The Traveler: Part 1

Chapter 13

"I sure as hell hope you get faster at some point. Every day was slower than the last," Lambert said, his mouth full of cheese and sausage. He looked—like he did every day—at the lone tree in front of the forest.

"Ready? Go!"

Iespeth took off in the direction of the mountains. She had become comfortable with being alone for the time she was in the woods. For the past two weeks, she had had the same schedule. Lambert and Iespeth woke up before the others, she ate a tiny breakfast, and ran the Killer.

And like every day when she returned, Iespeth saw Lambert leaning against the wall waiting for her as she exited the woods.

"There really isn't an elfy thing about you! I've known dwarves with beards so long they trip on them who run faster than that," Lambert said as she approached him sweating a good few hours later.

"That can't be! I didn't even have to walk this time!" Iespeth yelled, shaking her fists once in frustration.

"Well, maybe you need to try harder," he replied nonchalantly. She noticed a bead of sweat on his forehead like he had every day as he turned to look at that bloody lone tree. Lambert started walking towards the entrance to the fortress. He turned when he realized she hadn't followed him.

"Come on. Don't you wanna pore over your books?"

"I need a moment. Alone!" she spat.

"Suit yourself. But don't blame me when there is no lunch left."

As soon as he was out of sight, she ran over to the tree. What is so special about this one tree? It's just a small sapling. She ran her hands over it feeling every nook and cranny of the bark. Most of the leaves had already fallen off and were lying next to it on the ground. She picked up a few and crunched them in her hand, then let the pieces fall. Even though she was standing in the sun she began to get cold as her sweat dried. She finally gave up and joined the others.

Lunch was particularly special today since Eskel had hunted a wild sow the day prior. With very few humans in the area, the pigs grew particularly plentiful over the summer. Everyone ate the tasty meat slowly, savoring the tender morsels. Everyone except Avallac'h who was still in the lab playing with chemicals.

"Damn Eskel, you cook a mean pig!" Lambert said, wiping the juices off the side of his mouth.

"It was nothing. Just an old recipe. Thanks to Keira I didn't have to stand here turning the damn thing the whole morning," Eskel replied.

Keira smiled and nodded her head. "I can't say my motives were truly altruistic. I simply grew tired of hard rolls and dried sausages. And it is such a simple spell." She stabbed one of the many finely cut pieces on her plate with her two-pronged fork. "Tis a shame, though, that Avallac'h does not wish to join. The meat did turn out nicely. I dare say even adequate enough for an elf to tolerate," she stated, slyly looking at Ciri.

Keira might have been the only one at Kaer Morhen who actually welcomed Avallac'h's presence, whereas the others merely tolerated it. She had so many questions of the magical sort and wished to dig into his wealth of knowledge. She was aware, though, that sages were not known for sharing. This widely spread assumption was confirmed by his lack of interaction with almost everyone. On occasion, the elven mage would demand various herbs or substances from Maya, but that hardly comprised a conversation. The only one he really spoke to was 'Zirael'.

"Bu' Ima elf," Iespeth inserted, her mouth stuffed to the brim, "an' I thin' it's swell."

"Of course you do dear, but you were essentially raised by humans. There is nothing wrong in that naturally, but...how can I say this without sounding like a snob. You lack the refinery and tastes of someone as old and accomplished as he, who is also accustomed to luxury," Keira explained.