The ship-oil lanterns were flickering when Klem opened the front door. The fire had burned down to just glowing embers. His mother put down the clothes she was folding and moved to meet him with arms outstretched, a sad look of resignation in her loving eyes. Nothing was said between them as a hug from a mother needs none.

Ambrose entered shortly after, removing his hat and coat and placing them on the hook by the door.

"Put some tea on darling, Bob and Ethel are on their way, we need to make preparations for leaving tomorrow."

"Oh Ambrose, I knew that would be the outcome does it have to be tomorrow? We have so much to get ready."

"Yes, I am afraid that we are all leaving with Captain Sharpe at noon, leaving it any later would be foolish and dangerous. The Mangorians are nearer than we feared." Ambrose kissed his wife and pulled up all the best furniture to gather around the fire.

Klem sprinkled some wood shavings onto the dying hearth, built it up with some smaller logs and a larger one. Using the poker, it soon caught, and flames flickered once again. He thought that this may be the last time for a while he would do this chore. Home would soon be a distant memory, and things would never be quite the same again.

He had lived in this house all of his life with its flowers the fireplace and his family. Fleeing the Mangorians would turn his life upside down, his enthusiasm for war and fighting was turning gradually to fear and trepidation, he sat next to the fireplace quietly contemplating his future.

Alice looked over at Klem, caught her husband's eye and wordlessly shared her worries with him.

Ambrose filled his pipe with dried-leaf from the pouch on the mantelpiece and sat opposite Klem.

Bob and Ethel knocked and entered, the wind was picking up again outside, and the lanterns stuttered at their arrival. Both hugged Alice and went to sit down by the fire. As Alice went to close the door behind them, she heard a growl, and a cry and a movement of long grey fur caught her eye. Dorky squeezed through the fast diminishing door-space. Once through the door, he sat, looked up at Alice as if to say 'hello they haven't fed me what have you got?' Dorky didn't budge until he was given some scraps from the cupboard. He then went to the fireplace and lay down on the rug. Making himself very comfortable and at home.

Marsh-Dribblers were native to The Fens. They tended to be solitary creatures when juveniles, and spent little time in the company of their kind except for once in a cycle when they would disappear off into the marshes maybe for many days at a time to socialise in groups or pair up to mate depending on their maturity. Before people arrived in the wetlands, marsh dribblers lived together near water and hunted eel-fish and snakes. Their fur only started to become long once they moved away from the water and became willing pets. Not bought or sold or kept captive they sought out homes to live in by their choosing and were free to come and go as they pleased.

Fen-landers welcomed them into their homes as they kept the rodent population down for only the price of a few scraps and a warm place to sleep. They were good with children, and although they could not speak their facial expressions could convey many emotions and desires, this was usually limited to 'I want food, I want to sleep' and 'You can stroke me if you want' But the closer the bond the more they could make you understand.

All the family sat around the fire quietly pondering the future. No-one wanted to be the first to speak, to plan the evacuation of Nocton. It was too much to contemplate. The air became thick with Ambrose's leaf-smoke. It was a pleasant peachy smell, but the smoke could sting the eyes and make them water.

Alice passed around hot mugs of Java freshly made from the stove-boiled kettle, infused with java leaves. Klem liked his with a little bit of yukoya sap just to take away the bitterness.

Klem broke the silence. "I am scared."

Ambrose replied."So are we all son. We must be strong."

After a moment of contemplation, Ambrose began.

"I suggest we get up at dawn and prepare the waggons and the ekwids; We should leave as soon as we are ready and have the go-ahead. I do not want us to be the last in line to leave. Charlie has said that all ekwids will be available to move from sun-up, so I will get there just before to bring them over to hitch them to the waggons. If the rest of you could load-up with all, we are going to need for the journey and the new life at Kingsport. Be careful not to take anything that we don't need. We must be ruthless and travel as light as possible. Do not overload the wagons as a bust wheel or axle could mean life or death. Try to leave Mo and Connie asleep until we are ready. Jed can help load up. I am afraid most of the plants will have to stay Alice."

"I know Ambrose, I have dried as many of your herbs as possible over the last few days, and we can take a few pots of flowers, mainly the ones that we can split or take cuttings or seeds from." Alice had put her practical head on and been preparing for leaving for many days without consciously admitting it to herself. She rose to refill the java mugs.

Ethel bought up the subject of food "Will there be enough room to empty our storerooms of food and take everything?"

"Yes sister we need to make room for food first then everything else is secondary, I don't know what sort of provisions there will be on the way or if there will be any food available when we get there. There may be many evacuees from the war and conditions may be hard when we get there."

Klem looked up as if startled, he hadn't thought of that, he just thought it would be like moving house, and there would be another home for them all to go into, he wasn't looking forward to living in a refugee camp. Another thought crossed his mind.

"What will happen to Dorky will he have to stay here in the marsh!?" Panic tinged his voice.

"Dorky will be free to do as he pleases and always has been, I will miss him though if he decides to stay here" Uncle Bob replied.

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"We will see tomorrow if he wants to come with us or stay here. I think we can entice him to follow; he may be in danger if he does not."

Klem hoped that Dorky would come with them.

