Three weeks later, the open road carries Nhal and Slaan into Morning Star beneath a violet dusk. They bring no mission, only curiosity, companionship, and packs lightened by travel.
The settlement welcomes them without ceremony. Void-kind and mortals share steaming bowls, barter beneath striped awnings, and pause between errands for easy conversation.
the Morning Star resident
You arrived at a good hour. The evening meal is shared, and no one asks you to earn your place before sitting down.
Slaan accepts a bowl from a laughing vendor and studies the surrounding streets with bright, restless interest. Violet lamps reflect in her green hair as neighbors greet one another.
the Morning Star resident
There is a small disagreement at the south stall, if you would like to observe. Two makers want the same space for their work.
the Morning Star resident
No council will declare a permanent answer. They will listen, try an arrangement, and change it if the people involved find it poor.
Beyond the meal tables, two residents speak beside a crowded stall while others continue eating nearby. The disagreement remains ordinary, public, and unfinished, awaiting Nhal’s response if she chooses to watch.
“I propose they share the space by turns”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
The two makers pause beside the crowded stall: an adult void-kind woman with copper-bright eyes shaping dark clay, and a broad-shouldered adult man arranging painted wooden charms. Their tools and wares overlap across the disputed space.
Nhal
You can share the space by turns. One of you works here while the other displays, then you switch.
The makers study the stall, then each other. A startled customer shifts aside, catching the awning cord; it snaps, spilling a neat row of charms into the dust.
the clay maker
That gives us both the hours we need. I can shape in the morning, when the light is strongest.
the charm maker
And I will take the later watch. We will mark the change clearly, so neither of us has to guess.
The nearby residents help gather the scattered charms. The stall remains shared, and a strip of violet cloth is tied to its post as the first visible sign of the agreed turns.
Slaan
A practical answer, freely offered. Though I suspect the broken awning will make your solution memorable before anyone tests it.
Share the evening meal in Morning Star
Experience the singing stones with Slaan