Why me?

I lay awake in bed most of the night, my head spinning with thoughts. Most of all: Why me? I've barely started adventuring - why would they ask someone as green as me to do this mission when they have experienced folks like Naji eager to volunteer?

I mean, I do feel like I'm getting stronger. I don't struggle as much in battle, and I can use higher-level spells now. But I still have a lot to learn. And I can't even beat a damselfly yet!

So no, it can't be my battle skills they want. It's got to be something else.

Perhaps it's the fact that I am so new? Maybe they think I won't question their orders. Maybe I can pick up on something an experienced officer can't, simply because I don't have any idea what to expect.

Laying in bed isn't going to give me any answers. I obviously wasn't going to get any sleep & dawn was breaking, so I decided to get up and go for a walk.

The city was just starting to stir. Merchants were sweeping their sidewalks and drawing back curtains. Water splashed merrily in the fountain. A young Galka ran by, startling a sleeping Elvaan, who sat up with a start and blinked a few times, then started laying out his bazaar merchandise again. A few hopefuls were gathered at the auction house windows, ready to pounce should a tempting item be listed for sale.

I've been spending so much time in the dunes chasing damselflies that I had forgotten what the city sounded like. The clang of the blacksmiths, the creak of the drawbridge, the water tumbling in the wheels, merchants & customers haggling over prices: all these combined to give Bastok its own unique song, full of energy, discovery, innovation--and yes, adventure.

I stopped in the middle of the Galkan Bridge, leaning on the railing, looking towards the port where an airship was landing. There was still so much to learn about this place I called home.

But now was not the time: I had to go far away, not only to another city but another continent. What kind of song would it have? I couldn't even begin to imagine.