Eswin whistled as he put away the various metal and wooden knickknacks displayed in his stall, hiding them in a regular over-packed cart he called home. There were quite a few items to put away as the crowd was rather thin today. He hummed a slanting, jaunty tune paying no mind to the crowd of small children watching him with the blanket curiosity all children have, eating various food items bought from the carnival that just finished. Ranging from the age early enough to begin school to almost adulthood, this small gang eyed the wood elf tossing up a large pendant that appeared to have various mechanical parts. Watching carefully, the pendant seemed to fly up higher and higher in the air as the wood elf repeatedly tossed it, until finally with a theatrically large grunt, the necklace appeared to have flown up so high that the children lost track of it.
Once the children finally looked back down, they had found that the wood elf was now right in front of them leaning over, the pendant spinning around his finger. Without missing a beat, Eswin spoke: "Interested in gadget or two? A pretty ring to woo the girl down the street or a nice perfume for your mother? I even have some choice weapons for the upcoming warrior" He pointed to some simply carved wooden swords hanging off the side of the cart, perfect for slaying the garden-variety imaginary dragon or the most fearsome enemy gourd.
The children, obviously startled from this, took a step back. The youngest one finally spoke up: "Who are you?"
Eswin, knowing that this group wasn't exactly a paying crowd put the necklace back in his pocket. "Me? I'm just a lost woodland creature trying to make a buck, a name for myself and a way home."
Eswin thought back to the old days, serving Master Tervan. An elderly human merchant with a similarly positive tone, teaching Eswin the art of being a merchant, a salesman, a dealmaker. Eswin thought back even further, to when he was just a very young child. Foraging in the forest all on his own knowing no tune to whistle besides the haunting sounds of nature for as early as he could remember. As he recalled, he returned to packing up his cart.
The oldest of the children then spoke up as Eswin was walking back. "You didn't sell very much, so why are you so happy?" He was right around the judgmental age, and a self-conscious scowl was poorly hidden on his face.
Without turning around, Eswin's smile softened. "Are you criticizing my being happy? Isn't that what we all strive for? The most cynical say that ignorance is bliss, but that doesn't mean you have to be ignorant to be blissful. I don't see knowledge as a weight to be burdened but a door that has opened." Eswin gave the children one final look before he got on his cart and guided the horse to pull away.
