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| - The man in the white silk robe stands apart from the hordes of merchants and adventurers that crowd the streets; there's something different about him.
He is one of the fortune-tellers you hear so much about these days.
When I first asked if he would tell my fortune, he refused me. "Form a party with the person you wish to check your fortune with, and then speak to me for a reading of your fate," he said. He specializes in the compatibility of one person with another, after all. I decided to wait and speak with his next customers.
Most of the people on the street paid no attention to him, just passing him by on their way to wherever they were going. After a while, a Hume named Yoshua and a Tarutaru named Rine came up to speak with him.
"We're more than happy to spend our lives together," they said with a smile, having broken racial barriers by preparing for their otherwise traditional wedding.
When I asked them what their fortune had been, Yoshua happily repeated the fortune-teller's words:
Adventuring together will be mutually advantageous. Good fortune fills your cup to overflowing. Be sure to share it with those less blessed by fate.
"After all, we're happy now, but it's not something we did alone. There are plenty of others who had a part in it," said Yoshua as he took his time to digest what the fortune-teller meant.
As he reflected on his previous adventures, Yoshua seemed like the type of man who can make all around him, including his partner Rine, happy.
Next to approach the fortune-teller were two people who occasionally head out fishing together--and are often competitive.
"Adventuring together will bring fair fortune. Stand together and you have little to fear. With your combined strength, you can overcome any obstacle."
One of the pair, Kenya, nodded his head in agreement as he listened. He let out a nearly defiant laugh, saying, "The two of us, we could probably even take on the mighty Sea Horror!"
It almost seemed as if he was about to set out at that very moment to hunt down the Sea Horror.
right
Standing next to her friend Kenya, Mayoc shrugged her shoulders and laughed, but she didn't seem to be objecting too strongly. It was easy to see that the two work well together.
After they left, several more pairs of adventurers visited the fortune-teller. Here are their impressions.
"It looked interesting, so I asked one of the other people on the street to have their fortune told with me. The fortune-teller said that adventuring together would bring us great fortune. So good, in fact, that he gave us a present."
"What should we do to improve our relationship? It would have been nice if he'd given us some advice..."
"He said adventuring together would be disastrous. I'm just happy he didn't say we should be together forever. Ha-ha."
The fortune-teller's words are sometimes met with laughter, sometimes with complaints, and sometimes with just a nodding head. Everyone reacts differently.
It is not really clear why the fortune-teller got into this line of work. This is not a very lucrative trade. Perhaps his only motive was to make people happy?
This question was put to rest when the next pair, Raivran and Myigoma, came to see the fortune-teller. Raivran had been on the verge of death out in the Valkurm Dunes when he was saved by Myigoma. This is not an uncommon way for adventurers to meet.
Before the reading, Raivran stated, "Whatever the fortune, my love for her will not change."
Their fortune wasn't especially encouraging. Clearly, Raivran and Myigoma weren't pleased. But it did seem to bring the two of them closer together.
"Ill portents will only make our love burn brighter. We'll never give up."
The fortune-teller's beard jutted out from under his hood as he nodded.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in fortune telling, the fortune-teller's words provide support to more than a few. The fortunes he provides are not just advice and warnings, but encouragement.
If you have a special someone, I recommend visiting the fortune-teller together.
Whatever the fortune, the fortune-teller's words will most certainly strengthen the bond between the two of you.
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