Welcome to Gaia! ::

The snowstorm the caravan had entered blew over in a few days. Those days Limbree found herself inside one of the wagons most of the time wrapped up in thick woolen blankets. She was used to chilly weather, but Zena was on a whole new level. This was FREEZING! Her teeth chattered as she looked out a frost edged window. They were headed ever further north, to the town of Etine.

‘How you fairing in there?’ asked the wagon driver, a flashy matori woman who knew her way around a wagon.

”Just fine. Nothing I can’t handle.” Limbree answered as she tightened the blanket around herself. ”Do you know how much further it is until we reach the next town?”

‘Think we’re almost there. The roads are a little thick with snow.’ the woman said with a hint of concern. ‘But we’ll get there as we always do. So hang tight.’

Hang tight, that was something Limbree was doing a lot of as the wagons plowed their own path down the snow covered roads of Zena. As the day wore on, the group picked a place to rest and let the herd beasts graze on what grass they could uncover. Limbree opened the door to the wagon and poked her head out into the weather. The snow clouds had cleared and the breeze was still a bit brisk.

”Brrr.” was all that came from here. ”Does summer ever come to Zena? Or is it always this cold? I’m not complaining, just wondering.” She was complaining a little, she wondered why she came to Zena this time of year.

There was a round of laughter from the Matori who was handling the cart’s animals. ‘They get some summer weather, not as hot as Oba, but it is warm enough to melt the ice some. But that is a few months from now, this is just the middle of winter.’

”A few more months? That seems like a long time at this time.” Limbree frowned as she pulled her cowl closer.

The caravan settled into their camp, figuring it would be safest to spend the night where they were. Even if it was still midday. The leader of the group didn’t want to harm their beasts by trying to pull the wagons through the snow. Instead two went off to find someone who had Mammu in the area. As the day progressed, Limbree practiced her bowmanship with her crossbow. Firing at small targets and small fruits that one of the caravan kids tossed into the air for her. She hit things only half the time and had to retrieve the bolts that went wide.


‘You’re getting better. Maybe next time we set up for a show you can join us. It’d be fun.’ the kid commented as they gathered bolts and other things from the ground.

”Hmm, maybe. That’d really be up to your father. He deals with the archery shows.” Limbree pointed out. ”I wouldn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

The child laughed as they finished up and headed back to everyone else. The sky started to darken as the lot cleaned up from eating and started to retire. Even with the night still young, everyone went into their wagons. Limbree accompanied the Matori from earlier.

The lights were snuffed and the caravan settled into sleep. While Limbree laid awake for what seemed like forever. She finally fell asleep and it didn’t feel like she had been asleep long before the morning rays started to drift over the mountains. As she woke up there was a small colorfully wrapped package.

”Hello, what is this?” She asked as she set up and picked up the package. It was long and slim, she had a guess that there was perhaps ammo for her crossbow inside. ”Wonder who this is from. Hmmm.”

“Open it,’ said a voice from the window as the kid from the past day was leaning in. ‘Never know what it is unless you open it.’

Limbree just about leaped out of her own skin at the sound of the voice as she turned around and stared at the kid. ”Jeez, you scared me.” She said in a small scolding tone. ”I’m not even sure if this is really for me or someone else. I mean, there’s no name on it.”

The kid gave a bit of a shrug as Limbree pulled off the cloth to reveal a crossbow repair kit and a small quiver full of bolts. It was something he had been looking at a couple of towns back. Her dark face grew a little darker as she looked at the bolts. The heads were made of a bronze colored metal on pine shafts. The fletching looked like it was made of Scorra feathers.

”I love them, but who?” She looked back towards the window, the kid was gone and the Oban stood in his place.

‘Hope you like them. I know you were looking at them.’ he smiled.

”Like them? I love them.” she said before getting up and moving to hug the man who had given her such a wonderful gift.

[[ WC: 920 ]]