We didn't realize what was happening.
Not at the time.
They looked pretty much like any other pair of travelers.
Just passing through.
They did seem to move with a determination and lack of hesitation that might have been odd if we took the time to think about it, but they weren't the only people in the world who behaved like that. We didn't know just
what we were up against until much later. Not that she was really against us. But we would not have stood a chance if we tried to get in her way.
Fortunately for us, for everyone, her plan was drawn up
with everyone in mind. Maybe it wasn't really a close call. More an accidental brush with destiny rather than death.
She and her partner moved through our markets, waited patiently as if
everyone and everything was just as they should be, and calmly moved on after they found what they were after.
It really wasn't much to take note of, but enough of the people in our tribes found the pair of them odd enough to take notice, though they couldn't put their fingers on just
what was so odd about them. The rest of the story wasn't told to us until many years later by Lin herself.
Apparently she had included Lin in her plans as well. We were a rest stop. A place for
provisions and refreshment. But what Alla and her partner were after would affect not only the Radiant Paths, but the future of countless realms and kingdoms we had not even heard of.
Lin, after all, had taken her place among the stars at that point, and Alla was on her way there with a request. We were a part of history being made, though on the surface,
it was just another Wednesday.