Day 273-74 (251-52) ((241-42))

Day 273 (251) ((241)):
We rose with the sun. We met the staff woman who had come to collect us for breakfast. Carmon was not with us in the dining room.
During the meal, Lady Julia and several others who had taken the seeds and pollen arrived. They smiled when they saw us.
"Sisters! We are pleased you are still here. We wanted to inform you of the bounty your gifts have bestowed," Julia told us as they joined us, "Those seeds were amazing. We took the tree seeds first and planted them in the worst area, a place so blighted we feared nothing would grow ever again. Within moments of being covered, they grew. We watched them rise before us. Within a hour, they stood twenty feet tall, strong and healthy. Encouraged, we planted shrubs, bushes and other hardy types in the worst areas. These, too, erupted to full growth within moments. By the end of the day, it was hard to remember how ugly it had been. The other seeds, being what they were, we did not expect any growth. Mostly, we saw nothing. The grasses, however, erupted across the ground like spilled paint. Dark, thick, sturdy grass raced over any spot not already occupied, even under our feet. The herdsmen watching could not prevent their animals from eating the grass, even though they were uncertain. Seeing that their animals had no ill effect from it, they guided the remaining herds to feed upon the bounty. The pollen, now, is guarded like gold. They have hope now, something they did not have before. They gave us this for you."
From a bag, she produced seven scarves, each of a different color. She placed them upon the table.
"I will  not presume which color suits whom, but they are your's."
We examined the scarves. They were very soft. Set commented that they smelled like goats and berries. I explained to him where the wool came from and how they were dyed. He took a bit to understand, but, finally, he got it.
We were sorting them out when Lord Carmon entered. As soon as his eyes locked upon Julia, their auras began becoming similar. They greeted each other politely, even though their emotions told their true thoughts. He sat and laid a piece of paper beside him.
"My friend with the ship has returned word that he can take you ladies, your companions, and horses to River Helm. While his ship is, currently, under repairs, he is confident that it will be ready by the time you arrive," he reported before eating.
"River Helm?" Julia asked, concern coloring her voice, "Why are you going to River Helm? I thought your missions ended with the Baalocs."
"We have received information that gnome villages are being destroyed and that they are in jeopardy," I told  her.
Julia looked at Carmon with great concern. He gently patted her hand and nodded. One of her fellows, however, was more vocal on the subject.
"So what? Gnomes in trouble. Bah! Gnomes are trouble! I have not had a single gnome-made item last more than a month. When I demanded it to be fixed, they refused and tried to sell me another shoddy item to replace it. Let them suffer!"
"Gregor!" Julia exclaimed, "Why do you make such claims? Gnomes designed and constructed most of Sterling. The merchants have always been honest and decent. I have several gnomish items in my home that were handed down to me by my mother. I think you are mistaken."
Gregor began to protest when Alice stood and spoke, "I have seen your history, Gregor. The people you dealt with were not gnomes. They were goblins in disguise, attempting to ruin gnome reputations. They prey upon the poorest by making it appear you are getting a bargain. In the end, you have paid five times the cost of a true gnomish item of superior quality."
Gregor's dislike for gnomes was replaced by a greater hatred of goblins. Julia and many of her fellows shuddered as they recalled experiences with goblins. Gregor apologized for his harsh words and excused himself. All but Julia left to prepare to return to their homes. We left Carmon and Julia as we went back to our room to prepare for travel.
We had not been at this for long when a knock interrupted us. Julia walked in at our response.
"Sisters, I must talk with Alice. It is very important."
"You wish to court my father," Alice stated plainly.
Julia blushed deeply. Shyly nodding, she sat on one of the beds. The words wiggled in her mind as she tried to phrase her thoughts just right. I sat beside her.
"We knew before you arrived. I saw you beside Lord Carmon for many years and at his funeral. Alice and my other sisters shared my viewing. We have let you and he find each other without our interference."
"You did? For our sakes? Why?" she stammered.
"If we had, you would question all your days if this was true love or some trick of ours. It is very real," I assured her.
Joyful tears ran down her face. Alice retrieved something from her room. She returned and handed a ring to Julia.
"This was my mother's. I would be honored if you wore it."
Julia burst into sobs. She and Alice embraced tightly.
A timid knock preceded Carmon's entrance. He saw his daughter and future wife holding each other and crying. He looked at me, his question written across his face. A single bob of my head sent him rushing and joining his ladies in their embrace. This six of us continued packing as they went to Alice's room to speak privately. We did not see any of them until mid-day.
We were met by the trio and a single man in the dining room. The man, Hector, was the ship owner Carmon had contacted about passage to River Helm. He was open and easy to read. His ship troubled him and occupied his thoughts. The river was not far and we could be there before nightfall if we left after breakfast tomorrow. We agreed to set out at that time.
