"Of course," Atlan said, though truth be told, that had been through the screen of his underwater sphere.

"But it's not as rural as could be. No farms. No fields. Not rural enough for the people here to be country-folk stuck so much in their ways that nothing ever changes until forced. And there's still the matter of the weather..."

"So, they've been very lucky with the weather for some years, which makes it very pleasant to live here, so they don't feel like moving away?"

Or maybe the place attracted so many immortals that their reluctance to change was influencing the town? If so, he needed a new place for his holiday.

If only he could take his shooting instructor with him!

"For decades? No one gets lucky with weather for decades!"

Atlan leaned back on the sofa to get a glance out the window past the other man. "And I don't think people generally chose their place of residence for the weather."

"No, but they might choose not to leave it because of it." Even though he'd grown up in a town Jan had learned very early on that most people were farmers and that they were dependent on good earth and weather for their livelihood. He'd probably never completely get it out of his head no matter how much the situation had changed.

"If the place really is that unnatural, though, perhaps it would be safer to leave?"

"It seems safe enough, in spite or or maybe because of the unnaturalness," Atlan pointed out. "And I hope that whoever caused this will be able to help me find a way back home."

"It does seem peaceful," Jan agreed. "But I never encountered anything unnatural that was safe."

Though, if he was completely honest the only unnatural things he had encountered were other immortals and changing the weather or influencing people's minds weren't abilities he'd ever seen any hint of in either them or himself.