A Matter of Faith

Boudica smiles and walks beside Moryana, saying, "Ah, yes, they are homes. Farms, in fact. There are many more in the village itself. You have much to learn, but we can help."

When she raises a concern about the oxen, Boudica puts a gentle hand on her arm and says, "It is ok, my dear, they are not being harmed, at least not a far as I can see. They are domesticated animals, born and bred for pulling the plow. As long as the farmers act appropriately, the oxen are unconcerned by the yoke on their shoulders. They pull the plows and, in exchange, the farmers feed and house them for life. Do you not know what a domesticated animal is? These are not animals int he wild; they live only because someone raised them."

"But why do they make these...'oxen' pull these...these...things?" Moryana has never seen the open skies. Or an Ox. Or a plow. She doesn't know what 'farming' is, or several of the words Boudica just used. She is literally 'a babe' from the woods, and only now does she begin to understand how completely out of her depth she is. So out of depth, she doesn't even realize she has no way to earn her keep once you reach the city (a city!!!), or how easily she could be taken advantage of by someone unscrupulous.

What do you do?

"It's a partnership Moryana, the oxen would be hunted by predators in the wild, here they are protected and in exchange for that protection, food, shelter, clean water, they provide a service to the farmers. That is how a community works, all people working together for the safety and security of others" Anton hoped his words didn't come of condescending, but how do you teach the basics of community to a fully grown woman without coming off a bit condescending.

Will hails the curious boy. Young man, do you know Humphrey? Fetch him, or one of the guards, please. Tell him we’ve returned, with Stefan.

Miyana takes Boudica aside. "You realize that we can't just abandon her. Do we have a plan for this child? How will she make her way?"

Aside, to Miyana, Boudica says, "I thought perhaps Humphrey and Stefan could take her in. But I will be sure to find someone capable and kind to care for and educate her."

To Moryana, she says, "Well, the oxen are far stronger than a human, and it pulls a heavy wedge of metal to carve a trench in the soil. Then the farmer sows seeds in the earth and covers it up. In several months those fields will be filled with plants offering a bounty of food for the whole village. It is one of the primary ways we feed so many people. There are too many to survive on foraging and hunting alone. it's called farming, and its invention long ago is what allowed people to come together in larger numbers like this town. Do you understand?"

Boudica has been told more than once that she would have made a good teacher, had she not felt the call to adventure.

"Humphrey? He's the old Thyatian Wizard that lives in Threshold, isn't he?" the young boy answers Will, raising his voice above the honks of his geese "I could never get there and back here before sunset, and tata will smack my behinds if I'm late for dinner again" he didn't even stop to think who would take care of his flock while he was away. Presumably, that would be Will. "Sorry, mister"

Moryana wasn’t dim-witted—she simply hadn’t been taught the things others took for granted. Her eyes lit up as Boudica explained farming to her.

"Oh" her eyes lit up "It’s like the little tomato plant I used to take care of"
She made the connection to gardening easily, though the sheer scale of ‘farming’ left her awestruck. The golden fields seemed to stretch on without end. So much food, raised by so many people, working together. It was marvellous—almost magical in its own right.

And there was so much more to see. There were so many other people walking the main road to Threshold. Merchants guiding mules with goods. Families in wooden carts. It was more human activity than ever witnessed in her entire life. She stopped in her tracks when the city of Threshold came into view, and once again when you reached the open air market outside the city’s gates.

"What is that? And that???" there were so many herbs and fruits she didn’t recognize, though she didn’t like the cage of squawking chickens one of the men was carrying. It reminded her too much of her mother’s experiments. "And these houses" she whispered after you finally managed to pry her away from the stalls, "How did they manage to stack stone so high without it falling??" Her grip tightened around Boudica’s arm as you walked the streets toward Humphery’s house. Her questions came faster and faster, though it was easy to notice she was becoming more and more agitated, especially when strangers brushed too close to her taste. Or when the group of young men stared at her as they walked by "do I have something on my face?"

"Why are the people given to arms?" Miyana asks the guardsman.

Will stands silently stalwart. He positions himself between Stefan and the pitchforked townsfolk.