"You. You get it. Though to be honest, being able to start saving up some cash has been worth it for me. I've got a gig playing at the Midnight Theatre--apparently that's kind of where a bunch of the magic-y folks hang out, so it's networking as well as a job for me. Like, I'm not the only bard around, but the others come from other worlds so what being a bard means is slightly different for them."

By now, the cold dinner goop is congealed into a harder lumpy mass. Eric attempts another couple bites anyway.