FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 3 Part 7e

FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 3 Part 7e

Previous Next

 

They made it to Aramy in three days. Three long days, travelling from shortly after sunrise through until it was nearly sunset. Eight people had travelled home to Aramy with them. Word spread of their arrival that evening and early the next morning half the village gathered in TownHall. A large breakfast had been prepared, Adwin and his companions had sat as the guests of honour.

 Of course Tipper had chaffed, against the delay, she was mollified when the village announced they had a wagon of wood, supplies and a bit of food that they wanted to gift to them. Adwin accepted and after a brief consultation with Tipper he also accepted the offer of help from half a dozen of the locals. They had not known the details, but they knew Tipper was digging for something in the ruins of Kaymere.

Over the last couple of eight-days Tankard Dwill had decided he was going to memorialise the events surrounding the witch’s intrusion into their lives. He intended to carve a statue of Adwin from a large stone that lay on the edge of his property, along the lane leading up to the family house. There was much ado from the family over Adwin’s visit, he and his companions were invited to another large meal in their honour.

It was past mid-afternoon before Adwin made it to the Dresmend property. Things had changed considerably in the short time they had been gone, most of the yard had been cleaned up and some order had been established in what was sorted where. There were fewer dogs this year, and none of the younger children were in Aramy any longer. It felt more like a place of business. The daughter, still a few months from her naming day seemed to be in charge, while her uncle seemed inclined to do most of the physical work.

Tipper was pleased when the Dresmends acknowledged the debt owed to her from last year. She spent it and a handful more silver weight acquiring the Maldorn air-sabre that had still been in the white shed. She promptly gifted the weapon to Sefla, “This is a good weapon for you, it requires speed and agility more than strength. It should serve you well. Though I’m not much for fencing, I can show you a few things. Enough to get you started.”

Sefla was pleased with the gift, she admired the blade and asked, “If we’ve no other business today, could you show me?”

Adwin piped up, “I had some other business I wanted to talk to the Dresmends about.”

Tipper frowned at him, but nodded to Sefla, “Sure, it sounds like a pleasant way to spend the rest of the day.”

Adwin, with Whyse in tow, took the time to present to both the Dresmends the opportunity to host a station for the company here in Aramy. There was some tentative interest, yet there were also concerns, they asked if he would be willing to present his proposal again to Cind. If Cind thought it a good investment and was willing to do it with them, then they would agree.

Cind joined them for supper and while he seemed more interested in flirting with Whyse, he also brought up some good questions and had a few suggestions. By lamplight Adwin drew up the contract for them and added Aramy to the Eastern Line. It was late when all their business was concluded, the Dresmends offered to put them up for the night, but Adwin declined, “Best we return to the camp. We’ll be heading out shortly after dawn. Tipper is already upset with me, no sense making it worse by delaying our departure.”

As predicted, Tipper was wanting to get rolling just after dawn. She set out ahead of the wagons with one of the young women from Predost. They were still shy on food and the two of them hoped to fill the deficit with some hunting.

Adwin was surprised by how quickly they covered the distance between Aramy and Kaymere. It had taken he and Tipper most of an eight-day last year, going the other way. Of course, they did not have a string of goats with them this time, nor was Adwin suffering from a thigh wound. Whyse and Sefla spent a lot of time together, the courier knew how to fence and Sefla was hungry for that knowledge.

Calathy mostly rode with Adwin, she enjoyed the journey and had a number of questions about the wildlife, plants and the layout of the region. Sometimes she read, though they had already gone through Adwin’s collection of books from Maldorn, there were a few that were worth reading again. The books had a bit of dampness to them, likely from the heavy rains earlier in the spring, but they took advantage of the fair weather and let them air out over a couple of days.

Mokha and Chance Delight played in the evenings, sometimes Sefla danced or Calathy sang. The hunters brought in fresh meat daily. Adwin enjoyed having no responsibilities other than the wagon and the horses, the events in Lekas faded from being fresh nightmares to an experience he could reflect on. He was left with the feeling that he had not done as much as he could have, especially when he heard the stories of what Tipper and the folks from Predost had done. Still, he remembered feeling the same way last year when they had fought the bandits.

Towards the end of the fourth day out of Aramy, the Kaymere ruins came into sight. Surprisingly Tipper had them stop a bit earlier than usual, due to the fact that most of the folks from Predost would be heading northeast. Most, but not all.

The oldest surviving woman from Predost came to speak with Adwin. She had inherited the lore and responsibility of her people after the Battle of Lekas. Much to Adwin’s discomfort she beheld him with her penetrating gaze for a long time before speaking, “It was good that you came last year and reminded us of the world beyond our village. We will be returning home with three new husbands, as well as armour and weapons won on the field of battle. Yet, three shall remain, to help Tipper with her present task.

