Holdstone was the largest town in the Duchy of Ashlar. I decided it would be my destination. The more people in a place, the better to hide. It was about a three and a half week ride. Besides, maybe I could find some work for myself there. I had no idea what anyone would want to pay me for, but I had skills. Hopefully someone would pay me to use them. I didn’t think anyone would come after me from Thornhill. Not really.

Just in case, the first night I rode all night and through the day. When I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer which was long after the sun had come up, I found a woodlot with a little grass for Lidly. I curled up around Aelfie and slept. I forced myself to get up while it was late in the day. I had to eat and there were plenty of squirrels running around, so I shot four of them. I knew it was too many just for myself, but I hadn’t left the marshland yet and I thought I should leave some out for the lizard people. Just in case.

We went further down road and before it got too dark, I found a small rise that was blocked by some dense shrubbery. I made a small fire, put two squirrels on spits out as offering and put two others to roast over the fire.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when two lizard people came up to my fireside. They were eerily quiet. They don’t usually approach humans, but I was only me and they were two, so they probably reckoned I couldn’t get up to no good with them. I relaxed a little when I saw they had the squirrels I’d left for them.

I think they said hello in their slurpy, chittery language. I said hello and they sat down at the fire with me. I was surprised Aelfie let them come so close without warning me, but then again, she hadn’t been out in the wild much. She just watched them very carefully. Mostly, I think she was hoping they’d share their squirrel with her. They didn’t and I was glad since I thought she might just take to them better and happily run off into the marsh with them. Lidly hadn’t nickered or snorted. Of course, she had smelled them out in the wilderness pretty commonly, so likely she didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

I cooked my food a long while which made Aelfie lick her chops. It was a strange quiet to sit with those creatures. Their big eyes only occasionally blinked and their movements were quick and sudden. The lizard people only lightly toasted their food before eating the whole carcass down. They made sickening crunching noises and I tried to keep my stomach steady. It would probably not be too nice to be sick from watching them. They nodded and one of them handed me a sort of beaded necklace. At least it looked like that’s what it was. I thanked them. I guess it was for the food.

When the squirrels were done to my satisfaction, I ate the meat off the breasts and pulled the leg meat off for Aelfie. When I looked up after feeding her, the lizard people had gone. I was a little relieved. I had never been so close to them before. I didn’t know what to do with their gift, so I just put it in my saddle bag. The fire was nearly out, but the night was still warm. I laid on my bed roll, using the saddle for a pillow as I’d done on so many hunting trips. I was the happiest I’d been in a long time and I slept.

It took a long ten days to get out of the marshlands. Gavendor had given me some dried rations and a little money, but I wanted to keep that as long as possible. While I was somewhere familiar, it was a relatively simple thing to hunt and fish for my food. This made me take longer, but there was not much to be done about it.

The first week, I ate only in the evening and trotted or had Lidly at a brisk walk all day. After that, I relaxed a bit and I’d get off and walk beside her to give her a rest. I also had two hunting, fishing or gathering bouts a day so I had a bit more to eat. I found plenty of edible plants and fungi, too, so it wasn’t as drab eating as it sounds. Of course, I also had to make sure Aelfie had enough and we found some forage for Lidly. But they seemed happy enough with whatever we could find, as was I. I think maybe we were meant to travel together. In a way, I was lucky to have been an early summer baby since the weather was going to stay fine for some time.

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For two weeks straight we had nice clear skies. Just when I thought I’d never need my cloak, the sky crowded in with clouds and a persistent rain started to fall. Lidly and Aelfie didn’t mind much, but soon I was soaked to the skin. My woolen cape kept me warm, but I can’t say I was exactly comfortable. Aelfie would curl up under my cloak and offer some warmth with her body. I didn’t mind smelling like wet dog. Anyway, there was no one else around to complain, so I didn’t let it bother me. Luckily, my crossbow had a sturdy waterproof cover to keep the rain off of it so it wouldn’t be damaged.

When it finally did clear up, my blood days started. This time was one of the bad times with cramps that made me just want to lay down and sleep. I took advantage of a woodlot and made camp at the edge furthest away from the road. I put most of my clothes up to dry and slept covering myself with dry leaves. Luckily there was plenty of forage and Aelfie didn’t make too much fuss.

The second day I felt better, so shot a half dozen squirrels for Aelfie, the lizard people, and myself. In the afternoon, I wrapped up a couple of the carcasses to take with us and was pleased that all my clothes were dry again. The water cress was flowering making it very easy to find, so I had plenty of their starchy tubers to add to my meals. They would also keep for a while, so I packed as many as I could carry in my bags.

Turned out that was time well spent because the next few days I couldn’t catch or fish anything. It was like the game had just migrated away. I didn’t know why that might be, but I took it as a bad sign and made my way through that country as quickly as I could. I did find part of a goblin black arrow off the road once, and I wondered if they had something to do with it.

I began to pass a few hamlets and larger towns along the roads. Their proximity also seemed to thin out the prey in the surrounding areas. When a small hamlet came into view, I had made my mind up to do something about my hair. I had forgotten to pack a brush and it was getting completely out of hand.

It was late in the morning as I came through the small town. There was a man cutting another man’s hair off to the side of the main road in the open air. I stopped, tied up Lidly, and watched him. He did a pretty good and efficient job. That was about how I wanted my hair cut. When he finished, I stepped up.

“Can you cut mine?” I asked. He shook his head.

“I don’t do women’s hair,” he said.

“I want it cut just like you did that guy’s,” I protested.

“You want it short?” he said, gaping.

“Yeah, I do,” I said, putting my fists on my hips and frowning, daring him to say he couldn’t do it.

“You can sell your hair,” he informed me.

“To whom?” I asked, shrugging. The man grunted.

“Are you staying in town?” he asked, eyeing me.

“No, I’m just passing through,” I said.

“Fine. You give me your hair and I’ll cut it no charge. Just don’t tell anyone who cut your hair. I don’t want the notoriety,” he said frowning.

“Works for me,” I said. I sat in his chair. He grabbed my braid at the base and worked for some time to cut it. He tucked it into his apron pocket when he was done. Then, he made short work of cutting the rest. I was grateful to get rid of the tangles and rats’ nests that had threatened to take root in my hair. When he was done, I ran a hand through my locks. It was longest on top and trimmed neatly around my ears and neck.

“Can I have a small comb?” I asked him.

“Here, take this one. Now get out of here before you attract a crowd,” he said shoving a small turtleshell comb into my hand, pushing me off the chair, and waving a man into the chair after me.

I was so proud of myself. I’d gotten a haircut and a comb for free. Plus, my hair felt mostly clean since the braid with its collection of twigs and leaves had gone. My head felt lighter somehow but that seemed ridiculous.

Very soon I decided that had been the best decision I’d ever made. Washing my hair was a breeze. A simple combing and I was done! Men had it great! Long hair had to be another way to keep women indoors. I couldn’t believe I’d never thought of it before.

That’s what I thought until I started getting into hamlets and towns further away from my small manor. I found out lots of men had long hair too. Well, they can suit themselves, I decided. As could I.