for a good horse to carry their goods, and promised himself he’d break the elven tradition by bringing a steed to his home someday.
Jacquie and Parisse were the two nurses, a pair of matronly elves who held on to a fierce, lifelong competition to be considered the favorite nurse of Oaktown. They were not motivated to go on Kestrel’s procession through the villages because they desired to spread good health and wellness so much as they sought to deny their rival from being the one to receive credit for any services delivered. Remy and his friend Pont quickly learned not to allow either of the women to examine them, because the attention of one immediately led to the attention of the other, and often seemed to escalate the amount of painful treatment practiced on the boys.
The journey involved a long walk outward, due north, to the farthest village that was considered to owe allegiance to Oaktown. Little Wheel it was called, to differentiate itself from Big Wheel, the village that was twenty miles further north, and not a part of the Oaktown domain. Kestrel and his companions arrived there before sundown. They went to the village tavern, where Kestrel rented the only sleeping room suitable for use, and reserved it in the name of the two nurses, who had no desire to share a room with one another. He told the boys that they and he would sleep in the trees of the surrounding forest when it was time to go to sleep.
The five of them sat at a table amidst the noise and conversations of the tavern, which was the social center of the village of Little Wheel. The two nurses sulked without speaking, while the two boys giggled and pointed as they took in the sights of the foreign location.
“I have an announcement to make,” Kestrel shouted loudly three times after dinner, until the room quieted and all eyes turned to look at him in puzzlement, and to some degree in disdain, as they perceived that a part-human visitor had drank too much of the ale that was the specialty beverage of the tavern.
“We come from Oaktown,” Kestrel announced. “We come to visit Little Wheel and to learn about your village, and to offer to treat any ailments or injuries that the elves here are suffering.
“I am the new lord of the manor of Oaktown, the Warden of the Marches, and I want to visit each and every village that answers and submits to the manor,” he explained. The room grew profoundly silent.
“See, I told you they wouldn’t believe it,” Jacquie, one of the nurses, whispered to Parisse, the other nurse, in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room.
There was a round of sniggers, and Kestrel wondered why he hadn’t been aware of the competitive animosity between the two women during the hurried rescue mission to Cedar Gully – perhaps there had been enough other people around to insulate the two from one another, he theorized.
He loudly cleared his throat. “For those of you who cho ose to believe,” he paused as there was an appreciative smattering of laughter, “we will be available most of the day tomorrow in the town square for anyone who wants to visit with us, whether to seek treatment, or to ask about Oaktown, or to tell me about anything you wish the manor to do for your village.”
“Not that he’d do anything in a million years, mind you, I’ll wager,” Parisse returned a whispered comment to Jacquie, making the room erupt in laughter.
“I swear they’re even better at being nurses than they are at being comediennes,” Kestrel told the crowd. “Last week we were in Cedar Gully and they helped tend to a whole village that had the plague.”
The crowd gave a murmur of approval, and Kestrel decided he’d done as well as he could manage under the circumstances. He stepped down from atop the bench he stood on, and turned to Remy and Pont. “Are you boys ready to go find some trees for the night?” he asked.
The two elves were bright-eyed from the excitement of watching
Jacquie and Parisse were the two nurses, a pair of matronly elves who held on to a fierce, lifelong competition to be considered the favorite nurse of Oaktown. They were not motivated to go on Kestrel’s procession through the villages because they desired to spread good health and wellness so much as they sought to deny their rival from being the one to receive credit for any services delivered. Remy and his friend Pont quickly learned not to allow either of the women to examine them, because the attention of one immediately led to the attention of the other, and often seemed to escalate the amount of painful treatment practiced on the boys.
The journey involved a long walk outward, due north, to the farthest village that was considered to owe allegiance to Oaktown. Little Wheel it was called, to differentiate itself from Big Wheel, the village that was twenty miles further north, and not a part of the Oaktown domain. Kestrel and his companions arrived there before sundown. They went to the village tavern, where Kestrel rented the only sleeping room suitable for use, and reserved it in the name of the two nurses, who had no desire to share a room with one another. He told the boys that they and he would sleep in the trees of the surrounding forest when it was time to go to sleep.
The five of them sat at a table amidst the noise and conversations of the tavern, which was the social center of the village of Little Wheel. The two nurses sulked without speaking, while the two boys giggled and pointed as they took in the sights of the foreign location.
“I have an announcement to make,” Kestrel shouted loudly three times after dinner, until the room quieted and all eyes turned to look at him in puzzlement, and to some degree in disdain, as they perceived that a part-human visitor had drank too much of the ale that was the specialty beverage of the tavern.
“We come from Oaktown,” Kestrel announced. “We come to visit Little Wheel and to learn about your village, and to offer to treat any ailments or injuries that the elves here are suffering.
“I am the new lord of the manor of Oaktown, the Warden of the Marches, and I want to visit each and every village that answers and submits to the manor,” he explained. The room grew profoundly silent.
“See, I told you they wouldn’t believe it,” Jacquie, one of the nurses, whispered to Parisse, the other nurse, in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room.
There was a round of sniggers, and Kestrel wondered why he hadn’t been aware of the competitive animosity between the two women during the hurried rescue mission to Cedar Gully – perhaps there had been enough other people around to insulate the two from one another, he theorized.
He loudly cleared his throat. “For those of you who cho ose to believe,” he paused as there was an appreciative smattering of laughter, “we will be available most of the day tomorrow in the town square for anyone who wants to visit with us, whether to seek treatment, or to ask about Oaktown, or to tell me about anything you wish the manor to do for your village.”
“Not that he’d do anything in a million years, mind you, I’ll wager,” Parisse returned a whispered comment to Jacquie, making the room erupt in laughter.
“I swear they’re even better at being nurses than they are at being comediennes,” Kestrel told the crowd. “Last week we were in Cedar Gully and they helped tend to a whole village that had the plague.”
The crowd gave a murmur of approval, and Kestrel decided he’d done as well as he could manage under the circumstances. He stepped down from atop the bench he stood on, and turned to Remy and Pont. “Are you boys ready to go find some trees for the night?” he asked.
The two elves were bright-eyed from the excitement of watching
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