Though dawn had arrived, Nopsa was still fast asleep. He may have stayed up a bit too long last evening, buoyed by the mixture of admiration and jealousy from his friends. Still, the caravan was leaving, and he'd be a lot unhappier if it left without him, so Vilho poked his son awake. The normal grumbling quickly turned to elation as Nopsa remembered what was in store for him. A quick wash, hastily gobbling down some porridge, one last check of his travelling gear, and the boy scrambled out the door. Vilho sighed, took Nopsa's cloak from the peg, and walked after his son.
Liina and Janos were already with Katrin, listening as she explained about loading their gear and properly balancing the pack saddles. Nopsa joined them, surprisingly attentive, only asking questions about the things from earlier that he'd missed. Soon, everything was in order to Katrin's satisfaction. The families of the three each gathered around them, blessing were given, farewells made and tears shed. Nopsa was able to most quickly extricate himself from his father and brothers, so he jogged to Katrin, at the head of the line. She saw what was coming, and readied herself for the barrage of questions.
"So, you wanted us to walk in pairs. Do you think someone will attack, even though you said it wouldn't happen last night?"
Katrin took a long look around the passing countryside.
"No, I didn't say no one would attack us, I merely implied that it was unlikely."
"Ah-ha! So what do we do if some robbers appear?"
"First of all, I do think that any actual banditry is quite unlikely. Small goblin raiding parties for the next few days, maybe, but you obviously have more experience with such things than I."
"Well, actually, Janos is probably our best bet then. He's really good with that bow of his! Swish! Thunk! A bullseye… well, not every time, but twice as often as the rest of us combined."
"I thought most everyone got trained with weapons this close to the forests?"
"Well, yeah, sure, I'm not bad with a spear, but I prefer to use a sling if possible. No reason to get close and let them have a poke at me if I don't have to. And I'm fast on my feet!"
Nopsa was a slim boy, and not one who'd seen much fighting by his looks. Katrin suspected his skill with the spear, but believed him about the sling. He seemed the type to happily help his friends in the fray from afar, but also being caught in it at times because of lack of foresight.
"And you have sufficient stones with you?"
"Wee-ell, you said we would be safe from robbers, so I didn't think of taking any. But I can find some at pretty much any riverbank."
"You do that. Not many, but a well-placed stone, preferably making a loud 'thunk', as you just said, often helps in resolving a situation. Gives the footpad a chance to scamper way, or makes the suspicious shape pause if they happen to be some knight's footman instead. Wouldn't want to crack their skull in the latter case, would you?"
"Guess not. But are there really that many underhanded nobles? Most of the stories tell how they're gallant… or maybe bumbling. Kuno, our landed knight, just mostly seems tired."
"I think he's rather fresh to his position?"
"Uhh, I guess, though he seems more sweaty to me. Oh, you meant – yeah, his father died the winter before last. He was much more fun before that."
"Well, if he's responsible, there certainly is much to stress about up here in the north."
"Now you're sounding sort of like Janos. He doesn't talk much, and most of that is about being careful in the forest with the goblins and all."
"Well, your father said you saved your family from a big raid? Maybe Janos sees that as something that you two could connect over."
"But I don't really care about the goblins or the nobles or rangers or that stuff! They should just cut down enough trees so they can't sneak up on us!"
"That's a lot of trees. Willing to take up an axe and help with that for the next decade or so?"
"Well, no, I meant the others should do that if it's such a big deal. I'm more interested in living in a town or city anyway."
"I'm sure the good people of Wortbank will continue working on it as time goes by. You just need patience."
"But there's so much to do! People to meet, places to see!"
"Well, go ask Janos if he wants to trade places. If not, ask Liina to come up front and you can get to meeting Elmar."
If she had read the young man correctly, he'd be content with her muleteer at the end of the line, despite the dust. Nopsa, on the other hand, definitely had potential to grow into a charming man, if he just could slow down to listen a bit more. That kind of energetic eagerness, if properly channeled, could captivate easily. Liina, though – she was the most difficult to read of the three. Studious, obviously, and guarded, at least so far… but she had a feeling that it wasn't an ingrained trait in her in the way it was with Janos. She'd judged him correctly at least, it seemed, with Liina lightly jogging to the head of the line. It would be good to see if she could get a better picture of her.
As Nopsa got to pestering Elmar with simpler questions of life as a travelling merchant, Katrin took her time to study Liina. The young woman was maybe best described as handsome. She wouldn't be attracting droves of suitors, but there was nothing in her appearance to drive a young man away. The tilt in her eyes and lack of smiles suggested a more serious character, but probably a solid companion, one whose laugh would keep a husband rather than snare a boy. Or, if she chose a woman, that there wouldn't be anyone daring to go against her choice. More likely, though, was that romance towards anyone was not in her near term plans. People with sensitivity to the holy were not rare, and many did join the clergy, but she'd heard a few darker stories as well. Sometimes the feelings and emotions thus evoked were not handled well, and the ends to those stories cold be sobering, even tragic.
