Today was spent on the road, headed south toward the original attack. Fogrog was true to his word; a cart and mule, mules for us to ride, supplies, and two dwarves, in guard uniforms, were waiting for us at the front gate.
The smiling female dwarf vigorously waved at us as we strode over.
"Hi! You must be Zira Townsend, Elisha Stonor, and Israel Stonor. I'm Adrala Stormbrow. I'm so excited and honored to take on this mission and help you protect Thornhold. And this is Yukouth Brewfall." When she nodded her head toward Yukouth, her two light brown looped braids swayed. And I'm pretty sure she didn't stop smiling the whole time.
Yukouth stepped forward and raised his hand in greeting, "Hello." I noticed he has a bit of white showing in his dark beard and hair, he continued talking, "We have everything Master Elisha Stonor," he gave Adrala a disapproving look, "requested from Fogrog Warmfeet." And he gives Elisha a respectful nod.
I looked over at Elisha, perplexed, "Master?"
"Ahh. Yes. I'm a stonemason of the shield dwarfs of Settlestone. A master of my craft." And you can tell he's not boasting, just stating a fact. He turned back to the dwarves and added, "Just Elisha, please."
"And why is a master stonemason out adventuring for money instead of working with stone?" I couldn't help myself, I knew it was rude to ask, but I was shocked by the revelation.
"That Zira is a Very long and personal story. And since we've just met, I think I'll wait to share all the details. Let's just say, I am unable to work at my father's shop, and I want to see a bit of the world before I settle down."
"You're right, I was just surprised. I know how the dwarves respect their crafters and just never expect a human would be one. Thank you for securing all our gear."
"You're welcome. I'm thankful my status allows me to secure provisions." He smiled and added, "Where we come from, the dwarves and the humans have a close and unique relationship. My grandfather and father apprenticed under the same stonemason I did. And I hope to help carry on the family line."
Adrala piped up grinning, "My grandmother, Helja Stormbrow, came from Settlestone. We're practically kin!" And she threw her arms around Elisha the best she could.
Elisha hugged her back and replied, "I'm afraid I don't recognize the name, are they crafters?"
"Oh no. That's why Grammy left, she wanted to get away from all the crafters."
"I recognize the name, good fighters." Israel appeared out of nowhere. I had almost forgotten he was here until he just spoke.
Adrala turned to and hugged Israel around the waist, "Yes! Grammy and my mom are part of the guards too. It was pretty much expected of me to join when I came of age."
Israel half smiled down at her knowingly, "Yes, family often has certain expectations of us."
"Well I hate to break up the family reunion, but we've got work to do and the day isn't getting any shorter," said Yukouth.
We checked over the provided supplies and gear, packed away our personal gear, mounted our mules, and rode out of town. Adrala was so excited meeting kin that she spent most of the day asking the brothers questions about Settlestone. When the family reunion wasn't going on, we talked about the undead problem, and how to find and deal with them. We kept a lookout for any undead as we traveled, but saw no sign of them. After a day's ride, we stopped to investigate the area and make camp.
Dinner was as good as you get on the road, and it gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other a little better. I love the comradery that a good meal and campfire create. Of course, the subject of overnight watches came up; Yukouth suggested we have three watches and rotate who is on their own. Elisha volunteered to keep watch in the middle of the night, and Adrala immediately volunteered to join him. I volunteered for the morning shift and Yukouth joined me. This left Israel with the first watch on his own. He told us he was quite capable of taking care of himself, and waking us up if something were to happen. Elisha assured us we had nothing to worry about and winked at Israel.
I hope Elisha and Israel are being truthful. I guess all I can do is trust them until I can't. Now, it's time for me to get some sleep. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.
Z