“Within you flows the blood of heroes. We shall preserve that blood and help you fulfil the oath spoken in our hall this time, last year. You shall give your seed to these women and when, later, they return to us, it is expected that within their bellies the fulfillment of that oath will have produced a way to the future.”

Adwin wished this was not happening, especially not in front of everyone. While Calathy clapped and cheered, there was friendly laughter from many of the others. He felt like pointing out he had not actually said he would, only that he might. However a glance to Tipper showed her to be rather shocked, she gave him a look that he did not understand. He realized that he would lose face if he backed out now, so he nodded, “You do me much honour.”

That seemed to settle the matter and when the time came to sing the dusk he was included. Thankfully no one expected him to perform his duty immediately and he retreated to his bedroll. Calathy wanted to talk to Tipper about something so he was saved from being teased… At least until the next day.

The following morning six women and four men carried on towards Predost, while the rest of them went to Kaymere. It was late, near midday, when they arrived. The first order of business, according to Tipper, was for everyone to sweep across the hill and ruins, searching for danger.

They found some goats with a couple of kids, likely from the herd the goblins had shown up with last year, he assumed. There were signs people had been camping out in the area through part of the spring. Adwin found a rare snake, known to be poisonous. The youngest of the Predost women, an archer named Lilly, fearlessly scooped the snake up by the tail and dropped it into a hemp sack. Adwin wondered what she would do with it.

Otherwise, there were no bandits, goblins, orc nor wyrms. They gathered near the old dulmak tree that Tipper had been camping under last year. It was in full bloom, reddish-pink predominated, the others were impressed by its size. Once the wagons had been brought over, the horses cared for and personal gear unpacked, the group of them gathered under the branches of the ancient dulmak for a light meal.

Mokha seemed pleased with the dulmak and suggested that it should be the common area of their camp as it would provide plenty of shelter from the sun. Most agreed with the idea and the remainder of the day was spent setting up their camp around the old tree. Adwin was a bit surprised when Calathy decided to set herself up on what had become the women’s side of the camp, he asked her if everything was alright.

“Oh yeah. I just figured you might need a bit of space. It’ll be no small task to impregnate three women. Mind you, if you want some company, I’m certainly not adverse to joining you.” She smiled, but Adwin felt there was something off, not only had she not teased him, she had seemed distracted throughout the day.

“Okay then. You’re welcome any time.” She nodded, smiled again and resumed setting up her space. She retired early, before the sun had properly set.

Adwin went with Tipper and the women from Predost to sing the passing of the day. From the hilltop they had a beautiful view of the western plains, long clouds reached across the sky, painted light shades of orange, yellow and pink. On their way back to the camp, Retha, the tallest and seemingly strongest of the Predost women, informed him, “My cycle is aligned for another few days. I will be first.”

Adwin would have liked to have had a night of rest, but nodded, despite the darkness, and said, “Okay.”

“Will your other women be joining us? Do you want the other two present? How should we call you, Adwin of Willik’s Hold?”

“Ah, I don’t think so and no, just you would be good for tonight I imagine. Call me Adwin. Ah, your name is Retha?”

“Retha Stonehands, on account of my punch.”

“Your punch?”

“Yes. Would you like me to show you?”

“Um, no. That’s alright.”

Adwin’s camping situation was alongside one of the wagons, under a large tarpaulin. Despite being resigned to his fate he felt a little awkward as he pulled the tarp back and invited Retha into his abode.

She did not waste much time about getting to the business at hand. She was very strong, taller than Calathy and rather rough. When the deed was done he thanked her and started to drift towards sleep, but she had other ideas. Twice more that night they had sex, she seemed insatiable, but after the third time she did let him sleep.

The dawn came all too quickly and Retha woke him to sing the rising of the sun.

When they had returned to the camp most of the others were up and about, though Calathy was ill and still laying down. He went over to check on her, startled by how sickly she appeared. It smelled as though she had vomited not so long ago. Worried, he asked if there was anything he could do, she declined the offer and said she would be okay in a day or two.

A young couple from Aramy, Tel and Kolti, saw to breakfast that morning. Shortly after everyone had eaten, Tipper laid out her plan for the next few eight-days. Two or three people would stay at the camp through the day, another pair would keep an eye on things and walk around the ruins twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Everyone else would be working in the ruins.

“Once we’ve moved the stuff I hid last year, we’ll make our way down to where I was working. We’ll need the second wagon and the stuff I bought in GreensBridge, as well as the timber from Aramy. Let’s get to work.”

 

Previous Next

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *