MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Stormy Skies

The weather darkened along with the worsening mood of those in our party. Garlan narrowed his eyes at Jonas. Jonas didn't care whether or not he was in the wrong. He purposely glared back at Garlan.

I comforted Raine, who feared the worse. This was a loathsome situation. And it made me rethink Jonas' capabilities as the leader of the group. I didn't understand the value of marriage, but I do understand the value of money. What Jonas had done, by spending their hard earned money was simply atrocious. From what I saw, Enola had every right to be upset. Money was hard to come by and who knew if there was work to be had in Alesburg.

If they had to travel further than Alesburg, they would need every copper coin in their coin pouches. Even me, if I didn't have the tradeshop, I'd probably be starved right now. My thoughts drifted back to food and I returned my attention to the roasting fish.

It didn't' take long and our fish were both cooked. Any longer and the fish would be burned. I patted Raine and said, "Come on, it's time to eat."

Raine listened to my words and ate the fish. I began to eat mine in a hurry. Then I picked up another fish to roast for Garlan. Judging by his body size, I had better add another fish. It was a good thing I brought back ten fish. There was enough for everyone to have one fish each and two fish for Garlan.

Perhaps lured by the smell of roasting fish, the other men in our group returned. They sat down around the fire, their heads lowered, not making eye contact. They roasted their fish. It was a rather silent and tense atmosphere.

Over on Garlan's side, the two people's matter was still unsettled. Garlan did his best to act as intermediary. His large frame separated the quarreling husband and wife.

Amid the strained mood, a drop of water fell and landed on my forehead. Then before any of us knew, the deluge crashed upon us. The cold rain sent all of us running willy-nilly. Still holding onto the roasting fish, I dashed into the cover of the tent. Raine, covered by Garlan's cloak, followed behind me.

In my small tent, where two people were cozy, and three was sung, Garlan hunched over into a tight ball. Due to his giant bloodline, he was too big for the tent, but he had made it worked.

Raine took off Garlan's cloak and handed it back to Garlan. Garlan smiled kindly and showed a friendly dispositon. He was very genial towards Raine and I. However, both Garlan and I had bore the brunt of the storm. We both shivered as we were drenched to the bones. As for Raine, Garlan's cloak and kept him dry.

I quickly undressed and pulled a blanket over to warm myself. However, no matter how long I waited, the cold would not dispel. Garlan had leather armor, which blocked out most of the rain from entering beneath to drench his clothes. He only had to undress and take off the leather armor to be fine.

Garlan ate the two wet roasted fish. As I watched him eat, my sight grew dizzy and I soon closed my eyes.