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These are selected pages; The Traveler is available to read on Tapas!



A masked woman (Halla) walking through a rainstorm remembers verbal/physical abuse from her father, and is shocked by thunder. While running in a rainstorm, Halla falls down an embankment and is approached by a concerned man with a tarp (Jon). Jon and Halla walk back to his house under the tarp, and she is greeted by his mother (Zeporah). While sitting in front of the fire together, Jon offers Halla a hot drink, and jokes about offering her liquor instead. He pours her some hot tea. Halla prepares to take a bath, and as she takes off her shirt, Zeporah notices old bruises and scars on her back. Jon leads Halla into his woodshop. Jon searches for a charm in a drawer as he explains to Halla how much of an honor it is for people to trust him enough to make a mask for them. Jon and Zeporah talk cryptically about setting wards as Halla wakes up and ventures into the room. Zeporah watches Jon and Halla leave the house. They end up at a small rocky creek. Halla explains how no hobby has ever kept her interest. Jon offers to teach her woodworking in case she might be interested in that. Jon grabs Halla's arm to catch her from falling. This triggers a bad memory in Halla, and she screams at him to let go. Halla apologizes profusely for yelling at Jon, and they wait for a minute for her to get comfortable again before heading back to the house. Jon apologizes to Halla for scaring her and offers again to teach her woodworking. Jon, shaken up, talks to his mother about accidentally scaring Halla. She assures him that there's no way he would have known, especially as a stranger to Halla. Halla sits up in bed and looks out the sunny window behind her. Halla finds Jon in the woodshop, where he begins to explain the treadle lathe to her. Jon demonstrates how to turn a bead on the treadle lathe.