Continues from Dinner Date
Timestamp : Day 63 of Spring 514 AV, Early Morning
It was early morning and the air was fresh and a tad chilly. The city was still very calm and silent.
Amolina was dressed in her dark violet dress of cheap silk and wore her black cloak over it, cloak she got from Xaiver in winter. Since she was on a trip she had taken on her worn but sturdy boots. She had bought a new baby sling for carrying Pearl on the road and packed the essentials for herself and the baby in her backpack and her black cloth bag.
In the backpack she had her toiletries, a nightgown, a wool sweater, her azure dress for special occasions and her fancy black shoes. She had also packed trivia like a dagger, bandages and needle and thread. In the black fabric bag she had cloth diapers to Pearl and a supply of dried vegetables, dried fruit and white cheese that she would use to feed the child because she did not dare to trust that it was true that Xavier said that the small trading caravan they would travel with would supply her with fresh goat's milk to Pearl during the trip.
She arrived at the ferry in good time and sat down on a bench and waited. But she did not have to wait long. Xavier came about ten chimes latter, carrying a rather large backpack.The Ebonstryfe Commander was dressed as a wealthy merchant traveling. He wore practical but expensive black leather pants that looked brand new out and a black leather jacket, open over a blue shirt of fine linen. His half-length cloak had a beautiful dark green color and the buckle that held it together was of silver. His blonde hair, cut short, as so often on soldiers, and his impeccably clean-shaven face was the only thing that hinted that he could be something other than he seemed.
Amolina had received his instructions a few days earlier when they had dinner together. They were traveling with a small caravan of traders to Nyka, undercover as a merchant, and his wife and children. She knew nothing more, and she had not asked him what he would do in Nyka. Xavier had just had said that it was a work trip. She assumed that meant he had a secret mission for The Ebonstryfe and that she might never find out what he would do. As far as she knew, she and Pearl were only there to give credibility to his cover.
She had followed the instructions to the letter, because she feared that she was supervised. Not a single person in Ravok knew she was going away - well, there was actually a person in Ravok who knew about it. During yesterday's shopping Amolina had taken a break and went into The Silver Sliver and when she had talked with Jeb, as usual, and had a glass of lemonade as usual, nothing compelling about it, she had taken her newly purchased possessions and gone. At the counter where her things had been was her grocery list left, forgotten ... the risk was that Jeb would throw it in the trash bin right away, but if he should happen to look at the back there was a message for him there. She had not dared to write much. It just said that she would be away for a while, he would not worry and that he would destroy the message and not tell anyone about it.
Xavier greeted her politely as if they were friends. He wore her black cloth bag and her backpack on board the ferry and Amolina just needed to wear Pearl, who slept peacefully in her babysling.
Amolina greeted back in the same well-behaved manner. They both knew that she did not leave Ravok voluntarily but only because he had blackmailed her, but if he would not admit it, but treated her like she had just accepted an invitation to join us on an interesting journey she was not going to object . It was easier to pretend to be friends with him and avoid senseless conflicts she had no chance of winning. Moreover, she had begun to worry about everything with this journey - the idea of wilderness with its wild animals that could attack Pearl and the thought of finding herself in the unknown town Nyka made her actually feel relieved by Xavier's neutral behavior.
A short time later the ferry left the port and headed out on Lake Ravok. They would arrive at the Lakeshore about four hours later.
Continues in The Wildlands, A Journey To Nyka
