We are alive and safe, all three of us. We were successful in what we set out to do, although not every story has a happy ending. The young lad we set out to find, the missing boy whose mother was so concerned for him. We did find him, and he has joined the bandits. He will not come back. I guess he has found his adventure, the excitement he wanted, the “appreciation he is due”. I am glad Toby and Blake does not seek adventure like that, with no regards to the impact it has on those of us who love them. Toby might be hot-headed and can be rather intimidating, but he uses this for the good, he would never take up with a group of bandits. Blake neither, he’s too smart for that.
We killed a number of bandits. We had to. I do not want to dwell much on it, because I am in fact now sitting on my own in my dark room at the inn and it helps me not if my mind is fixated on the events that took place throughout the evening. Soon the sun will be up, and it shall perhaps make my sleeping easier.
I look at the pile of coins in front of me and that makes me think that maybe this bandit hunting is not too bad after all. I have never held this much coin in all my life and instead of thinking about the actions I took to get it, I will think of what this coin can do for my folks, help them get the house fixed, buy them food and supplies to start making charms again. Well, it won’t sort everything, but it is a very decent start! I wonder if I will need to tell mum and dad how I made that much coin so quickly, surely they will not believe I got paid that handsomely from helping out at the lumber yard.
We ran in to one of those halflings in the forest. They are a funny kind. He was determined to go and deal with the bandits by himself, but right at that time he was mostly concerned by having lost his handkerchief. It gives me hope, meeting someone like that, hope that courage comes in many forms and that even if I don’t have the same courage as Toby or Blake, I have my own courage that will ensure I keep going out into the world.
Today will be a quiet one, we’ll need to rest for at least a few hours and we’ll be speaking to some of the towns folk. Even if I am not injured, I am stiff, sore and tired. I need to get some more arrows as well, and I’ll have to find a way to get the coin sent to my folks. I don’t think I’ll go back with it myself. I am too fragile at the moment, I would give in to the temptation to stay there, maybe get married and stay in Archet for the rest of my life. Yet then I hear the snoring of the boys across the hall and I find it a comforting sound, but I can’t help but giggle, it reminds me of something my sis said to me once: “Laugh and the world will laugh with you. Snore, and you will end up sleeping alone”. I should write her and tell her she is wrong… because the boys are sharing a room, snoring away like thunder, yet I am here laughing on my own. Lizzie will appreciate that story.
I think it is time to sleep now, whilst this happy thought is stuck in my head…
