"It is one of my faults," she agreed. "Apology."
"Needless," he said, laughing again. He had an easy laugh that compelled her echoing laugh. "Will you accept a partial truth?"
"I would prefer the whole truth."
"The matter is complicated. The partial truth would be easier to assimilate now, leading to a later revelation of more of the truth."
"Acquiescence." This was a peculiar qualification, but she was really curious.
"Minstrels have avenues of information. We visit many villages and talk with many people. I knew of you before I came to Sourberry Village. I knew that you had unparalleled persistence and loyalty, and that you were to travel to Triumph City. I have a mission you might be suited for, but it is important and perhaps delicate, so I needed to get to know you first. So I intercepted you by no coincidence."
A mission? Whatever could that be? "Question?"
"There is a young man who needs help. He has a remarkable ability, that he needs to develop fully, but he does not practice. He needs constant encouragement."
"Persistence," she said, catching on to the relevance. "If I were with him, he would practice."
"Affirmation."
"What is this ability?"
"He can move a small object a small distance without touching it physically, if it is not too heavy."
"Perplexity: isn't this magic?"
"Not exactly. It seems to be independent of Chroma zones."
"But only Glamors can do magic outside their Chroma zone. Unless folk have a Chroma stone."
"Affirmation. But this man is nonChroma and has no stone. He does not seem to be a Glamor. It is a curiosity."
"Agreement! But setting aside whether this is really magic, it does not seem to be much of a talent. Unless he could learn to move a large object far."
"Apparently it is limited to very small objects, about the size of the last knuckle of a thumb, and the distance of movement is no more than that. Practice will not increase those aspects."
"Then what would be the point of encouragement?"
"There are other ways in which practice could help. He might move an object from a greater distance."
"But you said the distance could not increase."
"Clarification: the object moves hardly the width of a thumb, but he moves it from an arm's length away. With practice he might move it from several paces away."
Opaline nodded. "Understanding. Still, what is the value of such a thing? Wouldn't it be easier to move the object by hand and put it where it needs to be?"
"We think that if he practiced hard enough, there might be no limit to distance."
"Confusion."
"He might stand here, and move the object on yon mountain." Hayseed pointed to a distant green volcano on the horizon.
"Oh. Beyond a Chroma zone, where he could not go himself? But from that distance, how could he even see the object, let alone move it? And what would it accomplish to move it?"
"There is a corollary talent he seems to have. To move the object, he has to perceive it with some sense other than eye or ear. That, too, must be developed, because without it the movement would be useless."
"Agreement. Still, such a small object, moved with so little force, seems hardly to be worthwhile."
"Request: spot demonstration."
"Agreement." This business was intriguing, but so far seemed like much concern about very little.
"Here is the object, for this purpose," Hayseed said, holding up his thumb. "Here is where it is, perhaps carried in your pocket." He put his thumb in her rear skirt pocket. "Now it moves just a little." He moved his thumb, and goosed her.
Opaline jumped. "Indignity!"
"Apology. It merely shows how the ability to move a small object might cause a reaction in a person. Anything in your pocket could be made to do that to you, perhaps from out of sight. It would be effective against a man, too."
"Like this?" she asked, putting her finger in his front pocket, then poking his crotch through the cloth.
"Exactly. Such a thing might cause dissension in a distant hostile army."
She thought about that, and had to to laugh. "All those soldiers getting goosed! They'd be punching each other in retribution, and there would be a melee."
"Affirmation. So we feel this is worth exploring. But before you decide, there is another caution."
Opaline was learning to take his cautions seriously. "Question?"
"He is simple."
She considered that. "You are saying that he is not of average intelligence?"
"Stupid," he agreed. "His mother must care for him, for he can't exist independently. If you associated with him, you would have to treat him like a child in many respects. But he is not a child; he is a man."
"A man," she repeated. "The things you would have liked to do with me, he would also like to do?"
"Affirmation. It would be hard to explain to him why not."
"So this is more than guidance."
"He would need guidance there too."
Sexual instruction? "Conclusion: I couldn't give that. I have no experience myself."
He nodded. "Conjecture: Taken as a whole, this may not be a thing you want to do."
But she was dangerously intrigued. "Situation: I need a job, a man, and a feeling of personal significance.
Does this relate?"
"The job exists. There would be a permit from the king allowing you to draw whatever goods or services you needed to make a no fault household for the man and yourself. The man is simple, but he is amiable and amenable to direction. The significance of the training is overwhelming."
"Question?"
"There is an enemy approaching our planet who means to destroy us, and may have the power to do so. This may be our secret weapon to stop that enemy. The fate of our planet may depend on you."
Opaline laughed. "You are telling a minstrel story! Minstrels love to tell tales of kings and planetary threats. I was believing you until you reached too far."
"Regret. You would surely not believe the whole truth."
"Agreement."
"But I will get you safely to Triumph City." Hayseed looked ahead. "We are approaching the next village. Tenderpaw, I believe."
"I have heard of it, but never been there. I wonder how it came to be named?"
"Every village has its story," Hayseed said. "Like every person."
"I had better go to the bushes," Opaline said. "In case it takes a while to get through the village."
He did not pretend to not understand, so as to force her to be embarrassingly explicit. She had to pee. "I will guard the region," he agreed. "Request: do it under that tree." He gestured to a spreading tree at the edge of the Blue Chroma zone.
"Question?"
"I know that tree, and owe it a favor. It would really appreciate a donation of fertilizer."
"Amazement!"
He shrugged. "It is merely a request. You may do as you choose."
She went to the bushes, paused, then on to the tree. The concealment was not as good here, but Hayseed was dutifully facing away, so she drew down her parities, and squatted to urinate. As the liquid soaked into the ground, the tree shook, and a plum-orange dropped to the turf before her. Startled, she straightened up, well-nigh wetting herself.
It was almost as if the tree had given her a return gift. Coincidence, surely.
She pulled up her parities, dropped her skirt, and picked up the fruit. She walked back to the path. "Guess what happened," she said as Hayseed turned back to face her.
"Exchange of gifts."
"You knew!"
"I relate to trees."
Bemused, she did not comment. They walked on into the village, and to the central house where the Village Elder sat on his porch.
"Greeting, Elder," Hayseed said formally. "I am Hayseed the Minstrel, and this is my sister Opaline."
The Elder peered at Opaline's hand. "Suspicion: What's she doing with a plum-orange? We don't tolerate theft."