The day of departure had arrived. After a little over a month in Hearth, Elody, Sam, and Hugh were leaving the perpetually damp and dreary city. They were making final preparations for departure and making chatter. Despite their long stay, the trio hadn’t all talked together at once much since they arrived, making the departure feel like something like a reunion.
Each of them had their own opinion of what was to come. Hugh had come to like his time in Hearth, and looked depleted and worn down for the first time since entering Hearth. Elody was bored of the city, but was still thankful for what she had learned in the time she was there. Sam couldn’t get out fast enough, and was constantly prodding the other two to hurry up so that he could resume business.
Despite his urgency, he didn’t have much luck getting many transportation contracts. Most of the raw materials exporters had reliable routes, thanks to the ease of the Sky Ferry, robbing Sam of the bulk of opportunities he thought he had. He was able to find some smaller businesses that asked him to move some goods to Wella, but everything was piecemeal and simple movement of goods, rather than things he could buy and resell at increased rates.
He was quite surprised then when a familiar figure approached him only hours before they planned to depart. A ratkin lady wearing robes that looked like stitched parchments with her hood up came walking through the gentle rain.
“Brunna?” Sam asked, clearly surprised to see her again.
Brunna didn’t say anything, but flashing an empty smile. She was still not happy to see Sam.
“You know Brunna?” Elody said while exiting the wagon. “Wait, hold on, she’s here? Oh, hi!”
Brunna turned to Elody and gave her a more genuine smile than she had given to Sam.
“Hello there,” She said, suddenly warm. “I’m here to make business with Mr. Gawin here.”
“Right here you know!” Sam said, “And Gawin ain’t my last name. I don’t have a last name! Where did you even hear that?”
“We have heard that your group is travelling to Wella,” Brunna said, ignoring the question, “We would like you to carry some materials for us that need to move in that direction.”
“How much?” Sam asked, still frustrated.
Brunna glanced into the cart through the currently open back.
“We have our own sacks, but they should take up about as much space as…” She trailed off while she made mental calculations, “No more than three of those crates?”
Elody whistled. That was a lot of mail.
“Lemme guess,” Sam said with a groan, “I’m supposed to do this for free?”
“What? No!” Brunna said, offended, “You will be paid standard fare, same as anyone.”
They arranged for the pickup of the last-minute cargo, planning to pass the temple on their way north out of the city. Sam had originally planned to load up on bulk materials and head south via the Sky-Ferry again, but with their light load it made far more sense to simply had out of the city directly to the north. Without heavy goods to weight them down, the hilly terrain simply was more bearable.
Elody took the chance to ensure she had a few replacements of everything she felt she could work with. She bought extra flasks, tins, and a grinding bowl. Sam reluctantly footed the bill, but after she reminded him how much she could make for sale as they traveled north, Sam capitulated.
Hugh arranged to meet Malthus at a restaurant, wanting to not only have some time with his friend before departing, but to give his other friends a chance to meet him.
“It’s quite odd to actually meet you after having heard about you both so much!” Malthus chuckled. Being Ratkin, it was higher pitched than most other races and sounded more akin to a giggle.
They introduced themselves to Malthus, earning a warm smile in return.
“Elody, you’re the one Hugh said that was found out in the wilderness, right? Surviving all on your own in such a foreign wilderness, so far from civilization, well, it strains believability!”
Elody blushed as she looked away.
“Well, I don’t know if he told you, but I almost didn’t make it,” Elody admitted.
“Yet you’re here to tell the tale!” Malthus grinned. “He told me that you’re the persistent sort. To have gone through that and survived, you’d have to be!”
“Hugh musta left out the whole revenge murder plan, huh?” Sam said, casting a glance at Elody.
“Revenge murder plan?” Malthus asked with concern.
“It’s a long story,” Elody said with embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands.
Malthus’s ears perked up. “I’ve got enough time. Let’s hear it!”
Elody took a deep breath, and schooled her face.
“Alright. I used to be a pharmacist in Ade. It's a city in a desert far north of here, across an ocean. I did all I could to be a good, contributing member of society. A law-abiding citizen and all. Then, for no good reason, the governor’s guards picked me up and tossed me into some magic portal that spat me out in the frozen tundra.”
Her voice went cold as she said this, her next words tinged with venom.
“Orivaughn Medeah gave that order and ruined my life. I’m going to make sure I ruin his, no matter the cost.”
Malthus blinked, then broke out into a huge grin.
“That wasn’t that long at all! Not a bad story at all! A bit cliche, perhaps.”
“That’s what I said!” Sam laughed.
“And you,” Malthus said, turning to Sam, “You’re the greedy merchant who despite always looking to fatten his pockets, picked up two strangers to help them on their own journeys. Is that right?”
“Aw c'mon, they work for me. It ain't charity.”
Despite his words, Sam had a seed of doubt that had been lingering in his mind. Over the past week, however, it had germinated, and begun to sprout. He covered any sign of it and kept his facade of a greedy merchant up.
