“If you have everything you need around you,” Dex said, “there’s no reason to leave. It takes a lot of time and effort to go someplace else.”

But exchanging pebs isn’t about bartering. It’s about benefit. You are a part of the community, and the farmer doing something for you means that they are, effectively, doing something for the group.

“But that’s the point of a shrine, or an idol, or a festival. The gods don’t care.

Mosscap nodded again at their explanation. “But if there’s no penalty for debt, what’s to stop you from taking without giving back?” “It’s a bad feeling,” Dex said. “Everybody has a negative balance from time to time, for lots of reasons. That’s fine. That’s part of the ebb and flow. But if someone had a huge negative … well, that says they need

Welcome comfort, they reminded themself, rubbing the little pectin-printed bear with their thumb. Without it, you cannot stay strong.

“Sure, but exchange is what you get out of any interaction, even the smallest ones. Everything has a give-and-take.”

They were running up against a wall, and it didn’t matter whether they understood where the wall had come from, or what it was made of. The only way to get through it was to stop trying, for a while.

“On the contrary, our way of life shows you how comfortable the world is on its own. Paring things down makes the small comforts all the sweeter.

“Nobody should be barred from necessities or comforts just because they don’t have the right number next to their name.”