Breakfast took longer than it normally would for them. They were so engrossed in the story I was telling. I had to answer a flurry of questions about Ivy's health when I told them that Maximus had attacked her in her woods. And I even had to block Istan's mouth with a vine when I explained about the fire spirit. I wanted to leave his mouth covered so I could get through the story without comments. But his food was already getting cold and I did not feel it was the right thing to do.
Luckily he seemed to catch the hint this time and did not interrupt again until I got to the part where Ivy was attacked again. I felt a bid exasperated as I had to explain that, "Yes, Ivy was still fine and is recovering from her injuries. So as I was saying, Tide called Mother Earth and she showed me which way Maximus went." I decided to cut out all the interpersonal struggles that happened. But this was enough of the story to know what was going on.
"You mean Mother Sea and Mother Earth are at your pond." Istan's eyes were full of wonder.
"Yes, they were both there," I said, feeling oddly wary. Especially after seeing the undue excitement on Istan's face. "I am sure they are both gone by now," I added fearing a rush of elves on my pond to start building a temple. Tempted to roll my eyes, I looked at Leafy for support. But I was a bit surprised that she, also, looked very impressed. Not quite as over the top as Istan. Even Emily and Gray looked rather awed. I wonder if explaining how much of the world I had walked with Terra and Tide would settle them down.
"Is there anything that you need to get now that we are at your homes before we head after Maximus?" But as I looked over them I grew nervous. What if now that they were home they did not want to go any further? They really had done more than enough for me and I had no right to ask for more.
I had already left Tide, Cocoa and Fume back at the pond and I could not go back and ask for help now. And if I did, who would look after Ivy? She was still recovering and was not up for making such a hard trip. Much less entering a city. I hung my head realizing how much I had assumed. "I know you are home now and if you want to stay I understand…. But I could really use your help… I do not know if I can do this on my own." The dampness on my cheek made it clear that I was crying again.
Leafia leaned over and put her arm around me. "Of course we are coming with you. You are our friend and we will not leave you when you need help." A flood of relief filled my heart at these words as I found strength in Leafia's arm.
Suddenly I felt her shudder as the wind blew past. "I would like to get a warmer coat and blanket though. You did not really give us much time to pack."
I let out a little laugh despite myself at that. "I was not exactly planning on it taking that long. Or for you to come with me," I said with a smile. "You just stuck to me like burrs."
"Yup, and you have not shaken us off yet," Emily said, pouncing on my other side and wrapping me in a hug. I looked up at her and saw a big smile on her face. The two men were looking on the scene with a mix of endearing and wry smiles.
I would have loved to stay wrapped in their embrace all day. But we needed to get on the trail. "Will you be able to gather everything you need to be able to ride tomorrow morning? We will not be stopping more than needed in the villages." Seeing a frown form on Leafia's face. "Only when it is convenient for an inn for the night. We do not need to gather information this time. If we get to a town but we still have a few hours of day ahead of us I want to press on. So make sure you have everything you need."
As I said these words I saw Gray feel his money bag. He was clearly trying to find ways to get what they needed with what little money he had left.
Wriggling one of my arms free from the dual hug I found myself in, I stretched up to the branch of the fir tree above my head and caused three balls to form along its length. Breaking each of them off from the branch I handed one to Emily and Leafia and held the last out to Istan who obligingly grabbed it from me. "These contain my best medicine. Use them to gather what you need." But as I thought about it I was not sure how well this was really going to work. On the outside they just looked like odd wooden balls. Even if Gray was trusted in the village it would be hard to get enough money for the trip.
But there was someone not far from here who had the money and would trust their words. I reached up growing one more ball and held it out for Istan, "The prince of the Franglin Dukedim is near the elven village. Explain what this is and ask him for the expenses we need in exchange for one of them." Istan looked at the two balls in confusion. "The other one is for you to do with as you need. You can sell it in the elven village if you want to be able to buy a coat or whatever."
I looked over at Gray who was empty handed. I did not want him to feel left out."Do you and Emily need another one."
"No one is more than enough." I could guess from the look on his face that he was trying to figure out how he would even sell it.
I would leave that to Gray to figure it out. I would not be able to help. Continuing the conversation I asked. "With this do you think you will be able to get everything that you need for tomorrow?"
"We will have to stop in a village in a few days to get more food with the prince's money, but we should be able to get the rest by tomorrow," Gray said after thinking for a moment.
"Then let's meet at Emily's house tomorrow morning and set out from there."
I looked over to Leafia and Istan seeing if they thought they had enough time to make it to the village and back but neither of them showed any complaints. "You all have a lot to do before tomorrow. I think you should be heading out." Emily and Leafy both seemed to agree with my words as they slowly released me from their grips and went to finish packing up the camp.
"Leafy, don't worry about it Gray and I will finish packing up the camp. You have a longer trip to make than we do," Emily said as Leafy started to gather the dishes. Part of me wondered if my ability to do the work of packing was so low that she did not bother including me, or if she thought someone of my status should not do dishes. Neither of those two options were very appealing.
"That would be a big help," Leafia said, setting the stack down near the wash water that had been warming by the fire.
I had been watching the exchange between Leafia and Emily so I was a little surprised when Istan started walking towards me with a bundle of cloth that he had apparently taken out of his pack. "Laurel, here is the cloak you have been using. You can have it back." Istan held it out. Looking at it again I guess it did seem familiar. The thought of wearing such a heavy thing felt so repugnant. It would block my skin from the weakening winter light. But why did I have to wear it now? Maximus would no longer be able to hide from me. There was no need for me to hide from him.
"You can keep that. I will be traveling as myself," I said with a smile. There was a clatter of dishes as the one Emily was holding must have slipped from her hands. Surprise was clearly discernible on her face as she looked at me. I also noticed that Gray's face had started to turn red.
I looked over at Leafia and rolled my eyes at the imagination of the others. "I will be wearing my raiment as I am now. I am not going to walk around the human lands in the buff." I said clearing up their misconceptions. "I have had more than enough of that recently," I mumbled to myself while giving Leafia a smile. Her ears that were just pointing out of her hair were bright red. "Leafy, you should get yourself a hat or an earmuff. Your ears are turning red from the cold," I said reaching over to cover her ears with her hair.
But I paused as she clapped her hands to her face and turned bright red in embarrassment. I just didn't understand her sometimes. What was so bad about having your ears get cold?