After lunch, Lord Carmon took us to the stables to pick out horses and gear. We tried to talk him into letting us take only four horses as we could double up, but he insisted we each have our own horse. After that, we finished our packing and preparations until dinner.
The couple was more open about their relationship now that they knew they were fated to be together. The staff also received them well, joyful at Lord Carmon's happiness. They were sad that we were leaving, but knew it had to be. Hector joined us again and spoke of his ship, crew, and the upcoming journey downriver. He spoke of the problems that were keeping them from sailing. We offered, as payment, to fix his ship. He smiled politely and assured us it was being handled by experts. We agreed not to push the matter and wait to see if we were needed to repair it. Hector talked openly about his dealings with dwarfs and gnomes. He admitted that he was unsure if he had dealt with leprechauns and was adamant that he had never dealt with merfolk. While he had no hatred of merfolk, he did not know them well enough to trust them. He said he would make sure his crew knew about our companions and our swords to avoid confrontations.
We all parted company after dinner. We talked amongst ourselves about our impending trip until we got tired and went to bed.

Day 274 (252) ((242)):
We were up and had our things ready to go by sunrise. During breakfast, Lord Carmon offerred much "fatherly advice". While we didn't need it, we let him speak as it was what he needed. Lord Eyeshaw's response and agreement to the betrothal arried just before we finished eating. With it was a gift for Lord Carmon. A fine set of blades was presented to him: a long sword, a short sword, and a dagger. Identical in style and construction, they could not be mistaken for anything else but elf forged. Carmon inspected them with critical eyes. He held them as Alice read the enclosed letter:

To Lord Carmon,
As you gifted us with the rare Emperor Dragon scales, Ko-a-tie hide, and younster Phoenix feathers, we, my wife and I, gift to you this set of fine blades. Above their use in combat, if you wear all three upon your person, you have the ability to read and speak elvish fluently. We look forward to many years of harmony with you and Alice.
Future Family,
Lord and Lady of Marlask

"Elvish? These swords let me understand elvish? I find that hard to believe," he questioned as he put them aside.
Alice laughed, "This should prove it, Father. Lord Eyeshaw's letter is completely in elvish and that is how I read it."
His eyes went huge. He took the page and examined it closely. With it still in his hand, he placed the three blades in his lap. As soon as he touched the last blade, he exclaimed, "I can read it! Before, it was gibberish. Now, I can read it just as Alice did."
He must have read that letter a dozen times, both with and without the blades. Around us, some of the staff wondered about his sanity. Julia arrived and Carmon showed her the wonderous blades. She gave the only the briefest of glances before sitting with us.
"That was odd," Callie commented mentally, "It is like she is afraid of them."
"It is not fear she hides," I told them, "It is a family secret, one she thinks will drive Carmon away from her."
Alice looked at her intently. Through her family line she searched. She kept her face neutral when she hit upon the secret. We debated whether to let her know we knew. Carmon left to safely secure the blades. During a time when there was no staff in the room, we spoke up.
"Lady Julia, we know about your family," I said bluntly.
She dropped her food and coughed, trying to deflect my words, "My... my family? What's to know? We are all simple folk who farm and raise livestock. There is nothing of note."
"Julia, we know. There is no shame in having an elvish ancestor," Alice countered.
Julia went white. Her mind froze. Years of hiding vanished in a moment. Tears welled up in her eyes and her lips trembled. She shook all over, trying not to sob. Alice rose and went to her, Dawn by her side.
"Why have you hidden this? Why does it bring you shame?"
Julia struggled to voice her thoughts, but was too choked up. Alice took her hands in her's and concentrated.
"Your community is close-knit. Anything 'weird' is destroyed or cast out. They distrust non-humans who look too 'not human'. Gnomes are fine because they are simply short. Gnome families live elsewhere and no one sees how long it takes for their children to grow, so you only see adults. Dwarves are also fine because of their similarity to humans, but, again, you only deal with adults. Elves are too 'not human' for your town. They never stay long because they are ill received. You fear that you and your family will be expelled if it is made known."
Julia nodded as tears continued to stream down her face.
"Likewise, you fear Lord Carmon will reject you if he knows."
More nods and tears. Behind them, Lord Carmon quietly entered and listened.
"Julia, I am of elvish blood. My mother was of elvish blood. My betrothed is half-elf. Why would he reject you just because your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was an elf? Do you think him that shallow?"
Julia shook her head vigorously, slinging tears as she did. Carmon had crept up to stand behind her chair.
"I love him, " she croaked, "I don't want my tainted blood to be a problem between us."
"It is not," Carmon whispered.
Julia stood so fast, she caught Carmon with the back of the chair, knocking the wind out of him. As he recovered, she apologized over and over. When he could finally speak, he took Julia's hand and looked into her eyes.
