24
Our harvest was poor but would be sufficient to get us through December and provide stocks for the journey south. In any other year, it would have spelled a very hard winter for our village, but this year, our hardships would be found elsewhere. We were preparing for the first night of the festival, but in a quieter spirit than usual, as so much of our thought and labor was being directed toward Amfortas. The burning men (an idea we brought with us from Paris) and the music machines, that in past years the Crafters had spent weeks building for just those three nights, weren’t with us this year. It would be a quieter, more thoughtful festival, but not a sober one. The liquor distiller had been bubbling all week.
We had given up many things, but dancing and drinking weren’t among them.
