Uzca found Thad sitting in the town square reading a book. He sat on the fountain's edge with his feet unshod in the water. The mage noticed Uzca approaching and waved to him.

"Ah! There you are. I was just going to find you. Did you and your cousin have any luck in town? I know you wanted to find the blacksmith."

Uzca joined him on the fountain's edge, but he kept his boots on.

He told him about the blacksmith and the spear made from the magic metal.

"Imbued metal? Did you buy it? I'd love to take a look. It's rare, even for mages. You need the right combination of talents to make it. As you might imagine, most mages are...bookish. Forging metal is a rather more physical job than me and most of my peers are used to."

"I did, but I'd like to wait until Bez comes back. It's a bit of a surprise. We had a little argument about buying it, but I decided his happiness was more important than a little less weight in my coin purse."

"That's sensible."

They idly chatted while waiting. Thad explained that he had stopped by a couple of lumber mills. Men from the town worked in the forest to the north, felling trees and getting the logs into the river, where they would float down to the mills. The logs were tagged with colored string to indicate who felled them. Individual people or families owned the mills, but a town-wide organization worked out and divided payments between the mill workers, mill owners, and loggers, which kept everyone in the town remarkably happy. Thad said it was one of the most effective business organizations he'd ever seen. No one was taking advantage of anyone else, and it had the bonus advantage of allowing workers to move from mill to mill if one closed for maintenance or any other reason.

Thad stopped by two such mills today. The mill owners suffered a little from the downtime, but they could make it up quickly enough if they needed to.

"Really, the downtime allows them to make other repairs and do maintenance they haven't had time for. Every mill expects to be down at least a week or two every year. So it all works out. There are others besides me that make the rounds repairing mills. The town mill organization arranges repairs if it's been more than a handful of days."

"This all seems really well thought out."

Thad nodded. "It's the lifeblood of the area. On the other hand, I worry about long-term stability in the town. They rely on the forest to the north, but there aren't a limitless number of trees, and they can't keep moving up the river. They're the furthest town north for a reason. The river really thins out a while north of here, and they probably wouldn't be able to float any logs in it. They're somewhat aware of the problem, so they replant, but trees take a long time to grow. They have years, maybe decades left before it becomes a real problem."

Uzca could see that. Everyone either seemed to work in the logging industry or relied on that industry to do business with them. If the lumber industry collapsed, this town would become an empty husk.

"These are fertile plains on the other side of the river," Thad said, pointing away from the river. "They could transition into an agriculture-based economy. They would need to be willing to slow lumber production, though. If they make a shift in the next couple of years, they could probably find a long-term balance where they didn't need to give up the logging industry entirely."

"It seems like you've thought about this a lot."

"Ah, well. I'm a bit of a wanderer, so I have a lot of time to think about these kinds of problems. And besides, it is interesting, and I don't want one of my favorite small towns to just evaporate someday."

Uzca could appreciate that. His hometown did a lot of mining in addition to raising herd animals. People like his father were more supporting elements of the town as a whole. Things would get tricky if they could no longer mine, but even his small mountain village was more diversified than the logging town.

"Have you spoken to the town's elders about this?"

"Elders? Like, the oldest people?"

"No, the leaders. We have a council of elders. My uncle is the first elder and oversees most of our village's long-term strategy."

"Hmm, interesting. No, I think the town has a mayor elected by the people, but I've never spoken with him. I think he works in the logging industry most days."

"Well, I think it's worth bringing up to him."

Stolen novel; please report.

Bezben arrived shortly after that, and he was shocked to see the brand-new spear Uzca uncovered for him.

"You really bought it?"

"Well, I didn't steal it. And you're going to pay me back for it eventually. Hand over your purse, and I'll hand over the spear."

The spear entranced Bezben, and he handed over his coin purse with barely a thought. He ran his hand along the length of the spear, totally focused.

Uzca dug through it and frowned.

"Did you spend some money?"

The guilty look that Bezben tried to hide was not challenging to spot.

"Uhh," he rubbed the back of his head. "I may have been a little angry when I left the blacksmith."

"And?"

"And I might have found some men who were gambling at cards...I thought I could win enough to buy the spear myself!"

Uzca dumped out the purse and found his cousin only had four marks left. He had probably started with around ten.

"You lost six marks!? What were you thinking, Bez!"

"I don't need the lecture, Uzca! I know I messed up."

