Feb 17 2010
At the Crossroads
1st Moonsday of Seedbirth in the year 1031
The First Light Service this morning was glorious, it was if Pelor himself rose to shine his Divine Light and bless my travels. I said my goodbyes to the two orphans, Sara and Fedar. I gifted them each with a small bracelet that I fashioned from rawhide and affixed with a polished bone medallion into which I carved a sun. I stopped in to bid farewell to High Priest Lanstor, he had a mail pouch filled with letters and a few scrolls for delivery to the Temple in Cordal. I am happy to take them, but I wish he had informed me of this last night so I could have made room in my pack. I will have to carry them in my lap the whole way. But they are important papers for the church and I am happy to be of service.
High Priest Lanstor sent me to meet up with Brother Kaliston, he is a few years ahead of me in study and is an accomplished healer. I still have not fully chosen my path yet, though I think that I lean more towards the cleansing light. Perhaps this journey will illuminate my path for me. We shall see, I am hopeful. Brother Kaliston will be riding along with me and has the honorable charge of carrying a newly fashioned golden Holy Symbol to the Temple in Cordal. I do hope that I get the chance to see it unveiled when we arrive.
We make our way down to the main gate on the Eastern slope, it is very lovely there. The mountains splits in two and the highlands roll out like a green blanket before your feet. We wait for nearly an hour before our hired stage arrives. If you can call it a stage, it is more an ox cart being pulled by two sorry looking cows. I bless the cows and feed them each a bite of maple toffee. I do love Elven maple toffee, it is one of the few delicacies that I truly enjoy. The “Ox Handler” goes by the name of Vann, he is an older chap with a leathery face and an equally leathery disposition. This is going to be a long 3 days.
Vann informs us that we will be traveling a long day to make it to the Crossroads today. We head off, slowly. It is almost unbearably slow. I am not sure that is due to my excitement for my calling or the fact that these poor tired beasts of burden would be better off in a pasture. The road is bumpy, but thankfully dry. We pass many carts heading into Arathor loaded with goods, fresh pheasant, salted fish from Mirror Lake, timber and hides. I am sure to pass Blessings of Pelor to all that we come across, most are happy to receive the blessings but there are a few that scoff at the gift. My heart is sad for them.
As we began to come out of the Highlands, the sun was beginning to sink below the mountains behind us. I impressed upon Vann the need to stop to attend to the Service of Last Light. Vann gruffly told me that he would not be making any stops until we reached the Crossroads and that I would have to offer my hymns and prayers from the cart. I am not pleased by this. May Pelor have mercy on his soul. Brother Kaliston and I do our best to honor Pelor and give the service while we ride along and the sun’s last rays slip out of sight.
To the North of us appears a great wooded area, Vann informs us that we will be arriving in a few hours and to keep our eyes peeled for highway robbers. He also takes this time to mention that we would not have had this worry if he did not have to wait for us to finish our “silly morning rituals”. I am wondering how this man was found favorable enough to be of service with the church as it seems that he has absolutely no reverence for our work. I will choose to bite my tongue, I don’t want to have to walk the rest of the road to Cordal… although it may be faster if I did with as slow as these beasts are moving.
I catch the faint scent of campfire smoke, followed by the smells of roasting meat and bubbling stew. My stomach grumbles, the scent is savory and delicious. We come up the edge of the forest and ahead there is a faint glow from campfire light. We are FINALLY at the Crossroads.
The Crossroads encampment is situated at the place where the road north to Silver Stream meets the main road out of Arathor. The encampment is nestled up against the rim of the dense forest that we have ridden past for about half of our journey. It is a common rest area for travelers making their way to and from Arathor from the outlying areas. It is very late, the sky dark and clear. I spot a large older woman with a pink face stirring a pot of rabbit stew, this must be the wonderful smell I got scent of on our approach. I notice she has a small Pelorian prayer book in her apron pocket. I note it to her and she informs me that she can not read it but she would gladly feed me and my traveling companions a bowl of soup if I would read a few passages from the book for her. Well, of course I will, and not just because her stew smells delicious and is spiked with mountain sage and exotic peppercorns, but because it is my pleasure and my duty as a Daughter of Pelor.
I read to the old woman and as agreed, she feeds us. Vann even takes second helpings. I invite her to wake early and attend Service of First Light and she agrees. Before bedding down I make my way through the encampment with Brother Kaliston. There are a few with travel injuries that need mending so we set to work. We hear rumors of Ogre sightings, but thankfully those are far from where we will be sleeping this evening. Brother Kaliston and I share the cart and bed down for the night, Vann makes his bed next to his cows. I can hear him uttering profanities to his cows who are suffering from a bad case of foul winds. I sure hope that it was not the maple toffees that I fed them earlier today.
Until tomorrow’s Light, Blessed be Pelor