Welcome to Gaia! ::

The days passed slowly, and at last, a week later, they once more arrived at a town - Ebonscarp this time, and this town, small though it was, had walls around it. They had no trouble going through the gate, however, and very quickly they saw that the town was built in much the same manner as the town of Tavari had been: the buildings - homes and businesses alike - were wooden structures that seemed to be so attuned to nature that they had nature growing out of them; flowers, bushes, and other plants all were a part of the structures.

The first stop, of course, was the inn, followed by the livery, but once those were out of the way, the group split up once more to explore.

"Where to first?" Earendil asked Lin and Miyuki with a grin, holding Andarien on his shoulders, where the boy seemed to love to sit. It was a good view, after all, among so many tall people.

Earendil looked around carefully (so as not to nudge Andarien too hard and make him fall, though he did have the boy's hands safely in his own).

"I really don't know," he admitted. "I've never been here before, and the only thing I've heard about it is that it has a renowned healer. Oh, and from what I hear, Ulani and Ulrich know someone here ..."

Not that that said much, since there were indeed a lot of people in the town, small though it was, and he wouldn't have a clue where to begin looking for said person. All they could do, really, was drop the Aldrich name and see if anyone recognized it.

Earendil smiled. "Then if we find this person, it will be by chance," he grinned. "So off we go. It's a pity everyone went their separate ways, some of the others might have been able to tell us a bit at least about where things are."

Well it was too late now.

He looked around. "Which way?" he asked.

They were once again in the middle-ish area of the town, and from where they were standing, streets branched out in four different directions.

"Dah wah!" Andarien echoed Miyuki, yanking one hand out of Earendil's and pointing in the same direction as his sister.

Earendil chuckled, reaching up carefully and taking his son's hand once more. "That way it is," he grinned, making sure his grip on Andarien was secure. "Off we go!"

"Go!" Andarien mimicked gleefully.

Earendil laughed. "You've said that before," he winked at Lin. "But I see your point."

As they walked down the street, they passed, several houses - it seemed that this might be the residential district. There were flower gardens in front of all of the houses, and children playing here and there.

Andarien, from his perch atop Earendil's shoulders, was singing softly to himself in his baby talk, bobbing his head back and forth to his own little beat.

Earendil chuckled and looked up at Andarien, even though he couldn't see anything more than a bit of blond hair. "I'd rather have that than a grumpy boy," he grinned. "Besides, it's good for him. His talking is getting better, after all."

The children were watching Miyuki, though in addition to their curiosity, there was confusion and distrust. They stopped playing while the group passed, and didn't start again until they were several houses down.

Earendil smiled. "Well, they've never seen anyone like you or your mother before," he reminded her. "Just like everywhere else we've been. They might not even have seen anyone like me before. Andarien's probably the only one who looks normal to them."

Andarien didn't seem to notice the children's looks, he was too busy enjoying himself atop his father's shoulders.