MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Camping For The Night

It was nearing dusk. The convoy in front of us stopped. Watching the people hurry to unpack their shelter, we knew it was time for us to follow suit.

The back of my legs ached. I knew I would pay for this tomorrow. As I thought of my own pain, it made me think of Raine. He's even younger than me and yet, he stubbornly kept up with my strides. Sending Raine to sit down nearby, I placed my pack down and began to assemble the tent. I then laid down two blankets, side-by-side. These were taken from Jerilyn's wardrobe. The blankets were made from a thick fabric, but they weren't quilted. I wasn't certain how warm they would be.

When I was done, I patted down the dust from Raine's pants legs. Then I said, "Go on in and rest for a moment. I'll go find a water source."

Raine nervously looked at me with reluctant eyes, so I added, "I won't abandon you."

Even if I did run off, Raine couldn't' stop me, so at last he resigned himself to what may come. He entered the tent and rested.

I walked around and found a small lake. The surface of the water glowed with a fiery orange shimmer under the setting sun.

I crouched down to wash my face. Suddenly, I thought of something. I sniffed my armpits. Gross! I reeked of a smell akin to moldy onions. I might as well take a bath here. I undressed and entered the water. I also washed the clothes. Then I felt something brush against my leg.

"What is it?" I asked Midas.

"Fish," she answered nonchalantly, as though she was bored.

Fish! I had learned how to handle fish and even how to catch them with my bare hands. In the rich merchant's estate, there was a fish pond. In the dark cover of night, the servants would go out to catch fish. It wasn't that we were forbidden to catch fish, but we feared doing it openly, would lead to the merchant banning us from doing so.

Using the skills I had learned, I soon caught five fish. I wore my pants back on and then wrapped the fish in my top. When I returned, I realized I was soaking wet and freezing.

There was no fire. A flint firestarter was an expensive item. Unless a person knew how to start a fire through bushcraft knowledge, they couldn't start a fire from scratch. Most people would borrow a light from a kind neighbor.

I distributed a fish to each of the pairs. I kept a fish for Raine and I. With the last fish, I walked up to the convoy ahead of us. As men who lived by escorting others, they were prepared and had a huge bonfire. I traded my fish for a burning stick. The man was happy to make the exchange. Although fish was considered peasant fare, but on the road, it beats eating dried rations.

I returned to my group with the fire stick and we soon had a roaring bonfire. Under the glow of the crackling fire, we gathered together to roast our fish. The people in the group warmed up to me after my gift of fresh fish. Enola, who had been rather distant before, spoke to me and even said a few words to Raine. I placed my shirt on a bush to let it air dry overnight.

The men in the convoy would most likely keep watch all night. Because we had the convoy near us, Jonas decided we could all sleep without having someone stay up to keep watch.

Despite borrowing the strength of the convoy, as a precaution, I had Midas keep a lookout. As an angel she didn't have to eat nor sleep. Therefore, she was the best choice.