Ramza did not understand the cause of the Barkeep's amusement. "She had done us a kindness, and she needed to walk across the city with a heavy instrument. I only did what anyone would do."

He took in the sight of the crumbling fountain, and had a brief flashback of what it had looked like during the city's prime. A young woman had sat there with her treasured lute, not knowing that the rest of her life would be numbered in days, not years.

He knelt down, studying the ground around the fountain. The worn-down ghost of brick paths and walkways were still there beneath the dust and grass. He found the one to follow and stood back up. He pointed down the path. "This is the way we went."