We made the two-day trip to the shantytown outside the borders of our forest home on foot and without incident. Father booked our passage to Gisoreux and we took up lodgings at a small inn to await the departure of the caravan. Mother told us many tales of how much better our lives would be in Gisoreux and we listened and devoured those stories for all they were worth. We spent only a few days in that shantytown, but it was enough to give my brothers and I our first glimpse of the world. The hustle and bustle of that small, dirty town filled our young eyes and minds with awe and amazement. It was so very different than Loren Forest. Unfortunately, Mother would not allow us the freedom to explore on our own, so our curiosity went unsatisfied for the time being.
The caravan run was largely uneventful. Mother, Nadon, and I spent our days riding together in one of the carts while Father sought out different business opportunities and Caradryan ran errands for the caravan master. Our parents had allowed him to take this small job as his first real venture into adulthood. Unfortunately, this made him completely unbearable to deal with. He would walk by Nadon and I at every chance, jingling the copper coins in his pocket. Show off. I had appealed to Father for a job of my own (I am only a year younger than Caradryan, after all!), but my plea was rejected before it fully passed by my lips, so I had no choice but to plot with Nadon on how best to annoy our dear brother.
We were about a day out from Gisoreux when the green-skins attacked. Father happened to be riding along with us when we first heard the sounds of attack. He immediately went off in search of Caradryan and returned some time later. By this time, the battle sounds were drawing closer. Father handed his purse to Caradryan, gave us instructions to make haste towards Gisoreux, and then they both hugged us all tightly as if they knew it would be the last time. It seemed almost a miracle that we were able to sneak away from the caravan and make our way to town without being detected by the green-skins.
We reached the town gates at daybreak. We were tired, dust-stained, and aching with thirst and hunger. We told the gatekeeper of the green-skin attack and were told that a small rescue party would venture out as soon as possible to search for survivors. He was also kind enough to give us directions to Uncle’s house on the other side of town. Uncle was the one to greet us at the door with a babe in his arms and a small tot clinging to one of his legs. Re-introductions were in order after so many years, but he welcomed us immediately into his home where we then learned of his own personal tragedy. Aunt had passed on a year back while birthing their second child, a boy named Ilmarian. Uncle had since been raising two young babes with only the help of a hired wet nurse. Two days later we had word from the town watch that there had been no other survivors of the green-skin attack and Uncle took us into his household as his own.
We gradually settled into life at Uncle’s house. It was a fairly peaceful routine if you do not count babies wailing at unholy hours of the night. Caradryan took to watching over little “Lil” and “Il” while Nadon and I spent our time with Uncle, learning the caravan business of horses and cart driving. And so the years passed. Soon, it seemed, little “Lil” and “Il” were no longer little. They had grown to be about the same ages as Caradryan, Nadon, and myself were when we first arrived in Gisoreux. It was about that time when Nadon journeyed up to Couronne in search of further training. We all missed him terribly. So much so that Caradryan and I discussed following him, but Lillay and Ilmarian had been eavesdropping at the door and burst in when it seemed we had reached our decision to go. Lillay had always been the more reserved of the two, but this time it was her that spoke up and railed against us for our decision to leave her (and, of course, Ilmarian). She did not change our minds until the tears started welling up in her eyes. And then neither one of us could refuse her wishes. We stayed.
A few more years passed and another tragedy befell our family. Uncle’s caravan was raided by green-skins. There were no survivors. The town watch informed us late one evening, two days past when Uncle had been due to return home. This news was almost too much for Caradryan and I to bear. Green-skins had been the cause of so many lost loved ones. Lillay and Ilmarian would not be consoled for weeks. I was surprised when Caradryan brought up the subject of Couronne again and I was even more surprised when Lillay and Ilmarian agreed to the idea. So, we sold Uncle’s house and booked passage on the next caravan to Couronne.