Dashyl's Quest

Groernen finished preparing his stew and left it to simmer on the radia stove. The large Kirzan ducked as he came through the door to the hut holding sleeping sacks and bed clothes. “Here,” he said handing one to Dashyl and one to Fretly. “You can make your beds on the floor tonight.” Groernen motioned over by Soern’s bed and unrolled his own sleeping sack in the corner by the kitchen.

Dashyl unrolled his next to Fretly’s. “You’re a cook,” Dashyl asked.

“Yes, I love to cook. Been cooking my whole life,” answered Groernen.

Fretly walked over to the stewpot and gave it a stir. “So, you live in Anchorwatch? Did you move here with your brother,” he asked.

Groernen snatched the wooden spoon out of Fretly’s hand. “Don’t stir it too much, lad. The spices must settle into the broth gently,” Groernen explained. “To answer your question, yes, my brother invited me to settle with him in Anchorwatch. At first, we lived in this hut together, but then I got a job at the Black Onion Inn. Now, I sleep there so I can make meals from early morning to late at night.”

Groernen sat on a chair and smiled at his brother’s visitors. He moved his head side to side in order to look at each of them in the eye for a few moments, grinning all the while.  “I love my job,” he said, finally. “I get to please so many people and I meet new people all the time. Soern, he likes to be by himself mostly. We’ve settled into our lives here. All we have is each other, so it’s nice to be near my brother.”

After making small talk for what seemed an eternity, Groernen stood up and gave the stew a stir and a taste. “I do believe the stew is ready. The grit root is tender but not stringy. Let’s eat.”

Dashyl and Fretly each took a bowl from the cupboard and held it out as Groernen filled it with his stew. “Smells good,” Dashyl said.

“This is good,” Fretly said after steady stream of slurps. “You really do have some talent. This is the best rootmash stew I’ve had since I can remember.”

“Well, thank you, young sir,” Groernen said as he bowed his head slightly. “I’ll clean up,” he added.

Groernen collected the empty bowls and cleaned up the mess he had made. Dashyl and Fretly both sat up in their sleeping sacks, their eyelids growing heavy with their bellies full.

“Go ahead and get some sleep, my friends,” Groernen said when he had finished cleaning. “I know Soern wants to get an early start on your journey to Trader’s Haunt.”

“I’m already there, cookie,” Fretly said with a yawn. Dashyl didn’t hear this exchange, he was already asleep.

At one point, Dashyl’s eyes fluttered open during the night. The boy sat up in the room bathed in starlight. “It’s just me, Dahsyl,” Soern whispered. The Kirzan eased himself into his own bed and let out a deep sigh. “I have all the supplies we need and three of the fastest igwaza runners in Anchorwatch. We have a long way to go, but we are ready. Now get back to sleep, Dashyl, You’ll need to be fresh tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Dashyl whispered before drifting off again.