Setting Out
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 47150
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Hesht was wearing a backpack, in which he had stored some food, a bottle
of water, a tinderbox and a rope. He had a knife at his belt that could
serve as either a tool or a weapon at need. He had also brought a small
lantern with him, for the first leg of the journey would be made in the
dark. However he did not intend to light it until well clear of the
village. After this leg he would leave it in their overnight shelter, well
hidden, and pick it up on the return journey, since the remainder of the
trip would be in daylight.
When he arrived at the Western Bridge, he could not see Astra at first in the dim light, and for a moment he was afraid that she had decided not to come, But then she emerged from the deeper shadow of a tree that overhung the track. "Hello, Hesht," she greeted him. "H-hello, Astra. I'm g-glad you decided to come. G-got your walking b- boots on?" "I don't have any footwear at all, never mind walking boots. One can wear borrowed clothes, but apparently not borrowed shoes, as they always pinch. So Sara assured me, at least. when she gave me this tunic and dress to wear. [43511] But the soles of my feet have toughened up pretty well through going barefoot the last few days, not to mention the effect of the lye soap, so I ought to be all right. Is the trail very rough? In your note, you mentioned that we'd need to do some climbing." "M-most of it's not too bad, but we'll need to cross a narrow but deep ravine at one p-point tomorrow. There used to be a bridge, but it c-c- collapsed a few years back. There are a few other c-climbs, but those are fairly gentle. There's a small river at the bottom of the ravine that we'll have to ford, but the water is usually only about knee-deep at this time of year. The path can be a bit b-boggy in places, but nothing too serious." "I don't mind getting my feet muddy. Just so long as it's not tar!" Astra smiled. Hesht smiled a little uncertainly back, then went on: "Shall we g-get started, then? This first l-leg is fairly straightforward. It's about twelve m-miles to the shelter I mentioned - an abandoned cottage. That should take us about f-four hours. We'll spend the rest of the night there. We won't need to make too early a start tomorrow, though that will be our longest day. I've b-brought some f-food for our breakfast and for our mid-day meal. Tomorrow night we'll stay at the place of a f-friend of mine. I may need to w-wait there for a day or two in connection with my b-business. You can c-choose whether to wait with me or to carry on by yourself. The last l-leg to P-Petrona is pretty easy and the trail is well m-marked. It's really only tomorrow's leg that can be a b-bit t-tricky."
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JH
11/25/2004 2:50:41 AM
Extending Enabled
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