“I’ve already done so,” Caiside answered; and she sang:
We’ll need some face masks for stealing,
Elven cloaks for concealing,
and a shovel to dig
our hiding holes;
and a wizard’s charmed armband
to block curses and harm, and
if you’ve got them, I’ll take
some magic scrolls.
An amulet of protection
and an herbal collection
so that we can ignore
the evil spells;
and we’ll need three suits of chainmail
and a mean-looking ball flail;
–at this, she furrowed her eyebrows and mimicked swinging around a ball and chain weapon. She really put effort into it, and seemed to look forward to having the chance to do it for real.
–and, in case there are bears,
a set of bells.
We’ll need a couple of yew bows
and a quiver of arrows
and some knives we can hurl
at enemies;
and a satchel of witchbane
and a vial of strength-gain
and a bucket of pois -
‘ning remedies.
A fearsome axe for attacking
And two hound dogs for tracking
And a falcon to soar
And see afar;
a crosscut saw and a hatchet
And a winch with a ratchet;
And to force open doors,
A big crowbar.
I want some new iron cookware
and a foldable lawn chair
and a tent that’s for me,
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but not for you;
and two chickens for fresh eggs,
and some mustards and nutmegs;
dill, paprika and thyme,
and saffron too.
We’ll take a tin full of haggis
and beignets in a bag; this
walk behooves us to pack
all that we’ll want.
Let’s bring a magnum of brandy
and some rose petal candy
and smoked whiskey to fuel
our humble jaunt.
We’ll need a halberd for grabbing
and a fauchard for stabbing
and a small arbalest,
if it will fit;
I would say yes to a squire
and some way to throw fire
but no white flag, because
we’ll never quit!
With that last line, she actually raised her arms in the air and beamed at us.
But in the history of awkward silences, the silence that Freydis and I held at that moment was –
Suddenly Caiside sang again, repeating:
–Because,
we’ll never quit!
– and she raised her arms again with a flourish.
Anyway, as I was saying: in the history of awkward silences, the silence that Freydis and I held then was surely one of the awkwardest and longest. We looked back and forth at each other – in silence – and then at Caiside.
“You know,” Freydis said. “I don’t really envision us taking along any of that. Except a bow, I suppose. We’ll be hunting for meals if we’re out there very long.”
“Right, a bow,” I said. “And a shovel’s not a bad idea. A small one. If nothing else, Dwarves always respect you more if they see you have a shovel about.”
“Very well, agreed,” Freydis said.
“That’s fine then,” Caiside said. “I travel pretty light myself. No worries.”
Chapter Nine: Flicker’s Departure Song
It was two days later that we had gathered all of the gear and food that we were going to take, and we stood inside my parents’ house. It was before dawn; we wanted to leave without drawing too much notice in town.
I did carry a small shovel, and a bow and quiver. Freydis and I each had a long knife, but no other weapons. We had bedding, and wool cloaks. Freydis also carried a leather tarp that would just barely cover all three of us in the event we were caught in hard rain far from any shelter. Caiside carried the same shoulder bag and bedroll she had come to town with, although my parents and Danzig and Lila had loaded her up with food.
We finished the take-cares and the back-as-soon-as-we-cans. I opened the door and the three of us spilled out.
Miranda was there.
“I sensed a quiet commotion here,” she told me.
“Caiside,” Freydis said. “Let’s go ahead. He’ll catch up.”
***
I can hear still
all my family’s words and goodbyes
when we set out on the pine needle path up to find the hoard.
Under the near hills
I saw the worry in Mother’s eyes.
Told her not to worry, this tale had to be explored.
She gave
us a leather satchel of meal
and a
long knife forged from Elven steel.
She said
“Take care. Soon you will be back again.”
An embrace from her froze me; and
I wondered then
about what kind of fool would walk
away from them.
[BRASS INTERLUDE]
Daphne gave me
an apple loaf she had made.
Told me it would keep in case things got truly hard.
It would save me
on a night when I was feeling frayed.
I thought of her out by those trees in our old back yard.
Danzig
Kissed his daughter and then he punched me;
Miranda
handed us a lunch for three.
They said
“Take care. Soon you will be back again.”
Then second thoughts wracked my mind
in a dark mayhem;
and I wondered what kind of fool
would walk away from them.
National Park Service Picture – Courtesy of Hot Springs National Park Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Arbalest: Agaath, CC BY-SA 4.0