Uncle Bob and Auntie Ethel rose from their chairs "Well it be a rough day tomorrow we need our rest. Will see you first thing, Ambrose. Thank you, Alice. You want to walk back to ours with us Klem I have something to give you." With a knowing nod, Ambrose opened the door for them to leave. Dorky followed them across the village square to where they lived on the other side of the village.

Once inside Uncle Bob beckoned Klem to come through to the back of the house. Hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room stood an ancient-looking chest, Klem knew it was his uncle's old campaign chest full of memories from Uncle Bobs more adventurous and dangerous past. Made of skin that Klem didn't recognise. Whatever beast it was from, it was stronger and tougher than any hide he knew.

"Come here lad, I have never shown you what's inside of this chest it be important stuff to me, but it hopefully is my past and not part of my future. I want you to have this, I were hoping to give you this on your graduation, but your dad and mum say it's okay to give you now as you be skilled with that old bow you got, and it's time you had the use of a real one."

He undid the solid metal clasps that secured the chest, lifted the lid with a creak and took out the bow. It was bundled in hogs hide. Klem could see that it was smaller than his toy longbow, but this was not a toy! The upper and lower limb of the bow inlaid with silver. The grip was of ekwid horn carved to fit the hand and a groove to fit the arrow. The back and belly of the bow were made of a black-stained and moulded yukoya wood. Both knocks reinforced with gold inlay. Klem gasped. It looked full of latent power waiting to be drawn and fired.

"This little beauty served me well Klem, It fires straight as long as you aim it straight, it had a few knocks and scratches but I polished them out as best I could. I want you to have it. I am hoping you don't need it too soon."

Klem took the bow, speechless for the moment, his mouth open to speak but nothing could express his gratitude and excitement. He held it by the grip and felt the power of the drawstring; the balance was sublime. He just hoped he had the strength to draw it.

"Uncle it is.” He gulped. “It is incredible. I hope I become worthy of it and will respect and look after it."

"I hope you do boy, come and sit down I have some tales to tell you about that bow and how I am still alive at my time."

Uncle Bob had never spoken much about his past and Klem was keen to hear as much as he could. The day so far had been an exciting one, and youthful adrenalin meant he was probably never going to sleep tonight.

"Ethel, me dear bring the boy and me, er young man that bottle of ker brandy from the stores, better drink it now to save room on the wagon tomorrow."

She nervously laughed as she bought it over with two small tankards made of polished oak.

"Don't you go getting him drunk you evil man. I'm off to my bed; it is going to be a long day tomorrow and don't you be keeping Klem up too late with your tales."

"Yes, darling." He raised his eyes and grimaced at Klem.

The brandy stung his lips and heated his throat but not in a bad way. He sipped it cautiously as uncle Bob began his tales.

"I want you to know Klem that I have seen some wondrous and terrible things and life isn't always what you expect it to be. Keep your belief in yourself and follow the fen-landers way and you are not far wrong. It has been difficult to stay on the right path, but I can look back and say I did me best. I am proud of that." The Ker brandy was slowly turning Uncle Bobs cheeks red and helping him to make his story maybe a bit more colourful than it would have been.

The bow was in Klem's lap, and he could not let go of it. He stared at it, and his mind drifted as his kinsman told tall tales of fighting the Murklanders, the comrades that had perished alongside him and his exploits to safeguard the fenlands. He looked at his bow constantly but kept looking up at his Uncle to show his interest in his stories.

"........and then the king made me a captain.............." Bob looked up towards Klem just to make sure he was following the tale.

"Wow, Uncle I never knew you were a captain!"

"Yes, Klem. I was, my first captaincy was with the Upton garrison on the border of Upton and Papplewick, the Murklanders had retreated and been licking their wounds after the Long War. We were allied with Upton and were there to help out with some trouble brewing on the border with Papplewick." Bob gulped his brandy and edged forward in his seat.

"We got to meet the witches of Missing Mountain....." He paused for effect.

"But uncle, they are just a tale....aren't they?" Klems eyes widened with interest.

"Well, we called them 'The Hill Hoes' before we got to know them. After that, they became 'The Sisterhood of the Dragon' as they be callin' themselves. I lost five of my men to them! Not like that boy, they were looking for husbands, and my men deserted to be with them, dangerous they be but full of feminine wiles took two weeks to round my guys up and drag them out. Magic was their weapon; It was said that they hid a mountain! Daft as it sounds. Their magic was s'posed to come from a long-dead dragon but never worked out how my men succumbed so must have been some strong magic."

"But Uncle the story goes that they steal children and sell slaves....doesn't it?"

"Well, maybe boy but I didn't see any of that. Now hiding a mountain that's something I do believe. One of my men told me that while he was on patrol one night, he was hit by a rock. It just appeared as if out of nowhere and damn near broke his foot with its rolling!"

Uncle Bob refilled his glass, but Klem had had enough brandy and thought he better be getting home.

"Thank you, Uncle Bob, for the bow and the stories I must be getting back now they will be worried" He rose and stumbled slightly as his head felt a bit foggy and his limbs not quite under his control

"Your folks know how I be at prattling; they will be okay. Will see you tomorrow Klem get a good sleep." Bob showed him to the door.

Dorky raised and tired eyebrow as if to say 'good night Klem' and went back to sleep.