The Wager

"That was Kenttanka, the mute girl from the bay fisherman's family."

Ever since the "god" had visited Tom's temporary residence, quite a few local residents had begun wandering around the earthen house, perhaps hoping to soak up a little of the god's aura. After testing things for a few days and finding that Tom showed no displeasure at their presence, the people of the little town simply moved their market onto this street as well. The town was not large anyway; it was only a matter of a few extra steps. Tom was happy to see it happen too. His shopping trips became simple and quick, and the townspeople were willing to give this outsider who had spoken with a god low prices. Aside from the fact that there were often people lying on the road outside his door, kissing the footprints left by the bird-headed man, Tom did not feel his life had been disturbed too much.

Herpo the Foul's attitude, however, became even more ambiguous. He had Tom remove the Muffliato charm; in his words, "Human presence can help me recover quickly."

A week after the bird-headed man's visit, Herpo the Foul could basically get out of bed, though the area where he could move was limited to the tiny room. This also made the townspeople forget that when Tom had arrived, he had been carrying a charred corpse on his shoulder.

Today, as usual, Tom went out early. He first wandered along the coast, gazing at the increasingly violent thunder and the ever-thinning clouds across the sea. After a brief exchange with Nelson, he tossed the Small Silver Ball back into the sea, gathered some herbs that might wash ashore, and returned to the earthen house with a linen bundle on his back. On this street market,