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Thoroughly exhausted by their subterranean travails, Oiur limps their way back to the caravan. They spend some time quietly speaking to Kazrin, occasionally glancing over their shoulder at their companions gathered around the fire, before retiring to write in a small oilskin-wrapped book. They sleep like a stone.
The next morning, the travelers awake to the smell of woodsmoke and the sound of Oiur humming a mellow, contented tune. As people trickle in a few at a time, the fiery-haired musician smiles and offers them a short stack of hot, flat, and slightly blobby cakes, fresh off the "griddle"—the recovered shield.
When Ibb comes to see what the fuss is about, they grin and hold up a finger. From beneath a cloth, still warm, they produce two oblong versions of the same product. One is shorter and stouter, with a long protrusion extending up and past an oval lump at its wider end. The other is narrow, though about as long, and is missing its ovoid capstone.
"There you go, Ibb. Golfblin pancakes!" They laugh, and offer the big man a battered old fork.
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One evening on the journey back to Absalom, Oiur takes Eugressa aside.
"I know some parts of your past are hidden. Maybe they should stay that way. But," they say, pulling a slim book from their pack, "I expect you're building a future you'll want to remember! I've given you a head start."
They open the book, its thin wrapping crinkling as they do so, and reveal the first page. On it, written in neat, squat letters, are a few dated paragraphs detailing the events of the last few weeks: Dreng's rude awakening, the trip to Isger, the names of the Varisian caravaners, and the events in the woods. At the bottom are three bars of musical notation, under which is written one word: practice!
Oiur smiles uncertainly. "You don't have to use it if you don't want. It just seemed like it might be helpful."
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Oiur sits in silence, watching Rowdy tend to Serena. After a while, they hazard a comment.
"That was a good thing you did, talking to Camon. I can't imagine what it's like for him, coming from where he did and starting a new chapter of his life. For that matter, I can't imagine what it must've been like for you. But I'm glad you're able to use your experience to help others."
They rap their knuckles twice on the table.
"You're alright, Badger."
