The One Who Guides Wind and Flame (10)

Two months had passed since I began living with the Barm, and the season had entered the depths of winter.

The Barm are a tribe living near the western edge of the Great Plains.

However, as I mentioned before, the plains people are nomads who migrate several times a year.

Naturally, the Barm are no exception: in summer, they move to the northern part of the plains, and in winter, they move to the south.

During the other seasons, well, they move from place to place around the middle of the plains.

Of all the Barm's migrations, the most important are their summer migration to the north and their winter migration to the south.

Actually, none of a nomadic people's migrations are unimportant, since they are meant to keep the grass their livestock feed on from being completely eaten away.

What I mean is that the summer and winter migrations are particularly important.

The reason these two migrations are so important, apparently, is that the summer migration takes them to the northern plains, near the desert, where they can obtain resources unavailable on the plains.

I doubt the phrase "resources in the desert" conjures up much of an image, but apparently, even deserts don't consist all that often of nothing but endless sand.

There are rocky deserts where the bedrock lies exposed, gravel deserts covered in stones, and earthen deserts covered in soil or clay. In other words, there are all sorts of deserts.

Thus, in the desert regions north of the plains, they can apparently obtain salt, clay, and sometimes even metal.

Another reason the winter migration is important is that they trade with the countries near the sea to the south of the plains.

To improve their food situation even a little during winter, to acquire fuel that will let them keep warm, and for various other reasons, the Barm trade with the countries near the sea.

Today, I had come to Vivnal, one of the southern countries near the sea, together with a Barm trading caravan.

There were two reasons I had decided to travel with the trading caravan.

First, I wanted refined iron, fuel for smithing, and various tools, since iron ore was heavy and extracting the iron from it was difficult.

The Barm use dried horse manure as fuel, but that obviously can't produce the heat needed for smithing, and it would be faster to simply buy the various small tools I need.

The other reason was that, as an elf—or, more precisely, a high elf—I clearly didn't look like a nomad, so I thought it would be easier for me to put the merchants of Vivnal at ease.

The Barm had originally traded with the countries near the southern sea, including Vivnal, but the increase in Daria raids had made people wary of nomads in general and made trade more difficult. The idea was that if I served as an intermediary, perhaps that wariness would ease even a little.

The ironic part was that the Child of Flame, who had been one of the reasons the Daria raids had intensified, had also come to Vivnal with me.

It wasn't as if the Child of Flame's appearance was known throughout the southern countries, so it wasn't a major problem, but Juyal himself looked more than a little uncomfortable once he learned the circumstances.

Even so, I had brought him along because no one besides me could restrain Juyal, and the elders had made a fuss, insisting that I take him with us.

...Yes, I didn't think he would suddenly run wild or run away now, but it was only natural for the elders to be wary, so there was nothing to be done.

"Well, well, how unusual to find a forest person—an elf—in a place like this. I see, you came east overland and made the acquaintance of the people of the plains. Oh, you crossed the desert? Now that's an adventure."

After assuring the talkative merchant that the plains people traveling with me—the Barm—were friendly, I introduced them.

When I told him that I had come east by land, he misunderstood me a little, but it wasn't worth going out of my way to correct him.

Crossing the Man-Eating Great Marsh and crossing the desert were equally arduous journeys, after all.

The merchant's features resembled those of the people of the plains, but his skin was a rich, dark brown from the sun.

The difference between the two groups was unmistakable, and not just from their clothing.

A little disguise wouldn't be enough to infiltrate the other community.

During the conversation, the merchant inevitably brought up the increase in raids by the Daria.

That was only natural, since I had introduced the Barm by saying that they were different from the raiding Daria.

Juyal looked deeply conflicted as he listened, but he didn't turn away, continuing to listen intently while pondering something.

As obvious as it sounds, people who engage in raiding generally don't consider the circumstances of those they raid.

Granted, clever bandits and pirates are said to escort merchants until they have passed through a road or sea route, taking only some of their cargo or money in exchange, rather than stealing everything and bankrupting them, since they would starve if merchants stopped using those routes.

Even then, though, they don't do it out of consideration for the merchants. They simply dislike seeing their prey diminish.

After all, if you know the other side and have any inclination to consider them, you can't so easily rob them outright.

Thus, until now, Juyal had probably never been taught about the people the Daria raided, nor had he tried to learn about them.

Of course, he may have known things like which countries were formidable and which were highly vigilant, but he had probably never given any thought to the people living there.

But now, Juyal had seen people robbed by his own side, heard what they had to say, and begun to think.

What would he feel? What would he think? What conclusion would he reach in his own way?

A conclusion in which he killed himself out of a sense of responsibility would be far too boring for me, so I would prefer he not do that.

Even if Juyal came to think that was what he ought to do, I wouldn't let him choose such a path while he was still a child.

Well, while we're at it, perhaps I should buy gifts for Tseren and Shuro, too.

The gold and silver coins and gemstones I had brought with me could actually be used to buy things in these southern countries.