/i>going to Elidir?\u201d Pates asked.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a stopover,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m headed to Breachill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s waiting for you in Breachill?\u201d Paulana asked.<\/span><\/p>\n I went with a version of the truth. \u201cA better life than I can make for myself in Saringallow, for sure. Breachill was\u2026recommended to me by someone I trust. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll find there, exactly, but it can\u2019t be worse than where I was.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd where was that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRock bottom and digging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They could tell I didn\u2019t want to go into it, which I appreciated. We made some small talk for a bit, then I politely excused myself to turn in for the night.<\/span><\/p>\n Honestly, they are decent enough people. This anger, or resentment, or whatever it is I am feeling towards them is obviously not earned, and it\u2019s certainly not fair. But it\u2019s not so easy to just turn off, either. Still, I can\u2019t go the rest of my life avoiding people for the crime of being friends, so I\u2019m going to make the effort to spend time with them tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t have to enjoy it. I just have to try.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Conerica Straits evening We\u2019re outside a small settlement, but I decided to stay with the camp rather than head into town. I\u2019ve been avoiding the places we visited when I was last here because\u2026I don\u2019t know why. I guess I just don\u2019t want to deal with it. I was playing my flute casually, just some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-5401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aoa-vignettes","tag-aemi"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5402,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5401\/revisions\/5402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}