chapter 2, part 1

Luciana and Altarn stayed up well into the night talking and making plans. Just before they finally went to bed Luciana turned to Altarn and said “I realize that it isn’t going to live up to the presents that you got from your parents but this is for you.” She pressed a small leather wrapped parcel into his hand and disappeared into the sitting room where she would be spending the night. Altarn retired to his bedroom and unwrapped the leather from the gift. It was a small wooden carving of Berryl’s face, it was certainly Luciana’s style but Altarn had had no idea she could carve so well. He went to sleep clutching the small carving, thinking about how he could ask Berryl to leave with him as he went to see the world.

In the morning Altarn was awoken by Luciana pounding on his door. Looking up he realized it was only shortly after dawn. “Just a minute” he called. Getting out of bed he pulled on clothes and went to the door. “Ok Luciana what is it?” “I just thought it was time you should be getting up, you did tell your mother you would take care of chores. I thought I’d give you a hand and we could go back to the village together. What’s wrong having second thoughts about leaving now?” Altarn bristled slightly at the implied insult, “No, that is just fine. Let me go tend the cows and gather the eggs and we’ll find my mother and tell her that I’m off.”

A short while and hearty breakfast later they finished tending to the chickens and cows. Both parents, alerted at breakfast, were waiting to see them off. As Altarn made his good byes to his parents a small sack was handed to him by his mother. “That should be several days worth of food that will not spoil quickly.” She said “and I know you have the resources to get more if needed. Be careful and remember you are always welcome to come back here if you want.” Amanda turned away quickly, a glint of light catching the tears on her cheeks. “Son, you know that I don’t approve of this choice, but whatever you end up doing do it well and be a credit to our family. If you do become an adventurer, remember the stock you came from and treat others as they deserve according to their actions and not their station.” Henry gave Altarn a quick hug and returned to the house to comfort Amanda.

Altarn turned for a final look at the house just before the road took him behind a stand of trees. His mother and father were visible waving from the kitchen window, he waved back and turned to Luciana “You know, I never really thought about how it would feel like to be leaving. I’m not sure I am making the right decision but I cannot stay here and commit myself to life as a farmer. It isn’t my style and isn’t anything I could possibly be comfortable with. So why do I feel so rotten leaving my father to work the farm himself?” Luciana pondered for a moment and replied “Well, I think the key there is that you feel responsible for your father’s farm. You’ve lived on it your entire life and you’ve helped him work it since you were old enough to stand. You may feel rotten because you think you are letting your father down. You may also feel rotten because for the first time you are putting your own desires in front of those of your parents. Either way lighten up, you are out on your own and free, we’ll go to the village and stay at my father’s place for a few days while we provision properly then we’ll be off to explore the world.” Altarn’s doubts were visible on his face as Luciana spoke. “If you say so, I still feel guilty but maybe I’ll get over it. Let’s be off to the village and I can talk to Berryl while we are there.”

The trip to the village only took a couple of hours and Altarn quickly found himself ensconced into the spare bedroom in the blacksmith’s home. Luciana went off to speak with her father and Altarn was left alone with his thoughts. After some time thinking he decided that his parent’s would be fine. They had a prosperous farm even before he was born and with him not there they needed the farm to produce less than they had while he was there. They should be just fine. His conscience still nagged him over his decision but less so than before.

Somewhat more relieved than when he had arrived, Altarn got up and left the house. He headed towards the small tavern that the village supported to find Berryl. Normally she was there as she and her father lived in a small shack off the back of the tavern. They spent most of their time in the tavern, Berryl’s father running a gambling game that many of the paid field hands liked to participate in. Berryl herself frequently doubled as a barmaid when the tavern got busier than the barkeep could handle by himself. Evenings were the worse, even though the village itself only numbered about one hundred and fifty folk, a good number of these people were in every night after dusk. Only the outlying farms like Henry’s contributed nothing to the nightly totals and even these folks were normally in at least once a week.