Jason apologised to Farrah the next day when she arrived at Jory’s clinic for his training.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realise until afterwards that I was accusing you of being callous. I can sometimes let my mouth run off on me without thinking it through or considering the other person’s perspective.”

“That’s very clear,” Farrah said. “You weren’t completely wrong, I guess. Mostly, but not completely. You do have to be a little callous to do what we do.”

“Maybe,” Jason said, “but I shouldn’t be judging you when I don’t know what you’ve been through. The one thing I do know about this world is that I’m ignorant about all of it. It’s just that… in my world, I’m not a person of consequence. Being one of the faceless masses isn’t terrific, but there is one luxury the powerful don’t enjoy.”

“Oh?”

“When you’re just a face in the crowd, then you can hold an ideal without being required to live up to it. But here, my decisions can be life and death. My principles are being put to the test, and I’m forced to confront what it means when they bend, or even break. Like anyone, I liked to think of myself as someone who would stand tall under the pressure. Now I’m really under it, standing up is harder than I thought. I have my own values, from my own world. They’re the only thing I was able to bring with me. And sometimes, most times, it feels like this world wants to eradicate them. But if I let it, then what do I become?”

“I can’t answer that for you,” Farrah said. “Being good is easy when the choices are easy, but adventurers don’t sign up for easy choices. Being a good person means being good when the choices are hard, and there’s a price to that.”

“Rufus told me something very similar.”

“He might have his blind spots,” Farrah said, “but his family have never been shirkers. When the time comes to stand, they stand at the front.”

“Again, I’m really sorry. You were right that I don’t know the things you’ve seen.”

“I was, wasn’t I? But sometimes I forget how adrift you must feel, in a world you don’t know.”

“Adrift is about right,” Jason said. “All I have to anchor myself is who I am. It feels like if I lose that, then I might never find a way home.”

“You realise that doesn’t actually make sense, right?”

“I’ve been in this world for three weeks,” Jason said. “I’ve been getting by on throwing myself into everything like a maniac, because if I stop moving I’m going to completely lose it. I’m one bad day from cracking like an egg.”