Oiling The Wheels

The inhabitants of BafeldIsle are a simple people. Those that live in the countryside perceive that life in the city of Bafeld-Inwic is of a higher quality with the onset of new technology making city life safe and easy. Those that live in the city yearn for the days of open fields and clean air away from the failing sewer system of the urban environment.

A favourite pastime of many of the inhabitants is to sit on the highest point on the island and listen to the ramblings of Blind Jayke McAlastair while enjoying a family picnic. Most of these ramblings go straight over their heads as Blind Jayke is one of the tallest men on BafeldIsle. Some take copious notes and try to interpret his utterances as foretelling of some great apocalypse, but most regard it as a good opportunity to improve their children's throwing skills as Blind Jayke presents a slowly moving target.

Since BafeldIsle's highest point can hardly be called a hill let alone a mountain, the view from its peak is severely restricted. In fact on a bad day you can see the city in one direction and the Draconian Reef in the other direction. On a good day, both are invisible in the mist that hangs heavy over the island for much of the time. The reef has claimed the lives of many sailors who ventured too near, usually due to an excess of local mead.

On this day, at a particularly profound moment in Blind Jayke's pronouncements, the crowd was distracted by a child of one of the picnickers, pointing to the sky above the city where a small object surrounded by flames could be seen descending to the ground.

“Look, Mummy. A shooting star. Can I make a wish?”