Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

It doesn't take me long to realize that Agnieszka brought snacks and drinks for good reasons. And it is a good thing as well, that I have some towels as well. Dancing, as I find out, is a strenuous physical activity. At least if practiced like this.

Agnieszka starts me off with the basic everyday bar room dances I'm already familiar with, at least in passing, from evenings spent at the inn in the village. This time she doesn't let mistakes slide though. Instead she has me go through each step, each twist and turn again and again until I have them memorized well enough. And then she has me do it all over again.

Oh, gods and goddesses! Elder Jaromir mentioned that the village has a militia. Is she the militia's drill sergeant? It seems very likely to me right now.

By the time she calls for a first break I'm pretty much drenched in sweat and the fine new dress sticks to my skin in an uncomfortable way. At least for a little while. The enchantments kick in soon enough though and by the time I have wiped my face with one of the towels I brought it is already getting much better.

The older woman, who by some miracle, is not sweating nearly as much as me, raises an eyebrow, as she notices.

“You enchanted the dress?”

I nod and explain, while she pours us and Rafal a drink.

“I did. Twice. Self cleaning and self repair. A family heirloom in the making.”

Rafal nods in appreciation, as he takes a sip of wine while patting the lute in his lap.

“I always wanted to get an enchantment like that for trusty little companion here. Maybe self repair combined with something that makes it neigh unbreakable to begin with? I'm always a little worried when we head out into the wilds.”

I almost choke on my wine at the casual mention of one of the most potent combinations of enchantments.

“That is a potent combination. Something you might find on a king's coronation sword and the likes. You might have to save up some to afford something like that even considering any favors owed.”

He nods, with a dreamy look on his face.

“Rafal, king of bards, that would be something.”

He shakes his head.

“I'm not in a hurry. I still have plenty of growing to do before I can seriously consider an enchantment like that anyway. And who knows, the mates and I might just come across a real treasure cache somewhere out there before then. I certainly know worse things I could spend my share on than an enchantment like that.”

Agnieszka and I listen carefully as he elaborates. In the end I empty my cup maybe a little too quickly. Thankfully it isn't a strong wine though.

“I can't wait to hear the stories of Rafal, king of bards. Preferably told in rhyme to some catchy tune.”

I nod as I think about it some more.

“Definitely told in rhyme to a catchy tune!”

Agnieszka laughs out loud and Rafal snorts into his cup. It takes him a moment to regain his composure.

“Can't compose that tune myself though. Can't make up the rhymes myself either. That wouldn't be a good look.”

Agnieszka empties her own cup as well and puts the cups and the now half empty bottle away again.

“Yes, songs like that have to come from someone else. If people sing songs about you in inns, taverns or dance halls or during festivals, while you are still alive, you certainly have made it big. Anyway, are you ready to get going again?”

I just nod and straighten out my dress as I get back up.

“Good! Lets try something different then! What we did so far was a nice warm up, but we really should focus more on the dances for the festivals.”

She leads me a little closer to the scorched ground at the heart of the fairground, without giving much of a chance to protest, while Rafal starts playing again.

Apparently the bard knows which piece to play. Have they talked about this beforehand? Is there some obvious order to things I'm not aware of? Or can he tell just from our position on the fairground?

It might just be the latter, as the distance to the spot where the fire would burn, or rather the center of the fairground in general, seems to be important.

I don't have to ask either, as the older woman is quick to explain.

“We will start with the dance for the midwinter night. It is, the easiest. No fancy steps, no jumps and exciting figures either. At least at first.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It's midwinter night after all. The longest and usually one of the coldest nights of the year. Snow and ice aplenty. Hot food and strong spirits as well. And, of course, thick clothes. Not exactly the best combination for exciting acrobatics. It still is fun though. And towards the end couples who intend to get married the next year usually jump over the fire together. That really is the only exciting and slightly dangerous part. The rest is a lot calmer. Its still pretty fun though.”

I nod as old memories rear their head. Memories of a fairground not entirely unlike this one. These memories are fuzzy though. Childhood memories? Have I been to midwinter night dance before?

I scrunch up my face as I try to recall more details. Finally other things than the taste of candied apples, gingerbread and sweet tea come to me.

“The dance with the ribbons? Before the fire is lit?”

My mentor flashes me a beaming smile.

“Exactly! The dancers will be divided into two groups and form two circles. Everyone gets a long, colorful ribbon which is affixed to a tall pole in the center of the stacked firewood. Then they make their rounds around it in different directions. And whenever the tune of the music changes the inner circle moves to the outside and the other way around and they switch directions as well.”

As if to demonstrate the tune Rafal is playing changes and I nod. The pattern she has described keeps going until everyone comes together at the center and the ribbons are all tangled up, or better woven into a tight pattern. Supposedly the pattern can be used to tell fortunes and the likes. I'm not too sure about that though.

Agnieszka in turn proceeds to show me how I need to move. It is, at first not to complicated. It starts as a rather sedate dance after all.

It quickly gets more complex though, as I need not only mind my feet. I need to think of my hands and arms as well because of the ribbon, which I have to imagine right now.

When my counterpart on the other circle goes low as we pass I need to raise my arms high and the other way around. And then we practice the switch from one circle to the other and the first time I actually manage to bump into Agnieszka. I quickly get the hang of it afterwards though.

The only thing still worrying me is, that the tunes Rafal is playing pick up in pace whenever he moves from one to the other. By the end I'm out of breath again.

I pretty much drop to the ground without much ceremony as we have another break and another cup of wine. Finally I get my breathing back under control.

“What is up next?”

My question doesn't get answered right away, as Rafal is drinking right now and Agnieszka still needs to catch her own breath. She isn't a young thing like me anymore after all.

In the end I grab the coffee based stamina potion from my basket and hand it to her, before she can pour herself any of the wine.

“Give this one a try. It improves mana regeneration in addition to being a stamina potion. It uses coffee as one of its ingredients and should grant you a pretty decent second wind. And, to be honest, I'm a little curious how people will like it.”

Without much of a second thought or any worries she uncorks the potion bottle and empties it with one big gulp. Almost immediately her eyes widen. So does her grin.

“Oh my! Sweet! And it prickles!”

Rafal raises an eyebrow at that.

“I might just give it a try tomorrow as well, if you don't mind. I'm still good right now though.”

At this point Agnieszka pipes in again. Her face is flushing a little.

“I'm not sure second wind is a strong enough word for the effect of this potion. Oh my, oh my! Don't let any of the kids have any of this! The gods and goddesses only know to what kind of mischief they could get up to after having some.”

She sighs.

“It could be a big hit with them though. Sweet and prickly might just be something they would go for. Never mind though. You wanted to know what else we had planned for your lessons?”

I simply nod and she goes on.

“Well, I thought we could practice the jump over the fire, but unless you are in a hurry to get married that really isn't much of a priority. It isn't any fun without an actual fire anyway. So, for a change of pace we could practice some polkas. They are similar in nature to what we just practiced after all and we have to make sure you don't focus too much on any one dance.”

Rafal chuckles and speaks up, cheerfully plucking at the strings of his lute as he does so.

“Yes, we don't want to teach you only a single dance after all. There is so much more fun to be had! So many rhythms! So many tunes! And afterwards we can give the midwinter night dance another try. Besides, for one of the next lessons I would like to invite my friends along, especially Feliks. He can teach you a lot more about acrobatics in general and that is knowledge and practice you might need for the more complex jumps and lifting figures.”