Journal of Guard Laewe during the Winter of the Long Icicles

Day of the Blue Robin

Now here's a more cheerful reason for journaling – someday, somebeast will take up my pages and have a good long chuckle at what's there. Today I met an odd sight. I was just starting out at midday, having finally plugged up and stored away all my belongings that wont be making the trek with me. Oh! I better write down everything I brought just so as to have a good record of it – after all that's what journals are for – recording. But I'll do that at the end. First off my tummy tickler. So I was setting out pack on back, trawls on paws, when, oomph!, I tripped over a twig I'd've sworn wasn't there a blink of the eye ago. With good cause too! That twig was paired up with another twig and both of those were attached to a sodden ball of miserable feathers. Well I hauled body out of the bank and lit a fire under the eves of a large root before examining my find. The bird was a mess for starters – feathers every which way, plumes snapped, barbs unbarbed. But getting around all that he had a fine coat of rust brown-red feathers and a nice healthy red beak. Most importantly he was alive. When he finally thawed his bright eyes followed me constantly. I asked him what he'd been doing and he said 'Being a mole was I'. A mole! Can you believe it? A robin who wants to be a mole. Tk-tk-tk-tk. I told him birds are better off in the sky not underground but I don't think he listened to me. He wants to know everybeast's way of life and that includes moles. Well I guess that's that. He gave me a fond memory to look back on and for that I am grateful. I left him there with strict instructions on how to put out the tiny flame I left him. Last I looked back he was waving a wing in farewell.

Oh! And here is my list.

One haversack

Four packages dried berries

Four packages honey preserved grubs

Two packages high energy travel cake

One flask of water

One bedroll

One wool and spidersilk cloak

One winter tunic

One red knit hat

Two trawls (snowshoes)

One coil spidersilk rope

One ax

One dagger

One sling/belt

One pouch of slingstones

One lantern

One sewing kit including black thread, white thread, needles, pins, thimble, and 2 buttons

One fire kit including goldstone, iorn, lantern oil, and tinder fluff