In the Valley of a Thousand Footprints

[xii] The City of Thimbl

Efa's eyes snapped awake. She had heard someone digging through her satchel next to her. Eyes open and sunlight scarce, she shot a hand out towards the dark silhouette's neck, aiming to take him by surprise. She was stopped short when she heard Ellian's feeble voice shout out, "Wait, wait! its me! don't!"

"By the devil, Elli, you gave me a damned heart attack!" Efa shot a hand to her chest, desperately willing her heart rate to go down. "The hell did you want!?"

"Some food," he said, looking down at the ground and pouting. He fiddled with his fingers as he said it. All in all, it remined Efa of a forlorn puppy. 

"For all devils sake, you should have just tapped me on the shoulder and asked." Efa sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. She got up slowly and stretched, releasing the tension in her bones and joints. "Go wake Cly while I sort out our food." Saying so, she walked over and quickly checked on the horses, before digging in Raven's saddlebags to find their leftover jerky. She fished an apple out while she was at it and walked back to the other two. Ellian was sitting on top of Clytyn and slapping him awake. It didn't seem to be working. Efa saw the corner of Clytyn's mouth twitch into a smile for a second. 

Smirking, she wordlessly casted Gwlychu onto his face and walked off to the sound of spluttering and choking. "Wake up and eat. We've got a little more ground to cover through the forest before we get to Thimbl."

Efa left them the jerky and apple to share and went to a nearby stream to freshen herself up. The water there was cold. Splashing it on her face, Efa shivered. She rubbed her eyes and splashed a bit more water up to her hair and swept it back, quickly fishing a cord from her trousers and tying her hair back into a small ponytail. She took some of the water in her mouth and gargled it as she went back to the boys, spitting it out before reaching them. 

They had eaten three of the five strips of jerky, leaving two for Efa. She grabbed them and started munching heartily. While they were never starved for food, they didn't have it in excess either. 

"So what's our plan?" Clytyn asked, coming back from the stream. He fished around in Bou's saddlebag and pulled out a towel which he used to wipe his face. 

"We'll get back on the road, and follow it right through the forest for a little ways before reaching Thimbl. After that we'll restock, resupply and move on." 

"Right. We moving now?"

"Wait for Elli. . ."

After finishing up at the camp, Efa hopped on Raven while Clytyn mounted Bou, with Elian jumping on behind him. They rode off in the direction of the road, which they found without much hassle. Once on the road, it was smooth sailing. 

They passed through the forest, sunlight barely shining through cracks in the canopy. Decaying tree trunks littered the forest floor, tree stumps too. There was a pungent smell coming from beneath the undergrowth. Bushes with berries sprung about and as they passed near a large tree, they saw at its base the carcass of a crow. To the sky behind them, rainclouds began to form. The atmosphere turned cold. They encountered nothing out of the ordinary, and soon they had reached the point where the path exited the forest. 

As the trees fell away behind them, they were met by the sight of Thimbl, and out of all their previous destinations, this one seemed most befitting of the word: city. As they drew in closer, the city's architecture could truly be appreciated. Large battlements had been built along the city limits, enclosing the city behind walls. And what beautiful walls they were. Intricate designs were engraved in the stone. Inside the city limits, the domes of large buildings were barely visible. Thimbl was a trade city, and as befitting a trade city the city was maintained and administered by two allied trade foundations. They had brought their own culture and style to the city and each had helped elevate Thimbl to a position of importance, and as a sure-fire stop on any trader's travel log.