"I never had the chance to visit Altitharma Shrine before, so I decided this was the time. I walked the road for miles until it came to Hersa Bridge, which is where I am right now."
"Traveler, the story of the bridge is this, and I was there when all this happened, in those days when . . . when . . . Oh come on!" The puppeteer seized his creation and hurled it to the ground, then scurried over and checked for damage. "Don't break! I don't have time for you to break!"
"Trying to establish an image as a temperamental artist, huh?"
"Oh, uh, I, no, it's because . . ." Fargen straightened up when he realized Otor and Skjord had seen his embarrassing performance. "It's all the headman's fault anyway. He told me to perform 'The Apparition on Hersa Bridge' at the next festival. It has too many parts! I can't memorize all the lines, and actions, and touch up enough puppets beforehand."
"Sounds terrible. Almost as hard as real work." Skjord flexed his arms built by real work.
"Does the headman look over your shoulder while you're really working? It would be one thing if you were like the lumberjack character, who . . . wait." Fargen looked at Skjord, and Otor again, and then Skjord, then Otor.
"Yes?"
"What if . . . you two took the place of two of my puppets? Then I wouldn't have to learn as many parts."
"Huh?"
And that was how plays were invented. Good luck proving that story false.
Finis
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