The longhouse was so silent Kaelen could hear the sputter of individual fat droplets hitting the flame in the central hearth. His proposal hung in the air, a shimmering, dangerous thing, like a blade balanced on its point. To trade with the source of the silence? To barter the song itself? It felt like inviting a rot into the heart of a healthy tree.
Jorah was the first to break the stillness. She let out a short, sharp breath that was almost a laugh, but held no humor. "You would teach a landslide to flow gently? You would reason with the earthquake?" She shook her head, her stone-gray eyes reflecting the firelight. "Their language is force. They will see your 'commodities' and simply take them."
