I awoke to the sound of a knock at the carriage door.

Sleepily, I looked up just as my mother pulled the door open and peered inside.

"Honey, are you awake? Time for breakfast."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the cobwebs of sleep.

Yawning, I pulled myself out of the covers. I stepped to the carriage door and my mother helped me down the single step to the ground outside.

The camp looked different in the daylight. Already, horses were being hooked up to carriages and vardos. Tents were being dismantled and cooking fires were being put out.

"Sit," my mother said.

I sat on the carriage step and my mother handed me a wooden bowl of porridge and a hunk of bread. It was the first hot meal that I had since we left the castle, and despite being a little bland, it felt like just what my body needed at that point.

As I ate, Valk was leading Regal and Majesty to the carriage to be hooked up. When I saw the horses, I was once again reminded of Hortim, and how he had been so kind. I wondered what happened to him.

Valk seemed to move a little quicker than he did last night. A few of the bandages that he had been wearing the last time I saw him had been removed.

"No flies on these folk," Valk said as he started tethering the horses to the wagon. "Up just before dawn, and ready to hit the road."

"Merchants are like that," my mother said. "Time is money for us."

Valk looked a little embarrassed. "I keep forgetting your history milady."

My mother reached up and began massaging her left shoulder, "I wish my body remembered. I spent so many nights sleeping on the ground when I was younger. I've gotten soft."

Valk appeared like he was about to say something, and then stopped himself. He then looked to the other carriages and wagons. The guards that we had spotted the night before were now aligning themselves on either side of the assembling convoy.

"I'm certainly glad that we have some more protection, even if it is only for a little while."

"I'll take whatever help we can get at this point," my mother said.

I mopped up the last of the porridge with the little piece of bread I had left. "I'm finished," I said.

My mother took the bowl and addressed Valk. "I'd better return this. Can you watch Samantha for a second?"

Valk nodded. He finished adjusting the harnesses and came back to where I was sitting.

"I'll be right back," my mother told me. She then turned and started walking towards a group of women who were cleaning up one of the final campfires.

I remained seated on the step. Valk looked down at me.

"So..." he trailed off.

I didn't know if I should say anything. Valk was a constant figure around the castle, but I never really interacted with him before. Often, he would be seen close to my father when he was working. He would be absent during family outings, or if my father had made special time for me. Aside from a polite "Hello" when we passed in the castle halls, I'm not sure if he had spoken more than five words to me in my entire life.

Valk was a good head taller than my father. I wasn't sure how old he was, but grey was creeping into the hair around his temples and into his beard. From the little that I knew about him, I don't think that he had a family.

"Are you doing OK?" he finally asked.

I thought about his question for a few moments. It had been a scary couple of days, but it was an adventure. My mother was with me, so everything would be fine. It would get even better once my father arrived. So, there was only one answer that my four-year-old self could give.

"Yup."

"Good," he looked at a loss of what to say. "Good."

My mother returned shortly after. I don't think I've ever seen a man so relieved to return to tending horses before.

"We should join the convoy, they'll be heading out soon," Valk said lifting himself up the driver's perch in front of the carriage. "With your permission milady," he added.

"We'll switch up driving duties when the convoy makes their rest stops," my mother said. "For now, I'll be in the back with Samantha."

Valk nodded. My mother opened the door to the carriage.

"Whoops."

Valk looked back concerned. "Whoops?"

"I forgot about the bed I made for Samantha, give me a second."

My mother grabbed the blankets and returned them to the box and the rear of the cart. She plopped the pillows back on to the carriage benches.

"Alright, back aboard we go."

I entered the carriage and sat on the bench to the rear. My mother closed the door and sat across from me. She tapped the front wall to indicated to Valk that we were ready to go.

Just like that we were in motion again. We joined the convoy near the rear and waited for the straggling carriages to fall in behind us. A long horn blast sounded, indicating it was time for the convoy to roll out.

We snaked along the road at a snails pace. With all the goods that the merchants were carrying, it was slow going. The guards walking along side had no trouble keeping pace with the procession.

It was a pleasant day. I watched the clouds and the terrain roll by from the window. I spent some time looking at the book that I had taken with me, my mother helping me with some of the harder words.

After a few hours, we rolled to a stop. My mother opened the door and went to the front of the carriage to talk to Valk.

The horn sounded again. This time it was three short blasts. The guards started scrambling.

In the distance, I heard guttural hooping and hollering.

***

It took a moment for my brain to comprehend the two huge black wings that extended from the figure's torso.

"Welcome, welcome," the figure's wings curled to make a "come forward" motion. "Come inside, come inside. You are looking for goods yes? Raveen has many, many things to sell." A birdlike chirp sounded the end of each sentence.