"No permanent harm, my love. I care not for who your great-great-whatever was. I love you, not them. Ask anyone, my ancestory is full of less-than-noble characters and ne'er-do-wells. They are no more me than your ancestors are you. I love you, my dear."
The pair embraced, further cementing their bond. Hector walked in, utterly cofused, but he said nothing. Finishing our last bites, we followed him out to the stable. Carmon repeated some of his previous advice. Julia added a few warnings as well. We mounted up and headed to Port Willis.
Hector began chatting as soon as we left the gates. He talked non-stop about his ship, repeating some of his prior tales. Set made a rude comment on his endless talking, but Hector did not hear no see it.
We took a short rest about mid-day. Our companions caught their own meals, which actually caused Hector to be quiet for almost two whole hours. He found his voice again as we neared Port Willis. Not as large as Thantos, it was twice as busy. Hector continued to talk, but the town began to drown him out. The noise of Port Willis made normal verbal speech nearly impossible. The docks and anything related to ships monopolized this town. We found the "Gaillanna" crew before we saw the ship. By Hector's glow, even though we could not hear his words, I knew his ship was still not repaired. He told us to stay with the crew as he went to "light their fires" of the repair crews.
Callie was nervous as she looked out at the large river. I did not have to tell the others of her emotions. Anna placed a hand on her arm.
"Your state is expected. Dwarves are not the best of swimmers and dislike traveling by ship. If it is as large as Hector claims, below decks will not rock much and you may be more at ease," she mentally informed Callie.
Callie sighed, "I have always been leary around large bodies of water. Except for Kayla, I was teased mercilessly about my fear, which included several dunkings from cousins, brothers, and uncles. For a while, their torment of me, when copied by others, was called 'Callie Dipping'. It stopped being amusing when another girl died by being thrown out of a boat in the middle of the lake. With you all by me, I can manage this trip."
We were confirming our aid when Hector returned. He was glowing bright red, muttering what we suspected was a colorful string of swearing.
He took a deep breath before he spoke to us, "It looks like we are to be delayed a bit more. They still cannot find the leak. All of their 'expertise' and it still eludes them."
"Might we try?" Callie spoke up, "We have found solutions to other problems like this."
Hector eyed us for a moment then shrugged, "It can't hurt. At least it will amuse us for a bit."
We followed him to a large building right at the river's edge. A large ship was suspended a few feet above the water. People were crawling all over it, looking for something. A man intercepted us. He, too, glowed red.
"What now? Thought of more insults?" he barked.
"No," Hector replied, "These ladies are good at finding what cannot be found. They want to search for the leak."
The man looked us over, giving Set a rather vile look, then allowed us to try. Callie took the forefront as we approached the "Gaillanna", her eyes and mind going over every plank, nail, rope, and stitch of it. It was not long before she identified the leaking area, a spot between the center rib and keel. A man with a bucket disappeared inside. Within a moment, a trickle of water escaped underneath, right where Callie had indicated. Recovering from their shock, they began to moan about the difficulty of repairing that spot. Once again, we offered to fix it. While Hector was still uncertain, the repair chief agreed to let us do it. Hector finally gave in. We got everyone off for their own safety. Callie drew Wrath as we formed a horseshoe behind her. Starting at the bow, she slowly moved down the length of the ship. Moans, creaks, pops, and cracks sounded in the big building. People from outside entered to watch. Every board, beam, and pole was bent, shaped, or moved as the ship was "healed", for want of a better term. Reaching the rudder let the men see the repairs for themselves. A missing chunk was replaced as the wood was reformed and corrected. Callie took a step back as she sheathed Wrath, stumbling slightly. The men did not notice as they raced to inspect the vessel. Hector must have examined it six or more times before returnig to us. We were sitting on some barrels, letting Callie rest.
"Amazing! She hasn't looked that good since I've had her. You just saved me another three weeks in dry dock."
The repair chief was speechless. His crew, however, was very vocal. They, playfully, told us we could put them out of business by spring. We laughed with them. We were taken to a place nearby to wait for them to get the ship back in the water and loaded. As we went, both the repair crew and Hector's crew told everyone how we had fixed the "Gaillanna". By the time we reached our destination, we had a grand faire behind us. Inside, the whole thing was told again to all who would listen. Some raced out to see it for themselves. We were treated to drinks by some who thanked us for stopping Hector's tirades.
It was full dark when we were retrieved by Hector. He was chided as he escorted us out and down to the docks. The ship barely rocked as we went aboard. Callie clung tightly to me as we walked over its moving deck and went to the sleeping area at the back. Hector informed us we had the "officer's" bunks, but, as he had no officers, they were free for us to use during the trip. Plus, it was far enough from the crew to prevent "wild ideas" they may have about us. We used our mats to make the thin mattresses more comfortable. Set curled up on the floor, but hooked his tail around my leg as we all went to sleep.