The Little Still Mill

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 49985

Hesht nodded his head slightly and slipped into the field of grass. He stooped down, but did not crawl, in order to avoid getting mud on his hands and knees. Astra followed behind. He suddenly hunkered down, squatting his weight balanced on the balls of his feet.

"We should be safe here. I would rather that you waited until Doazda got back, but I can see that you are determined to leave now. I will need to get you to the first cache, as we are too far removed from the Little Forge, which I told you about earlier." [48593]

"Yes."

"We can get to the first cache by dark, if we go by the Little Still Mill. I have to warn you, though, it is a risk. If other people see you here, or most other places, then the best course is to greet them, act as if you belong there, and they will leave you alone. The Mill is off limits to me, and certainly they would not want to see you there. We want to stay as far away as we can, but we have to get at least a little near to it, as the Little Still River blocks our path, and the best fords, and only bridge, are within sight of the mill."

Astra nodded her head. She understood. She whispered back, "I am willing to risk getting caught at the mill."

The journey out was slow, as there was a lot of mud from last night's rain. From time to time, Astra's feet got stuck in the mud, and she could only pull them out with an effort. She worried that she would tire. The grass then suddenly ended, and Astra could see huts and barns in the distance. Had she been betrayed?

"Act n- natural," said Hesht. "We are just on a walk, as g- guests of D- Doazda. L- Let me do the t- talking."

Astra was not reassured, as Hesht was having problems talking again. However, nobody paid them any attention, and they passed into an orchard with nobody saying a word to them.

After a time, they came to a well. Astra asked if she could get a drink, and Hesht agreed that this would be a good idea. Astra had just taken a drink when Hesht suddenly said, "Hide, up in the tree. Don't move."

Astra did as he commanded, quickly climbing into the fork of some kind of fruit tree that was not bearing fruit yet. The leaves of the tree partly obscured her vision. This was good, as it would partly obscure the vision of whatever threat Hesht found. Hesht ran his hand through his hair, and took off his shirt and hose. Astra wondered if Hesht had gone mad, when she saw a couple of men on horseback approach the well.

"Good evening, Hesht" said one of the men. "What is going on?"

"It's a v- v- very g- good evening, Sir." Hesht's face flushed a bit.

"What are you doing here half-naked by the well?"

Hesht smiled and giggled, and then said, with some trouble, "It's a secret."

The men then broke out in laughter, and one of them said, "I didn't think you had it in you, Hesht. Who is the girl?"

Hesht smiled very broadly, and said, "It is a secret f- for now, b- but it w- will be revealed s- soon. J- just don't say anything n- now."

One of the men winked, and said, "Your secret is safe with us. We will find out about your new friend, one way or another. But you have to get away from the well. Go out into the pine barrens, guy. That is where you can get some privacy. Good luck!

With that, the men left, talking animatedly and cheerfully between themselves, now possessed with a choice piece of gossip.

Some time after they had left, Hesht beckoned Astra down from the tree. Astra asked, "Who were they, and why did you do that?"

Hesht replied, "You want to get to P- Penhan, right? These men are r- rangers of the manor. They look for those who tresspass in places they should not be, and against those who would take out of the forest what is not theirs. Th- they are going to assume that we are secret l- lovers. Th- that would give us a r- reason to slip away that they w- would understand. They w- will t- turn a b- blind eye to us for a wh- while."

Astra sighed and shook her head. Hesht's argument made some sense, and in any case she hoped that after a day or so that she would be free of the Kingdom of Hespan forever.

As the rangers had said, they passed easily through a thinly wooded pine forest, with little underbrush. There was about an hour of sunlight when the forest started to thin out, and Astra could a rocky clearing. These rocks were smooth and rounded, like they had been in a river for ages, and their edges worn off. She knew that they were approaching the Little Still River.

Hesht said, "We are in the open now. The sh- shortest way to the first cache is by the bridge, to the west, but that takes us right by the m- mill, and we may be discovered and h- held there. Th- there is a f- ford to the east, b- but it is a longer path, and we will n- not reach the first cache before the s- sun sets. It is likely to be m- muddy, too. I c- can go either way."

Astra chose to go by the way of the

  1. bridge.
  2. ford.

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4/9/2005 5:04:47 PM

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