“After our town was destroyed by the boargs, Fil and I hid out in the mountains until the winter snows subsided. One day I woke up and I could move my body. I was sore, and very weak, but I could move, although I’m not sure how. It took me months to gain my strength. But as you can see, I eventually did.” Jonas didn’t know what else to say so he just sipped his tea to fill the silent void.
“That’s it?” Tuvallus asked.
“Yes, that’s what happened,” answered Jonas.
“I went into Manson after de attack…not one survived. How did two boys live when no one else did?” He asked bluntly.
“I don’t know,” replied Jonas.
“I see. Well…I reckon there be more to the story than that, but makes no matter to me. I’ll be gone in the mornen.”
“Do you want to travel with us, Tuvallus?” asked Fil, hopefully.
Tuvallus grunted again, drinking the last of his tea and laying out his bedroll by the fire. “Good luck on yer travels,” he answered as he lay down by the crackling fire and closed his eyes.
***
The journey through the Tundren Mountains was long and arduous, but Jonas relished the hard work and actually welcomed his sore and tired muscles. It made him feel alive. Unfortunately, they soon ran out of food and they had to stop and hunt, set snares, and gather berries, roots and wild onions.
Finally, after three weeks of traveling, they began the descent on the east side of the Tundren Mountains. The trading road was old and well worn. Caravans made the long trek to deliver goods from Finarth, Tarsis, Cuthaine, and Nu-menell, to the western cities of Onett, Bitlis, and Mynos. Merchants brought their wares to Manson and the other mountain towns, and then continued west, finally arriving at the coast and the great Sea of Algard.
Jonas remembered vividly the days when the merchants would come to their town. There would be a week of celebration with lots of dancing and drinking as the merchants sold and traded their products. It was the only chance for the townspeople to buy spices and salted exotic meats from the east, jewelry and pottery from the craftsmen of Finarth, silk and cotton from distant lands, and if you were really wealthy, weapons and armor from the dwarven clans in Dwarf Mount.
Jonas never got to spend much time at the merchant tents because he was always picked on or beat up by the other boys, but his mother would always take him to see the rare goods, listen to the stories and music, and watch the dancers, ignoring the stares, taunts, and ridicule of the superstitious townspeople.
Jonas’s heart ached as he thought of his mother, but it was beginning to seem like a distant memory. The attack on their village had only been three months ago, yet it seemed like another lifetime. He had changed so much. Not only was his affliction gone, but his body was growing with strength every day, and he was gaining confidence with every step that he took. No longer was he the little cripple boy who could barely hold himself upright.
It was starting to get dark when they neared a crossroads, one road meandering to the right, while the other lead northeast.
Jonas sat down on a big boulder and took a drink from his water skin. “Which way do we go, Fil?”
Fil looked left and then right. He, too, was uncertain. “We should be heading southeast, which I think is to the right. I’m not exactly sure, but it’s almost dark so let’s camp here for the night and we’ll figure it out in the morning.”
“Alright,” replied Jonas. “Let’s look for a good spot off the main road.”
“Lead the way,” Fil responded.
They found a small clearing off the main road. It was a good spot, surrounded by large trees and covered in a soft moss. They ate a cold meal of dried venison, sweet salal berries, and some pine nuts that they had collected the previous day.
“We’re running out of food,” Fil commented tiredly as he laid out his bedroll.
“I know, I think we need to slow down and do some hunting,” responded Jonas, absently. He was holding the cavalier’s blade in his hand, his mind elsewhere.
Fil looked at him with concern as he lay down on his wool blanket. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking, that’s all.” Jonas looked up at Fil. “To be honest, I’m kind of scared.”