Well of the Ancients

On The Trail

Marwen and Doug agreed to meet Philian and Kiran back at the bookshop in two days time. Enough time to properly pack and finish business in town before the merchant caravan left. Philian promised to meet with Torlan and secure the trio's passage with the caravan. At the next stop along the caravan, Philian knew someone that could help them.

Marwen and Doug rushed back to the ranch. Along the way they discussed how best to break the bittersweet news. Marwen had always wanted an excuse to go away from the town but worried about who would help on the ranch if he were gone. He tried the whole way to get Doug to agree to stay, but the ginea was having none of it. When the ranch was in view, Marwen stopped Doug and looked him right in the eye. He took a knee and put a gentle hand on the ginea's shoulder.

"You're not going to come with us, Duck," Marwen tried to tell Doug, who simply brushed the human's hand off his furry shoulder. He continued down the road, not listening as Marwen tried to get his attention again.

"I'm going, I made my choice," Doug finally said over his shoulder as Marwen increased his volume at the stubborn ginea. Marwen let out an exasperated sigh as he quickly placed himself between Doug and the ranch.

"I don't need your help, Duck. Kiran is coming, and it's going to be dangerous out there." Marwen tried to reason. "The ranch needs you - who is going to do all of our work with us gone?"

"My family and your family are able to handle things without us. They did it before, I'm sure they won't mind doing it again. It's for a good reason," Doug said, his short whiskers on his round snout twitching subtly as he spoke. Marwen had known him long enough to tell when he was hiding something.

"Why do you want to go, Doug?" Marwen said, his voice lacking malice. Though the Ginea sometimes bothered Marwen to no end, he truly did care for his friend.

"Well," Doug started, then trailed off as a worried look started to spread across his face. "My mother is pregnant," the ginea said in a near whisper.

Marwen beamed at the news. A birth, new life coming to the city. Marwen knew how great a gift it was, as most ginea only have one child.

"And with the water drying up," Doug said, breaking Marwen from his thoughts, "it would be more helpful to them with me gone. They can use my share of water on the new baby if it comes while we are gone."

Marwen quickly remembered how much water a ginea baby needs. When Doug was a newborn, nearly all his time outside his mother's protective pouch was spent inside a small tub of water. An image of a baby Doug laughing and splashing around the tub flashed through Marwen's memory. He wondered if it had really been fifteen years since Doug had been born. Marwen was proud of the adult that Doug was becoming.

"OK. You can come, Duck," Marwen said, feigning a resigned sigh. He watched as Doug's face beamed with a smile of pure joy. The Ginea embraced him in a tight hug, and Marwen couldn't keep a wide smile from spreading across his face.

While they packed and prepared, Philian bought a few items the group would need on their travels. The two days passed quickly and while the group was eager to leave, they were very hesitant to say goodbye. They met back at the bookstore in the early morning as the town was just coming to life. Philian laid the items for the group out on his store's counter for them to arrange in their packs before they left. Their eyes lit up as they browsed the items Philian had brought for them.

Doug squeaked with joy when he saw the broken key laying on the counter. He hadn't seen it since Philian had used it to open the lock off the old book. It was still broken but it was now placed in a leather holster with only the ornate curved handle exposed. Even though it was still it's shortened length, it was perfectly balanced now Doug found as he pulled the key out of its holster and played around with some flourishes. The broken bit was smoothed down, making it a blunt end.