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"Just lookin’ for a place to rest before I pass through"

He straightened a little, eyeing me closely "Oh yeah? And where you be headin’, boy?"

I’d never heard such an accent before It was clipped and tight with trilling ‘r’s, dropped ‘g’s’ and a graet my head around I shook ht about my answer It ell known to everyone in Phaedra that the Pool of Phaedra was consideredThere had been many an adventurer who’d dared the mountains to find it "The Pool of Phaedra"

The man smirked at me "An’ ould a sprite like ye ith the Pool?"

I shrugged "I’m on a spiritual journey and that is all I wish to say on the hed and I bit my lip I’d sounded far too well-bred But he didn’t say anything, just chuckled, "Well don’t be gettin’ all ornery, yer business is yer business" He laughed again, shaking his head There was so in his eyes I began to relax

"My na beyond us "Brint Loka Hill o’ Hope has to a Mayor"

"Hill o’ Hope?" I asked in confusion

Brint grinned and gestured to the open land before us "Hill o’ Hope" He winked at me "We here at Hill o’ Hope have what some folks call an ironic sense o’ humour," he drawled out the ‘i’ in ironic comically

I couldn’t help but return his s I was supposed to be a boy "Rolfe My name is Rolfe"

"Nice to meet ye, Rolfe Well, ye don’t look like ye can cause much trouble Why don’t ye join us at Hope Tavern?" Brint pointed to the larger shack all lit up in the distance "They’ll give ye soain "It’s no ood mood lately ith the Iavii people who used to crawl all over these parts havin’ taken off for greener pastures Once yer done fillin’ up, ye can come back with me" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and I noticed the shack up the hill behind us A single light flickered in the"The ill be et some rest before movin’ on in yer spiritual journey"

I set a better offer so I nodded in thanks and began following him down the hill towards Hope Tavern My first encounter with an Alvernian ined That preconceived idea in my head was only further slashed to ribbons e entered the tavern and Brint introduced her than gypsies and the rookery thugs To start, I couldn’t decipher age ahter wrinkles tickling the corners of everyone’s eyes Despite the obvious fact that their life was hard, that they didn’t have , they were so friendly and jolly and happy with one another I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing No, they weren’t well-mannered as a rule, but in spite of that, no one was ill-aled me with, in amidst this uncivilised, isolated community of theirs was a true civilisation of apparent ca for me still, I watched the barkeep - who had thrust a plate of strange food and the darkest ale I’d ever seen at me (but for free, so I couldn’t complain) - kiss a man who slid over the bar and wrapped his arlanced around to see if anyone was looking but no one cared Brint caughtthe two men were old lovers Back home in Silvera, I knew of rumours of men who preferred other nore it as long as the men in question kept it hidden I’d always believed in every kind of freedoe country, people were freer and an to ease The situation in Alvernia wasn’t nearly so bad as we’d been led to believe Mayhap Haydyn need never rown up with

It was true

Once again I had been ignorant and prejudiced

I decided then and there, as I enjoyed the rambunctious, raucous coain draw an opinion until I knew everything about the subject upon which I spoke I thought of Haydyn’s long forgotten failed philanthropy regarding these people If we’d listened to her, ould have done a lot of good Once again I was ashamed

After I’d eaten, I had relaxed back beside Brint, listening as his neighbour Dru regaled anised a search party for a little girl who’d been kidnapped by the Iavii

"We were lucky that the group who’d taken wee Amelia were few, because no ht the buggers and bring her back"

I stared wide-eyed at Brint who looked inally embarrassed by the story "And did you?"

"Oh indeed," Dru went on "We snuck up on the buggers and dealt theot wee A her ho after that"

"You were very brave" I nodded, lifting irl suddenly appeared atatnot taken care of the warm and fuzzy from the ale She would have been pretty had she been allowed the life of a lady