I stood in amazement. I hard heard of the Harpies from my mother. Birdlike people who had giant wings for arms, a feathered tail, and sharp taloned feet. They lived in a land far beyond the furthest Giantkin borders and were very rarely seen outside their home.

I felt something nudge me from behind. Eplash was trying to duck through the human sized door to the store.

"Uhh, Samantha..." I heard behind me.

The wings continued to make their "come forward" motion, "Come on in, come on in. Much room for Raveen's customers. Come on in."

I took a step forward and to the left, allowing the Giantkin to crouch in through the door and stand up. Eplash's hair brushed against the ceiling.

"Ahh the Giantkin, the Giantkin!" the figure chirped. "My good friend, Raveen is happy to see you again!"

"Raveen," Eplash said. She removed a bag of coins from her furs and tossed it on the counter. "We need supplies."

"No game for Raveen this time? No game? No meat? Very strange. Very strange indeed."

Raveen balanced on one leg, and using the talons on her other, deftly untied the drawstring on the money pouch. She poured the contents on the counter, leaning in to look at the coins.

"Sprig!" she turned her head towards a curtain that was behind the counter. "Sprig! We have customers! We have customers!"

I was somewhat surprised to see a human boy who was around my age poke his head out from the curtain, "Yes Mum?"

"Mum?" I thought.

"Our Giantkin friend is back my son, she's back."

"Son?" I thought.

"Oh, Hello Eplash," the boy, who I presumed was Sprig came out from behind the curtain. "Same order as usual?"

Eplash shook her head, "No, I need enough for two this time. I also need some cooking supplies, a tent, and a bedroll. Oh, and a couple of backpacks."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Two?"

Then he saw me, he reddened with embarrassment.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there miss. Eplash usually comes to visit us by herself."

"It's alright," I said.

The boy turned and engaged in, what I would call a whistle conversation with his "Mum". Scattered chirps were thrown in here and there for good measure.

"Yes! Time for business, Time for business!" The harpy woman began to move around the shop and bring various items back to the counter.

"My mother isn't that confident with common speech," Sprig explained. "She knows enough for light conversation, but she likes to be filled in one each transaction in our native tongue."

"Also, it throws off a lot of her customers. My mother is actually quite a savvy businesswoman, but her speech patterns can be somewhat jarring to humans."

I looked to the harpy and then back to the boy. I was burning to know what was going on with the whole mother and son thing, but I felt it would be impolite to ask.

"Yes, I'm adopted." Sprig said, seemingly sensing my question.

Well, that answered ONE question, but I had about a half-dozen more.

Various items were now stacked on the counter. Raveen engaged in another chirping conversation with her son.

Sprig nodded and counted out a number of coins from the pile. "My mother says that this would be a fair price."

Eplash frowned. "I guess I will have to bring my next deer kill to somebody else."

More whistling, there were a couple of dirty looks from Raveen directed to Eplash. Sprig pushed some of the coins back into the pile. "How about this?"

"Excellent!" Eplash said. She started to fill one of the backpacks with some of the goods.

Sprig leaned in and whispered to me, "Eplash usually brings mom a deer every time she comes to town, mother was quite disappointed that she didn't come with one this time."

"My fault," I whispered back. "I'll make sure she brings a deer if I'm with her next time."

"Thank you, it may have not seemed like it, but that was seriously tense."

I gave a slight laugh and went to help Eplash pack the bags.

***

We left the shop and started heading down the road out of town.

"Last chance for the inn," Eplash said as we approached a three story building. I could hear laughter, and delicious smells coming from the inside.

I had though about Eplash running for hours just to keep the goblins away from our camp. No, I had to get tougher, and a few more days roughing it outside wouldn't kill me. Every day spent in town would be one less day that we had to gather the companions... and then..... and then what?

My mother had told me to find the companions, but what then? Were they supposed to help me escape the land? Were we to retry to retake the castle? I just hoped I would get some more answers when we found the remaining two.

I adjusted the backpack. It felt weird to have the weight on my back, I had been traveling light ever since we had left Elkshire.

Well, light except for that book. Was I still seriously hung up on that?

I said nothing as we passed the inn.

We crossed another bridge that marked our passage out of town. As we got further and further away, traffic got lighter, until once again we were the only two on the road.

Later that night, we pitched the tent. I frowned, Eplash was much too big for it, as well as she was much too big the bedroll. They were both purchased for me, and I had no way in paying her back.

As I fell asleep, I vowed one day to repay Eplash with double the kindness she had shown me.