THE OUTLAND

124

And nothing has changed in the world. During my absence, Mekon not only didn’t make any progress on the part of the ritual, he didn’t even start it! The jester knows what this overgrown child could do, but I found him exactly where I left him - in a cold hut, sleeping under the skins. The shack did not include its own fireplace, or even a place for a fire - the tribe was going to cook at the public fires - so, of course, there was a quite logical oak tree in the house.

However, it’s not for me to freeze - jumping up from the bed, I made the character do several energetic swings of my arms and tilts, dispersing the blood and warming it a little. There were even a few cakes on the table, baked by who knows who, but as a breakfast it will do. Another observation was that the sunbed of Mekon himself dominated the tiny room; no other furnishings could be found. So, again an orphan and a loner? The abyss of imagination, you will not say anything.

And the thought of becoming an adult for som