"So, whither travel your ponderings?"
Liina started, once again lost in her thoughts.
"Ah, I… I hope I'm not already homesick. We've travelled to a fair through here a few times, but I realized that soon I'll be travelling along completely unfamiliar roads."
"It comes to most on their first longer journey. It's quite natural to feel the longing. More important will be, how you feel after you've returned home. Whether the meeting of new people, broadening your knowledge, opportunities for riches, or just plain wanderlust, some find that after longing for home and then returning, they can't stay there after all."
"I hope… well, right now, I hope that I'll be happy at home again, but, you're right. It's quite possible that Wortbank won't be enough for me. I mean, it would be horrible to be apart from my family. I think. But, you obviously manage. Umm, sorry, I mean, you seem fine."
"It's quite all right. Yes, travelling does take a lot out of you over the long run, even if you're used to it. And wintering doesn't bother me, and I lived in the city all my childhood and some years after until I got my licence to travel, so I think I'll be fine if I decide to settle down."
"That seems like such a strange thought to me. I mean, I know you've only visited Wortbank for seven or eight years, but that's such a large chunk of my life that it seems like you've always been a journeying merchant."
"It's not likely for a few years yet. I've a couple of likely men in mind, but I've not impressed them enough nor they me, so I guess we'll have to be growing our fortunes a bit more yet."
"That seem a bit cold, somehow."
"Well, I'm sure there's plenty of talk between the parents before a young couple usually gets to marry. How much each will inherit, what fields will go to whom, that sort of thing."
"Well, yes… I see your point."
"Don't get me wrong, for many of the peasantry, tied to the land, this sort of freedom might seem frightful. But it certainly suits me. And, my mother isn't looking over my shoulder, twisting her hands over my dalliances." Katrin let out a light laugh.
"Uhh, your mother… I hope she's still…?"
"Oh, she's fine, trying to keep the guild in order in Kassburg, choosing which weaves are allowed and which not. She's happy enough when I bring her good wool that she'll welcome the man I choose into the family."
"That's… eye-opening. Does the clergy have similar freedoms in the cities? Our local priest is nice enough, but, like with our lord Kuno, their lives seem quite similar to ours."
"Oh, in choosing a mate, certainly. Now, in the church, your life is a lot more restriced in other ways. Being in high estate does bring great status, but the Seven drive their blessed hard to serve the others. I'll rather take my hard work of travelling and trading to be able to choose days of leisure when I want them."
"Well, I'm used to hard work. And helping others does seem nice. Maybe my mother's advice was sound."
"Oh, there are other things to consider. Cities are rife with politics, plots, rules and regulations. If you can't handle balancing the interests of nobles and guilds, wizards and merchants, you might be better off finding a suitable smaller town."
"A smaller town does sound a lot more appealing, when you put it like that."
"And we'll be visiting the monastery on the way back. A life of prayer, meditation and studying is much calmer still."
"The novice robes have seemed quite attractive at times, I'll admit."
"Well, you're in no hurry with the choice. Take your time."
And with that, Katrin turned the discussion to the wools of Wortbank. Cross-referencing with Nopsa and Janos later on should give her a better idea how much to offer for them in the coming years.
By the time they trod into Greenrow, Nopsa made an intense effort to try to remember everything he could about the place – anything to take his mind off how much his feet hurt. He'd been here to fairs a few times, but most of the faces seemed unfamiliar. Katrin didn't seem to have that problem, greeting a person here and there. As they made their way to the commons, he finally just dropped down, panting a bit, simply just enjoying the feeling of not being on his feet. Elmar chuckled.
"We better get out the salve for you. And maybe switch which sets of socks you're using tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?! I– I don't– I can't–"
Liina sat down next to him, obviously glad to be off her feet as well, but with no grimaces of pain to be seen.
"Oh yes. Katrin mentioned that last night. I'm guessing it helped. Still, if I may have some of that salve as well?"
"Mentioned? What? Sets of socks?" He pulled his boots off. His socks, though a bit odorous, were luckily without any holes. Liina pulled off her boots as well, then one pair of socks, under which were another pair. She looked at him with some pity in her eyes.
"Katrin told us to put on a double layer of socks for the first week or so. It softens the steps and reduces rubbing against the boot. You just pushed your feet in your boots, same as any day, right?"
"I guess…"
Elmar handed a small jar to Liina.
"Walking the whole day is quite different than working on a farm, even if it feels like you're on your feet the whole day."
She opened the lid, then paused.
"Actually, probably best if we wash our feet first, right? You certainly should, Nopsa." She wrinkled her nose, then looked around. "Janos seems fine enough. I'll ask him to bring us a bucket of hot water."
Nopsa lied back down and sighed. When he'd been imagining his coming adventures, blisters certainly had not been involved in any way at all.