Woo. That was a delay...
To keep it short, a combination of Covid, job woes, and general life chaos.
Oh. And also. A double chapter release, so, hopefully that balances things out with good news.
Enjoy!
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Camp was made some distance away from the barricade, and in a bustle of activity and confusion wagons and carriages were brought together into a great circle. Introductions were exchanged as the various groups and families mingled. It was odd. Familiar, but as if she were seeing it from the outside. Thix couldn't shake the unsettling feeling of not belonging.
She followed along besides Gerard and Theo, listening. Thix still couldn't make out most of what anybody was saying. Especially because the others spoke Galtes much quicker and more loosely than Gerard did. Throughout the entirety of the proceedings were the stares. Though many were polite enough to not act too obvious about it, others including the children outright gawked at her.
Thix found herself slouching forward, tugging the hood of her cloak tighter around her face self-consciously. Eventually however, Gerard leaned in to chide her for it. That made sense really. The last of the suns light was vanishing beyond the horizon, and it was suspicious to hide her face.
They wound up sitting around a fire with the men Gerard and Theo had previously been in conversation with, and their families. Claude, the well-dressed portly man with the shaven face, had provided a carpet so that the three of them wouldn't have to sit directly on the grass. He was a merchant, no surprise. It was in his attitude. Claude traveled with what might have been apprentices, or if he was fortunate, his sons. Hard to tell. They were three fit, quiet young men who did what they were told. Plain featured. Brown haired. Neither ugly nor especially pleasant to look at. Just... humans. Maybe if she got to know them it would be different, but she doubted much she would remember their faces. Two were well mannered enough, but one kept giving Thix a very familiar look that made her rather uneasy. Luckily, they stayed behind Claude and allowed him to do the talking.
The bearded man with the walking stick was named Aubert. Thix wasn't entirely sure what he did, but he seemed like a craftsman of some kind. Perhaps a wood worker. His mate and two daughters, neither quite children but not full grown either, prepared a pot of water and some vegetables for a stew or soup while Aubert erected the metal frame to hang it from.
The younger man was Guy, and it turned out that it had been his son and mate that had seen Thix hanging off the carriage door. Guy idly carved a slab of smoked meat with the intent to add it to the pot as he engaged in conversation. His mate, if Thix was remembering correctly was named Solène, sat next to Guy and held their son securely on her lap. Their pale skin, dark hair, and sharp thin features gave them both a rather stark appearance.
Gerard for his part urged Theo to bring out two bottles of deep red wine, presumably he had purchased the bottles while the two of them had been otherwise occupied in Couronne. Cups were shared and wine was poured. The cup of tart elixir became a welcome refuge. It hurt her head trying to follow everything that was going on, let alone attempting to understand what was being said and utterly failing at it. All the while it was impossible to ignore the constant examining glances. Inevitably though, curiosity won out, and amidst a long silence the attention of the party became fully focused on her.
Thix found herself turning almost helplessly to Gerard, clutching anxiously onto his arm. He offered a sympathetic look before leaning in closer.
"You don't have to speak, if you don't want to."
Honestly, she really didn't. It probably wouldn't look right though, if she chose not to.
"I don't know what to say, and my Galtes is still not good."
Before Gerard could respond however, the hearty voice of Claude the merchant burst from across his place across the fire.
"Aha! You speak some Ruvic then?"
Thix wasn't pleased at being addressed so directly, but there was nothing to do about it now. She squared herself to look at the large human.
"Yes. Some."
"Please, excuse my rudeness. I have never seen your sort before, but I hear stories from the north."
She was sure he did. What kind of stories though... she knew the sorts of things humans said about goblins, even now. The old fire-side tales humans told did not die so easily, and hundreds of years spent in seclusion slowly being forgotten as nothing more than legends had not helped matters. The darker and more horrible tales were the ones that rose to the surface. That they were thieves and scavengers, was rather kind. Some people still spread horrible rumors that they would attack humans out alone, and would sneak into villages at night to steal and eat babies. Several generations it had been now, since the War of the Sorcerers that had forced them back into the world. Above ground.
Thix's red eyes roamed around the varied pale faces around the fire. She swore there was fear there, but not the hate of the Frankars. Not the disgust of the slavers who had ambushed her on the road so long ago. She reminded herself that she wasn't the dirty and unkempt creature Gerard had found her as. Thix had fine clothes now, and clean neat hair, and she was traveling with a human man of refinement.
"Yes. I come from the north. From Svalheim. Your people name us Goblin, we don't have a name for us that humans can easily speak. Few of us travel far from our home, but we make trade now with humans from far south. Ruvic is the language of many lands, and my father taught me. I must look strange, but I mean no harm. I travel with Monsieur Fournier, to Lumis. I hear it is a beautiful city."
She spoke as directly and clearly as possible, but lost some of the ease that she'd gained with Gerard. Hopefully that would be the end of the conversation on her end. Not that she mistrusted the chubby little merchant, but it was much more comfortable being ignored. Claude relayed her words into Galtes around the fire, and it started even more curious exchange.
The heart-hunger began to gnaw at her again. She didn't like this. Didn't like listening to words she couldn't understand, surrounded by people she didn't know. Thix wanted nothing more than to climb onto Gerard's lap and bury her face against his chest. That would not have looked right at all however.
For him, she had to be patient. Mercifully, Gerard seemed to pick up her mood and spoke up to the rest of the group. Whatever further explanation he'd given appeared to satisfy, and as night wholly fell the novelty of her presence faded away. Mostly.
Bowls of stew were filled and passed around. Thix accepted hers gratefully. It wasn't bad, though it paled in comparison to the prior night's extravagant dinner. In time the conversation shifted into something more businesslike, and she noted how it was led by the men. Though occasionally one of their mates would speak up, adding in some information or asking a question. The atmosphere became more somber as conversation went on, and Thix was able to easily watch the shifting of emotions across the flame shadowed faces. Theo in particular didn't seem happy, speaking sharply and emphatically to the rest of the group.
"Gerard. What is the trouble?"
Gerard leaned in towards her, voice soft amidst the exchange of Galtes.
"Claude says there is a shorter way to the city, but it is through the forest on the Duc's land. We are trying to decide if we will go or not."
Thix frowned in thought.
"Must we?"
Gerard refilled his cup of wine, taking a slow drink before answering.
"We would have to return to Couronne, then go south, and west again. Travel is coin. Nights in inns. Food. I think we should travel through the forest. Theo does not."
"What is the danger?"
He didn't meet her gaze, and she noticed that Theo was casting a dark sideways look their way.