“Quite an odd choice of people to call friends,” Malthus remarked. “But still, Hugh values you two. I can tell by how he talks about both of you. That he talks about you at all, when he doesn’t have to. I can tell he appreciates that you stick with him, regardless of why.”
Malthus leaned forward, his face going serious like Elody’s had not much sooner.
“He’s going to keep in touch with me, so I’d better not hear either of you taking advantage of him. He’s a sweet boy, and he has great things laid before him. Help him, and he’ll help you.”
Malthus leaned back, an easy smile returning.
“Also, maybe help him with those letters. He didn’t know how to write until recently, and even now it’s mostly numbers and equations. He’s smart, but a little help can go a long way with that boy.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Getting on the road again felt like a return to normalcy. Despite knowing that there was a long road ahead of them to get to their destination, the continents-away Ade, something about being in that wagon for the three felt familiar, if not entirely comfortable. It was still a wooden wagon, and a bumpy road was something you can only acclimate to so much. This is doubly true passing through a mountain pass, as they did moving north out of Hearth.
Hugh was quiet for the most part, though this was not unusual for the large Frostwalker. Even so, his demeanor felt downbeat, and the other two silently agreed to leave him be, for the time being. Elody intended to talk to him the next day, but figured he likely needed a little time to himself.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
When they stopped for their first break some hours later, Elody was quite surprised when Hugh approached her, getting her attention by way of not-so-subtle enormous hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Hugh!” Elody said, turning to face him, “How are you holding up?”
“Not well,” Hugh admitted. “I have been thinking a lot since departing.”
“I bet! Hey, let's sit down for a second while the ground isn’t moving beneath us. What’s on your mind?”
Hugh sat down as he collected himself.
“I have been thinking about friends,” He admitted, “Or rather, my lack thereof. No offense to you, Elody. I do count you as a friend, and Sam too, but you are both a decade my senior.”
“Is that a problem?”
Hugh shook his head.
“Not on its own, no,” He said. “I enjoyed my time with Malthus, and he was over fifty years old. That is three decades older than myself, Elody. I realized that I do not have, nor have I ever had, friends my age. Even in the village.”
Elody cocked her head at this, her tail rising up in a curl in an expression any Adstrani would instantly recognize as curiosity.
“Why is that? Weren’t there others your age in your village?”
“A few, I suppose. I did not get along with any of them.”
“Why not?” Elody prompted.
“I was usually too busy with Maril to spend time with them.”
“Surely you weren’t always that way. What about before you started apprenticing? Did you have friends then?”
Hugh’s face shifted into an expression that Elody couldn’t quite parse. It wasn’t pain, yet also clearly not pleased.
“They had different interests than me. They focused on doing. Running, playing, hunting, collecting. I just didn’t care to join them.”
“What did you do instead?”
“I liked looking at things,” Hugh said. “I liked to sit down with things and try to figure out how they worked. I spent hours picking apart small plants, hoping I could understand how they grow if I broke it apart. The others made fun of me, saying that I just destroyed everything I put my hands on. It did not make me want to spend time with them.”
“You don’t seem destructive to me, Hugh. Quite the opposite!”
Hugh snorted a small laugh.
“Maybe I am not now, but I do not think they were wrong at the time. For many years, anything I picked up, I had an urge to pull apart,” Hugh said. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to suppress that urge, Elody. Learning how to make myself presentable. That’s proving to be a useful skill, traveling like this.”
Elody put a hand on Hugh’s shoulder. The difference in size between the two made it feel a little strange, but the contact was reassuring to an emotional Hugh.
“You’re not alone in feeling that way, you know. I’ve had to do a lot the same,” Elody said.
Hugh glanced at her, his face claiming disbelief. Elody laughed at the reaction.
“Oh, yes! I used to fidget all the time. You remember that plant, skyleaf? Its normally used to make an anesthetic, but it’s also used to make this drug, called float. It’s not that bad normally, until some years back someone figured out how to make a harder version, called brightpowder. Makes you all twitchy and high-energy. I was a kid when that came around so it was on everyone’s minds. I never had anything to do with it, yet everyone was convinced I huffed brightpowder when nobody was looking!”
Elody laughed as she finished her story. The laugh was forced, which did not escape Hugh’s notice.
“That seems…” Hugh tried to comfort Elody, but lacked the words in a very literal sense.
“Alienating? Pushed away from everyone else?” Elody offered. “Yeah, it was. Most other kids my age made fun of me. Ironically, that’s actually what got me looking into pharmacy in the first place. Wanted to see what the fuss was about. Then my family fell ill, and…” Elody trailed off.
They sat together in awkward silence for a few moments.
“To be honest, Hugh? Until… all this?” She said, waving a hand in a circular gesture, “My only real friend or family was Rudy. And he’s ten years younger than me. He’s somewhere between my little brother, my adoptive son, and my best friend. Gods I miss him. I hope he’s doing alright. Outside of that, though, not really anyone else I’d consider a friend. The feeling of only having someone a vastly different age be your friend is something I can relate to, is what I’m saying.”
