Julan was not the only one to take time learning more about Kaleeth's childhood home. Janius of course spent time training Julan and talking with him about how he was finding the village to be like, but his remaining time was spent engaging with strangers. More specifically, finding odd jobs to do around the village that allowed him to strike up conversations. There were more than a few polite rejections and outright cold shoulders turned his way, though he was able to find a few willing tasks.

Strangely enough, the people Janius spoke to were just as curious about the world beyond the swamp. The difference was their relative humbleness and politeness compared to the youths. Life in the swamp was hard work, unexciting and repetitive. But none Janius spoke to complained. He caught details of the feel of the village in ways Kaleeth could not have put into words easily. It gave him an appreciation for the place in all its differences.

The second morning, Julan's rite was still in the forefront of Janius' mind. His first thought after breakfast was to see how Julan was faring. The sight of him looking low concerned Janius from a distance, but he approached behind him with an encouraging smile. [i]"Good morning, Julan,"[/i] he said, before sitting down beside Julan and craning his head to look at his face. He switched to Cyrodilic. "What's on your mind? Feeling nervous about the rite?"

[hr]
"I think I'll try anyway." Rhazii slowly pulled away from the hug. Ahnasha saw the conflict he felt as he avoided eye contact. "Just one more question about this. Life extension doesn't hurt anybody, right?"

The way he asked made him sound as though he was bracing to be dead wrong and rude in his presumptions in spite of Ahnasha's continued patience.