Paul felt sad. He saw Liza finishing arranging a rucksack, closing it and tying a bedroll on top. She then helped Eliot put it on his back and strapped a leather belt around his waist. His sword was now in a scabbard fixed to the belt, hanging to his side. They were preparing to leave.
Ever since he moved to Sarton, Paul felt lonely. The business was booming, since with many adventurers going to the Ancient Aldin Forest there was always good demand for all types of products. Pastes for staunching bleeding, powders for neutralizing poisons and painkiller tablets were forever in high demand. But he missed his old pals and the lively atmosphere.
Liza and her companions’ stay brightened his mood a lot these past few days, but now he was feeling melancholic again. Many memories were coming back to the surface of his mind. Like how astonished he was when they first found her in that destroyed village, or how she would be hostile to anyone that came close and bit and clawed at them. And here she was, all grown-up and taking care of someone else.
Teared-eyed, he went to his study and grabbed two carefully packed parcels that he prepared beforehand from the table. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve before returning to the other room with the two packages in hand.
“Liza, you said you are going east, right?”
“That’s right uncle, we are going to Starfall. It is the only city around these parts, so I hope to find some useful information there,” said Liza without turning around. She was carefully stringing her new short bow.
“Then, could you do me a favor? I am friends with the elder from Kelna village and wanted to make a delivery of medicine to her. It is something I do every year to help her out.”
“You want me to bring the medicine to them after we are done with Starfall? Sure, it is no trouble, as long as you are not in a hurry.”
“No, there is no hurry. She should have enough for now with the last package I sent. This parcel is for her and this one is for you guys. I bundled several grade 1 all-purpose antidotes and some varied ointments and pastes.”
“Thank you, uncle, these will be a lot of help,” said Liza smiling.
“No Liza… thank you,” said Paul under his breath.
They didn’t even have breakfast before departing. The sun was slowly making his way out of the horizon when they left the town of Sarton. Leaving early was common practice for travelers, for journeying at night was the height of folly.
The dirt road leading east would eventually take them to Starfall after a couple days of travel. Right now, there was no one else on the road as they walked side-by-side munching on spicy beef jerky for breakfast. The burning feeling on their tongues was a nice contrast to the chilly morning air.
After hours of walking, they could see some people in the distance, working on the fields. The terrain in the proximities of Sarton was composed mostly of plains, which were beneficial for growing crops.
They traveled without stopping. At noon Liza unfolded a cloth piece revealing their lunch. It was a portion of black bread, ham and a piece of cheese that Paul prepared for them. She distributed their portions and they ate while walking.
Eliot and Boro were making disappointed faces and sulking. Eliot would kick out of the way any stone he found on the road with extra aggressiveness and Boro was constantly huffing from his nose.
[I guess it is not enough food for them. They did always eat a lot… Ah, they sure can be troublesome.]
Liza pondered for a bit and made some calculations on her head. She then searched their belongings for a moment before giving Eliot and Boro more beef jerky.
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They finally smiled approvingly, nodding their heads like saying “Now you are talking”. At least that was the impression they gave Liza. She laughed, shaking her head.
The journey went uneventfully till afternoon, when Liza suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
“Ok Eliot, I need you to wait for me here. I will be right back,” said Liza as she started moving towards some bushes on the roadside.
She turned around to make sure and, like she thought, Eliot was still following her.
“No, no, no. Stay away, you can’t follow me when I am going to do my business. I will be right back.”
After some try and error she finally managed to get away from them and disappeared into the vegetation. Sometime later, feeling relieved, she returned to the road only to find it completely empty.
“Oh, what now! I wasn’t even gone for that long!” said Liza feeling extremely annoyed. She then started walking around while shouting. “Eliot, Boro, where are you? Come back!”
A long time passed by and there were no signs of them returning.
[Oh, well. Nothing I can do really. They started following me around, so I took care of them, but in truth they never needed it. They survived alone in the Ancient Aldin Forest. They can take care of themselves.]
Although she thought that, she had mixed feelings about it. Even to her it felt like she was trying to convince herself with those arguments more than anything else.
Suddenly there were sounds coming from the wayside. Liza turned around, grabbing her bow and nocking an arrow, all in one swift movement.
The tall grass swayed and Eliot appeared dragging a dead wild boar by its tusk. Boro was flying around him and giving side-glances to the boar from time to time.
Liza let out the breath she was holding. She stored the arrow back in her quiver and strapped the bow to her back again. Then, with heavy footsteps, she approached them while huffing.
“Why did you guys disappear? I told you to wait for a moment and that I would be right back!”
Her tone was strict, which made Eliot and Boro strain their faces, like children that did something wrong. Liza then hugged them tightly in turns, which left them feeling bewildered.
Her tone and actions didn’t match. She scolded them again after letting go of the hug. They were feeling really confused now.
Liza looked down at the wild boar. Its eyes were looking up and the mouth was frothing, it died from a single blow to the neck.
[Ah, so they went out looking for food. They do eat a lot… the traveling rations are probably not enough for them. It is something I need to take in consideration in the future. But they really scared me this time…]
The sun was starting to go down. They wouldn’t get very far if they started walking again right now, so Liza decided to make camp for the night.
Eliot (with Liza’s instruction) cleared a large area of tall grass just outside the road with his sword. Liza collected enough material and made a fire. Boro, as usual, was just floating around.
They cut the boar meat and used Eliot’s stone sword to suspend it above the fire. Even though it was broken, it was just large and thin enough to make a nice substitute for a cooking stone.
Liza opened the parcel Paul gave them and selected a few spices to season the food. She then waited patiently for it to cook, turning the pieces around at regular intervals.
Eliot and Boro would sometimes try to get close and snatch a piece of meat before it was ready, only to be slapped away by Liza.
“You need to wait till it is done!”
After a while the meat started sizzling and a delightful fragrance filled the air. Liza grabbed three wooden plates from her linen sack and served the cooked meat on them. Eliot and Boro’s plates had so many pieces stacked on top of each other that they were almost overflowing.
With their bellies now full, Liza stretched the bedrolls around the campfire and helped to tuck Eliot on his. The heat of the fire helped offset the cool night air and the tall grass that was cut previously served like natural padding against the hard ground. They felt really comfortable in their bedrolls.
It was a quiet moment. The only sounds were the creaking of the fire, the buzz of the insects and the swaying of the tall grass in the wind. The dark night sky was dotted with innumerable stars that twinkled lazily.
Liza was lying against her back, with her hands on the back of her head, looking up absent-mindedly. She had so many things to do and accomplish, but every once in a blue moon there were moments like this.
Moments that, for some reason, made her question it all. Should I really be doing this? What is the point, at the end of the day? Time seemed to stop. Liza felt like she could almost grab at the truth of the universe… and just like that the feeling was gone.
Like it came, that instant that felt like she could understand all there was to the world, was gone in a jiff. It was like waking up from a dream that you couldn’t remember too well. Her mind cleared. She took a deep breath, turned sideways and closed her eyes to sleep.