Uzca was glad he wasn't holding the spear because he wasn't convinced he wouldn't have stabbed his cousin right there.

"Well. If it makes you both feel any better, dinner is on me!" Thad said, trying to lighten the mood. "I know of a great spot."

Uzca didn't leave his cousin any coins, returning the empty purse. "I guess it will take you a bit longer to pay me back."

To Bezben's credit, he did look remorseful. Uzca didn't know how much leeway to give his cousin. On the one hand, the man needed to figure out that he wasn't the only person who needed things and that it was okay to not always get what he wanted. On the other hand, Uzca had always been a little firm with Bezben and probably did his share of telling the boy what to do. Bezben's whole reason for coming was to get out from under his family's direction. If Uzca pushed him too far, he would push him away completely. He felt responsible for Bezben. He didn't want to just leave him on his own.

"I'm sorry, Uzca. I know I owe you for this, and I'm sorry about what I did. I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Uzca sighed and put a hand over his face. "I just want you to think about us as a pair right now. Consider what we, as a group, need before you decide what you need just for yourself. We have a long way to go, Bez."

Bezben responded with a firm nod when Uzca opened his eyes again.

"Sorry, Thad. You mentioned something about dinner?"

"I certainly did! Come on! I think I saw a traveling troupe roll into town. That will be a treat!"

To Thad's credit, the food was quite good. The restaurant was in the town square, and there were several tables outside where they sat. The restaurant's seating area filled with workers returning to town for the night. The traveling performers negotiated with the restaurant owner and eventually set up for their show right outside the seating area.

"Occasionally, I'll catch a show by one of these traveling troupes. They're always good fun! Do you get many shows like this up in the mountains?"

Uzca shook his head.

"I've never seen one," Bezben said. "What do they do?"

"They entertain us! The restaurant will have paid them a little to set up, since the troupe will draw in some customers, but they'll mostly be performing for tips."

The show started with a couple of dancers, and Uzca could appreciate the footwork on display. Bezben seemed more interested in the dancers' looks than their skills, and Thad clapped along with the music the troupe played.

After that, the jugglers came out. They performed with batons at first. Two jugglers tossed them back and forth. A third man walked up between them as though enjoying a nice night out. He stepped between the flying batons, and his face lit up with delight. He bent over, his head barely missing the batons, and picked up a half mark off the ground, grinning with delight. Then he suddenly noticed the whirlwind of batons around him and proceeded to try to escape comically.

The jugglers then switched to more exotic items. They threw rocks to one another, knives, flaming torches, books, and even a hat someone tossed in from the audience. That had been impressive. The hat moved so much more erratically than the other objects and had to be thrown high into the air. They ended the show with a bow, and they all clapped with genuine enthusiasm.

Uzca wasn't even sure if he had finished his meal. He was so engrossed in the performance.

The next act was a singer who sang a sweet song about lost love, which pulled on his heartstrings. Thad was openly crying, and even Bezben looked close to breaking down.

Two more acts followed, but before them, a man came around for tips. Uzca, though now poorer than he had expected, still threw a coin into the hat, and Thad followed suit. The next act was a small play that was thought-provoking, with just enough humor to keep things light. Uzca enjoyed it, though not as much as the juggling.

It was the final act that stole the show.

Interestingly, it was a magic show, but not the kind of magic Uzca expected. The man before them pulled things out of a hat that were far too large to fit in it in the first place. He made things disappear under a cloth and did tricks with playing cards that confused and amazed everyone who watched.

As the show progressed, they were drawn further into the act. They tried to figure out what was happening and how it was possible. At one point, Thad said that what they were doing defied any magic he knew of.

In the end, the show finished. Uzca watched as they packed up, gave one final bow, and left.

It was simply amazing. How could any show ever compare to what he had just seen? The skill and wonder they had embodied, it was...it was...

Uzca came back to himself. He blinked away the fog from his mind and realized he was just staring at the empty patch of ground where the troupe had performed. He looked across the table and was surprised to find that not only had he not finished his meal, but neither had Thad or Bezben. What's more, is that they were both starting at the place where the troupe had performed. Eyes open, mouths agape, they just stared forward.

He looked around. Everyone else at the restaurant and in the street nearby was doing the same thing. It was dark out now and getting colder. Only half of the street lamps had been lit. The man that was going around and lighting them had stopped at the edge of the circle of watchers, staring ahead like all the others.

"Bez. Thad. Something's wrong."