[12] Pittance

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—Circa 5,602 E.E. (Economic Era-The 17th Era): Goblin of the Whey-Weavers is born, mute with no chance of ever gaining a voice.—

Finn jumped from the grating wagon, patting Piscus' horse in thanks. Goblin followed and the two looked about in wonder. The dirt path had led them to stop in front of two large humanoid statues covered in moss. Finn studied the thick tall stones, trying to make sense of what they were. One resembled a naked woman with the head of a deer and Finn averted his gaze, trying not to stare. The other looked to be a man with a snake's body. Moss covered most of the man's face and Finn couldn't make much of its features.

     Beyond the statues rested the village of Pittance. It was a place unlike anything Finn had ever seen before. Dirt paths lined with white stones led to beautiful houses of clay brick and wood. To Finn, the homes looked as if living trees were hugging the edges of the four walls. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the four corners on each house were living trees. The people of Pittance had used incredible artistic skill and craftsmanship to build their homes into the surrounding wildlife. They were both architects and gardeners.

     Taller trees, with layered branches, formed multi-storied homes. Bushes and ferns pulled themselves up, rising in slopes around the walls. By staring closely, Finn could find the trace of human guidance in the growth. Wild bushes formed paths, a particularly long root had been turned into a bench, and the hole in a tree into a window. Open fields of flowers sprawled between the homes. Soft purple, yellow, and orange blossoms grew in abundance all throughout the peaceful village. It was as if they had built Pittance within a large open grove without ever having disturbed nature.

     Finn watched as white-robed children ran and giggled, climbing moss-covered statues dotting the fields. He took in the village as a whole. The entirety of the place was a circle. Surrounding the village, farms and gardens flourished; tended by men and women, side-by-side. Beyond the village, Finn caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off moving waters.

     Piscus led them toward the center of Pittance. Finn passed a group of adults sitting cross-legged in a circle; chanting, singing, and beating on drums. Their heads were wreathed in vines and their faces reddened as they sipped wine from hollowed goat horns. They spotted Finn and Goblin and waved with large smiles, treating them as if long-lost friends returning home. A young maiden, her lips soft and pink, beamed at them. Finn couldn't help but smile and wave back, his heart jolting. Women had always been rare in the Crust, only used as servants—never miners. The maiden mesmerized him and he listened to her strike a song as he followed Piscus forward.

     Betwixt glade and fern,

     thrush brings birth,

     the smell of spice is in the air!

     In hallowed groves,

     the couples dance,

     their passion burns and flairs!

Finn's cheeks grew hot and his stomach rolled. The way the drums beat and the way the woman's voice rose and fell: it brought a strange feeling to him, something he hadn't felt before. He wanted to run back into the circle and dance, grabbing at the maiden's fair hands.

     Piscus looked at him and laughed. He yanked Finn's shoulder, guiding him forward. "Careful friend, or you'll be lost in fantasies of wild romances and fairie-lit forests!" Finn shook his head and moved on, feeling haunted for something he didn't understand. To his left, Goblin was pulled away from the singers as well.

     They walked underneath an archway made of animal bone and strung with leaves. Deer and elk skulls looked upon them, their antlers curved in twisting knots. They passed stone pavilions where tall poles strung with dozens of colored ribbons hung in the breeze. Carvings of suns and moons in various stages of the eclipse topped the poles, each with smiling faces full of frozen merriment. Finn pointed them out to Piscus and the wrinkled man laughed, tipping his straw hat.

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