5. With The Rover Caravan

I knew that they were trouble the very moment I saw them. What Elf had never heard tales of the useless, lazy, thieving Rovers?

Ugh. Their very name sounded like a dog's, though dogs be more loyal than the travelling scum of the Four Lands.

We should have moved on that night when we saw them make their camp across the river. True, we had not much to steal—but we had Artaq, a stallion bred by my grandfather's expert horse breeders. He was enough, and the Rovers had a reputation for being expert horse-handlers—and horse thieves, of course.

Naturally, they made off with him.

So now we've got ourselves into a real pickle. We followed those nasty vagabonds to their next camp and after medi-elf here patched a few dozen of them up, he tried to haggle with Cephelo to get our horse back—who we only didn't have because Cephelo and his larcenous gaggle of goons stole him from us in the first place!

Bad idea. Apparently, Mr. I-Don't-Give-Fair-Value-For-Anything considers the healing work to be scant payment for the room and board that we wouldn't have to be taking if he and his friends hadn't stolen our horse from us.

Bastard.

So what happens next? We go to a blasted Rover banquet, that's what, and the Healer apparently doesn't have the sense to know that he was not only intoxicated but absolutely—as the Men of the Southland might say—plastered.

Or perhaps he even invented a new form of drunkenness. Whatever.

In any case, I had to convince Cephelo that it wasn't worth his while to strip Wil after he had passed out. Fortunately, I didn't have to use the stick that I had carefully marked out for the purpose. He left Wil and I alone in a wagon, and after I'd removed my companion's somewhat aromatic footwear I found the Elfstones and hid them in my own clothing. Cephelo must never see them, or we will be without even the potential protection that Wil could give us with them.

He wakes. I give him a hangover remedy. Idiot. What was he thinking to get us into this mess? Was he even thinking?

But at least we're still alive.