Hugh nodded, but said nothing.
“Do you want friends your age, Hugh?” Elody asked.
“I feel,” Hugh said after a moments contemplation, “I feel that I ought to.”
Elody shook her head.
“That’s not quite what I asked. Do you want friends your age?”
Hugh thought about it while Elody waited patiently. She shifted to stay comfortable as Hugh didn’t respond for over a minute.
“I am not sure,” He said, breaking the silence.
“Not sure?”
“I feel a kind of pressure. I’m not sure if it is something I want, or if I am feeling what is expected of me.”
“You know,” Elody said with a chuckle, “That is incredibly astute.”
“You asked,” Hugh responded with confusion.
“Yeah, but ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to be that honest with myself. Not that I didn’t know, but Malthus was right about just how smart you are.”
“I don’t feel smart,” Hugh pouted.
“Well, yeah!” Elody snarked. “Feeling smart’s not like feeling a bit chilly in this mountain air. Especially not for you, its just a part of you. That’s like saying that you’re feeling leggy today, because you have legs.”
“I always have legs,” Hugh said.
“Exactly my point!” Elody laughed. “You’re smart, and that’s amazing.”
Alexis, one of the beasts that pulled the cart, began to make a fuss. Elody got up, stretching her limbs.
“Shoot, she does this when she runs out of food,” Elody explained. “I learned more about those two than I ever wanted to. We’ll be taking off soon, then. But Hugh?”
Hugh blinked in response.
“Don’t worry about what kinds of people you’re friends with. Worry about who you’re friends with, and why you’re friends with them. If they matter to you, that’s a good starting point,” Elody said, before moving to take care of the two packbeasts, Alexis and Karen.
As Elody finished getting the animals ready for travel again, she thought about what she had told Hugh. She hoped it was helpful, felt it was helpful, and yet couldn’t help but feel a bit hypocritical. She glanced into the wagon, at Sam, who was writing into his ledger as he often did.
“Why you’re friends with them,” She mouthed, repeating her words from earlier. She thought about his own explanation of why he’s out here, and how that story didn’t quite sit well with her. “What kind of person are you really, Samengawin?”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
As the trio halted to take their first break, Sam took charge of feeding the packbeasts. Elody had almost single-handedly taken care of them during their stay in Hearth, and he respected that she had gone through with it, though not strictly without complaint. He saw the other two take seats on some nearby crags and went back to the wagon, and kicked his feet up.
It had been a while since they had all been together. There were times during their stay that all three were technically present, but it had been momentary, and fleeting. Compared to when they were traveling, and knew they had nothing but unending hours together, it simply didn’t stack up. Despite all the troubles that came with having two other people in his operation, he was coming to acknowledge that this really was better for him.
It wasn’t just the fact that he was able to delegate tasks to Elody, or have Hugh haul goods, or even that they both proved to be a source of income in the immediate future. Those were certainly factors, and the ones that he told himself were the most important. As he sat, legs up, he thought about what was most important to him about the two of them, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
The other two were having quite the conversation. They were trying to keep their voices down, and it didn’t benefit Sam to try and overhear them. He knew firsthand that Elody had a knack for talking people through their own thoughts, and he trusted her to do that.
Suddenly, Sam bolted upright. He located his journal and pulled it out as quickly as he could without bringing attention to himself. He reached for his pencil, then swore as he realized he misplaced it. Moments later, he found it and settled into writing a new journal entry.
Thinking about my current situation (I have just departed Hearth), I have been thinking about my companions, Hugh and Elody. It’s been a strange two months with them, and they continue to prove to be strange people to have around. In that time, however, I think I’ve gotten to know them quite well. Better even than people I grew up with, on reflection.
My reason for writing this is that this is when I caught myself thinking about how I trust them.
Do I really trust them? Why? I ask myself yet I cannot shake the feeling that I do, in fact trust them, despite the fact I struggle to think about why.
I will have to think about this more. This feeling is deeply unsettling, and I would like to know why I have this trust, this feeling, before, well, trusting it. Elody is coming to prepare us to get going again. Until next time, journal.
Sam flipped the page and began to write as though he were planning how to move or pack his wares. He often planned ahead in this manner, so when Elody glanced at Sam- a gesture that was not nearly as subtle as she thought- He remained calm and kept writing. He didn’t bother to look up at her, knowing she would not glean anything from his actions. Elody mouthed something, and he looked up.
“Got somethin’ to say?” Sam asked with exaggerated volume.
“You ever get some of their hair stuck in your mouth?” Elody lied, pointing at Alexis as she smacked her mouth.
“Oh yeah, lots. Ain't fun,” Sam replied. “Arright, you two ready?”
The other two confirmed and they packed back into the wagon and continued through the foothills away from Hearth. Ahead, the road vanished past the next rise, but reappeared heading into lush, green territory, cross-hatched with rivers and canals. Sam took a deep breath, looking forward to the trip through the River Collective.