Chapter 14: Chasing Goblins!
The Second of Solentide, D.Y. 500
-----The main hall of the village turns out to be a rather small building for the amount of people that now pass through it to get some kind of morning meal. Small bowls of a kind of portage are handed out within the hall and the people take their food out into the small square located on the top of the hill. There, they sit quietly in the growing dawn of the day eating and then napping on the ground.
-----Dilton moves among them, occasionally assisting someone or taking an emptied bowl back to the Hall. The warrior had refused any portage, preferring to rely on his own rations to make sure none of the freed refugees should go without.
-----Garrison had gotten a quick bowl before walking about the crown of the hill looking off into the distances.
-----Lovan, for all his excitement earlier, lay on his back and soon his snores are heard.
-----As the sun rises behind the gray clouds, a gentle breeze blows across the hill making the summer morn very pleasant. Like the past few days, however, this day promised to be one of very warm temperatures.
-----Soon as many of the citizens of the village began coming out of their homes, they were seen to approach the people sitting in the middle of the square. The refugees were lead off to different homes to refresh themselves and catch up on their sleep.
-----Sol takes the proffered bowl gratefully. He understood Dilton's reasons for refusing the meal, but he had been brought up to accepts gifts in the spirit they were given. Walking out into the square, the Gorian eyes a likely place to seat himself and forces himself to eat his meal with some degree of composure. He realized he was hungry enough to want to shovel the food down as quickly as possible, but was conscious of his role as guest.
-----Not having any rations on herself, Jeilin accepts a very small portion of the food while mumbling some sort of blessing to the one handing it out. She stands for a moment outside the hall, as she squints under the sun and appears to be saying something to herself. Then as she notices Sol beckoning, she smiles and approaches to find a seat next to him.
-----"It's a sorry land ye've found yerself in, Jeilin. I'm sorry t'hear ye were forced against yer will along wi' so many o' th' locals, an' I hope ye weren't made t'do anything ye would regret." Sol comments as he reaches into his bowl for another morsel. He gestures dismissively, as that's not what he wanted to talk about at all. After a moment, he instead looks at the slight woman and asks, "So where d'ye hail from initially?"
-----"From Zanyr," Jeilin replies, with a distinct accent when she speaks the name of her homeland. After a quiet moment of staring ahead, she closes her eyes and reaches out with her hand, feeling the summer breeze. "All that is happening now shall pass as did the empires of old. But the lands and seas have always shone with their own glory, undiminished by the travails of man. In the end, there is no sorrow or regret."
-----Sol eyes Jeilin obliquely as she speaks her words, replying calmly when she finishes, "True enough I suppose, but just it doesn't change how things are fer now, an' it's now we have t'deal with." Sol grunts in self-reflection as he adds, "An' there's an awful lot t'deal with. I'm still amazed at what th' fates throw at us."
-----The Gorian is silent for a moment as he glances around the village. Absorbing the sight of the villagers as they aid the refugees, Sol seems lost in contemplation before he muses suddenly, "Zanyr huh? I've been there a couple of times, though not far in, an' never fer long. Yer a long way from home, Jeilin Syl. Do ye miss it at all?"
-----Jeilin opens her eyes and ponders on the question for a bit. "The south seas," she says finally. Picking up the bowl of food again, the priestess resumes eating in silence, seemingly to finish it out of respect rather than interest.
-----Sol waits quietly and patiently for the priestess to finish the meager meal. As she does, he stands and takes the bowl from her, returning both hers and his to the small hall. That done, he finds Dilton and lets the man know he's going to find somewhere to relax till noon.
-----To do so, the lanky warrior finds where Thunder has been stabled, and spends a few minutes with the warhorse to make sure the beast is settling in. Satisfied, he then finds a quiet tree near the thorp to rest his back against and finally lets himself wind down for a few hours.
-----Close to the noon hour, the adventurers gather close to the main hall amid a slight disturbance. Lovan, having already rested, stands out on the village green, his arms stretched upward toward the gray clouds. The storm priest then begins to shout and regale a tale of slaying a massive green dragon by the power of the Rager’s Fury.