Once upon a time, the stars glistened in the moon-washed sky as a
woodworker opened his wagon door and strode out into the night. The
noise of the past few days had become too much for Vedel -- he was in
dire need of rest, away from his home, the village of Manusha. All the
shouting between Elena and Vishengo had worn away at his senses and his
creativity, and he was fed up. For many hours now, he had been rolling
around in his bed, beeswax stuffed in his ears and a pillow over his
head.

Walking down the Eastern Road, the gypsy's mind wandered to the past
hours and days in the village, the nights full of yelling and arguments,
the shrill voices of Elena and her father. He walked across the eastern
bridge and into the city of Delos, which seemed deserted in the dead of
night. No voices could be heard as he continued through the settlement,
finally ending up on the western bridge.

As he meditated upon the bridge, he was encountered by a monk named
Mulisha and a young Occultist novice named Shaadra. The two listened to
Vedel's troubles and offered to attempt to mediate between Vishengo and
his equally hard-headed daughter. Though skeptical at any prospect of
success, Vedel led the pair back to Manusha.

The usual irritating cross-village "conversation" welcomed the three
wanderers just as they walked through the village gates. Elena and
Vishengo were arguing heavily, their voices beginning to sound
high-pitched and strained. When the adventurers went to speak with
Elena, they found that she had something other than reconciliation in
mind -- escape. They agreed to help her in her plan to get past her
father and leave the confines of the village for once. Wondering what he
was getting into, Vedel reluctantly agreed to watch the younger children
of the village while Elena was gone.

While Mulisha and the newly-arrived Jolee distracted Vishengo with a
conversation, Shaadra and Elena made their way through the village
gates, just narrowly making it past Vishengo's eagle eyes. With
newly-found freedom at her hands, Elena and her companion travelled to
Tasur'ke, where Elena saw the beautifully-decorated market for the first
time. As Elena's toes dug into the sand of the Tasur beach, she was
overwhelmed with joy by the wonders she saw. Waves crashed against the
rocks and the beach, and a tear ran down Elena's cheek as she stared at
the vast horizon, perhaps dreaming of what may lie beyond that line.

Elena and Shaadra then headed for Delos, where even more wonders awaited
Elena. The gypsy girl marvelled at the colourful graffitti scribblings,
the furniture shop, and the crowd of merchants hawking their wares.
Mulisha bought her an ice cream from Eithne's cart, and Elena savoured
the cold delicacy for the first time. There were so many new things to
discover!

Just as Elena thought she could rest for a moment, finding time to cope
with all the new impressions of the day, Jolee and Mulisha arrived in
Delos -- with Vishengo on their coat-tails! A heated conversation began
between daughter and father, quite similar to the ones from which Vedel
had had to flee. However, Vishengo unexpectedly capitulated, or at
least, softened his tone, simply and poignantly asking Elena to come
back to Manusha. He told her that he would allow her to leave the
village freely as soon as she would attain fullness of age -- 18. He
also asked Elena not to continue such a private family matter in front
of strangers.

Elena, stunned at the offer and Vishengo's further promise to allow her
to read her Achaean book and fully learn the Achaean tongue, was unsure
whether she should return to the backwater village or continue her
explorations of the world. Despite the efforts of Mulisha and Delphinus
to persuade Vishengo to let her go and Jolee's attempt to support the
elder gypsy, it was Elena's decision in the end.

With Vishengo's promise to let her explore the world freely as soon as
two further years had passed, Elena agreed to return to Manusha. Both
former wranglers were in tears as they declared their love for each
other -- and even this scribe could not resist dabbing a little at the
eyes as the two gypsies clung to each other, their teardrops flowing. As
the gathering began to disperse, Elena asked Shaadra to come and visit
her once in a while, and Shaadra announced that she would gladly comply.

We leave the scene at Elena's treehouse, where Vishengo and Elena still
have a lot to clear between themselves -- but for now, their quarrels
have ended with a satisfying agreement between a doting yet protective
father and a curious, yet loving daughter.

Penned by my hand on the 16th of Scarlatan, in the year 391 AF.