The Home Stone

The next morning, Roma was up before dawn and launched her tiny craft into the now calm waters of the eastern sea. She had not been able to fashion some sort of sail, so she would have to paddle all the way. With her long knife and some of the wood from William’s boat she had carved out a rough paddle. Satisfied that it would work she carved a second one in case the first one broke or was lost overboard. Everything had been packed and tied securely to one of the boards that acted as a sitting bench. Covered with the remains of the canvas sail that had kept her dry these last few days, Roma set out past the rocks that had brought her here and out to sea. She paddled slowly but steadily. Another worry she had was the outriggers. Would they hold if the sea got choppier, or if another storm would come along?

Her progress was slow and Roma knew that it would take an extra day to reach her objective. Also she would not be able to get any sleep, as that would take her off course and who knows where she would land up. With limited supplies, she knew she must stay awake until she reached the other shore. She paddled on hour after hour until it felt as if her arms would fall off. She needed to do something else, but what? Then an idea struck her. With some rope and the second paddle and a bit of cloth from her tent, Roma fashioned a crude sail. In this light wind, it could work and give her arms a rest. To her delight, it did work. With the sail, her forward progress didn’t increase, but now she could relax somewhat and just steer the boat with the other paddle. Later that day she fed on some of the berries and then settled down and made herself comfortable as she sailed on. By midnight she grew very tired and found herself nodding off to sleep. Only the slapping of the waves against the tiny craft brought her back from her drowsiness. With only the stars to navigate by she hoped that she would not miss the island altogether and land her out in the middle of the western sea.

The next morning the sight of land brought new excitement to the novice sailor. It seems that she found the island after all. Though she was still a few hours out to sea, the sight of land raised her hopes. She would reach her destiny in any case and Brianna would also be found, though she had not the slightest idea where to start looking. With the help of her makeshift sail and a paddle Roma renewed her efforts and made for the shoreline. It was just about noon, when Roma finally beached the little craft. Here there were no rocks about. Nothing, but white sand, as she stepped out onto the beach. Looking about she saw the tree line was setback farther than on the smaller island where she had been marooned. With the heat of the sun beating down on her, Roma gathered up her belongings and headed for the cooler shade of the forest. There she sat down on a fallen tree and rested. Taking note of her surroundings, the girl from Storr planned her next move.

Getting her bearings, Roma moved into the coolness of the trees and followed the instructions that Kirin had given her. It would be a two-day journey to the base of the mountains and the Dan Rock Pass. From there another two days trekking through knee deep snow that still covered the higher peaks and then another three and a half days until she arrived at the village of the Drow, which was supposed to be hidden underground. That’s where these elves called home. They like the dwarfs preferred to live underground, where they could protect themselves from invading marauders. Since Sea Pirates mainly controlled the western part of the island, so the Drow decided to make their home under the mountains, away from the thieving sea wolves. The dark elves as many also called them, were some of the fiercest warriors of all the elves, but they kept mostly to themselves. They said that they had no need of the other races. They traded little with anyone and killed most trespassers that happened along. This way the pirates left them alone and Roma was fully aware of the danger she faced. She only hoped that she would be given a chance to tell her story before she was injured or killed. She felt that the whole known world depended upon her success.

After a long morning’s trek through the forest a hungry girl sat down on a small boulder and finished off the rest of the berries. She did not drink, as she had to conserve her small supply of water. Here Roma was in unfamiliar territory and not knowing where she would find fresh water she decided to ration what she had left until she found a river or creek where she could replenish it. During her morning walk she came upon some wild edible roots, which she placed into her backpack to be cooked at the supper meal. With no meat on hand these would have to do.

It was well into the afternoon when Roma stopped for a short rest and a small drink of water, when out of the corner of her eye, she spied something moving. Moving slowly, she notched an arrow and waited patiently. There! There it was again. Moving without fear, or maybe it did not notice the girl and the arrow, a fat jackrabbit came out from under a brush with its nose to the ground, in search of food. Smiling, Roma raised her bow and let the arrow fly. There, not thirty feet away lay her next meal. Now she would have meat to accompany the roots she had gathered earlier that morning. She continued until dusk when she finally stopped and made camp. She was tired and sore from her journey. It was hot and sticky, not like the cool evenings back in Storr. At times she wanted to throw the furs away, but decided not to. Better to sweat a bit than to freeze to death up in the mountain pass.

She trod on all of the next day, not seeing any animals for her evening meal, so Roma had to rely on some berries and roots that she found along the way. Late in the afternoon the forest began to thin out and the tall peaks of the mountains came into view. Roma searched for a good place to make camp, but found none, so she decided to continue until she reached the base of the mountains and searched for the entrance of the pass. In the fading light she found it and nearby slightly higher on the slope was a small cave in which she could spend the night. Carefully searching the cave that was no bigger than a deep alcove, Roma felt that it was a safe enough and bedded down for the night. Building a fire near the entrance, to keep animals at bay, she heated some of the water and with leaves that she had collected boiled up some tea. Along with the roots she ate her fill. During the day she had stopped frequently to gather more roots and berries, as she knew there would be little food available high up in the pass.

Early the next morning Roma entered the pass. At first it was rough going, as she was not used to trekking on loose stones that hurt her feet as she climbed higher and higher. Also, the higher she climbed the colder it got and by the time she stopped for a noon feast, she donned her furs and readjusted her pack. With weapons within easy reach, Roma continued. There was little to be had in the pass except for a few pieces broken branches. They were more like twigs rather than branches, for the trees that grew a little farther down, were nothing more than bushes, or very stunted trees. She collected enough for an evening fire to warm her and make some tea, but not for long. This wood would burn fast and would be hard to replenish this far up.

That night Roma did not get much sleep, for the cold kept her up most of the night. She was very happy to see the coming of the dawn and the warmth of the sun. The following day was just as the one before and Roma began to relax a bit more, seeing that she had not run into anyone since she entered the passage. The only thing she would remember from this place would be the cold. Out here in the open without a shelter to keep the wind at bay, made it seem colder than at home. There at least she had a fireplace where she could wrap herself in a warm blanket and sip hot tea, but out here she did not have such luxuries. One thing she was happy about was that she did not discard the furs when she was trekking through the forest and its heat. By the evening of the second day Roma left the mountain pass behind and found herself standing in front of a vast grassy plain that extended as far as the eye could see. Turning east she followed a narrow trial that hugged the edge of the plain where it met the slope of the mountains. With no more food and a little amount of water left in her waterskin, Roma decided to continue as far as she could go. Maybe somewhere up ahead she would come across an animal or a fresh supply of water. She would also need more fuel and out here there was only green grass, and that didn’t burn very well. Roma walked on for hours and saw nothing but grass in the moon lit night. The stars added light, so with the moon and stars to light her way, she was able to navigate and stay on course towards the forest just another half-day’s march away. As the night was drawing to a close and the first streaks of dawn began to light up the eastern sky, the dark shadows of the trees grew dimmer and started to take shape and color. There was also a strong smell of water in the air. Roma was not sure if there was a large body of water nearby, or if it would rain later in the day. She would be very thankful for either one, as her supply of drinking water had run out.

The heat of the day was beginning to sap her strength, as the sun passed its meridian and heated her body even more, so that the sweat ran down like someone had poured a bucket of water over her head. She was tired and happy when she entered the forest. The first thing she noticed was the coolness of the air under the canopy of the trees. Roma walked on for a bit and found a small stream with ice-cold running water that was fed from the high mountains above. First she filled her waterskin and then cooled herself by splashing the icy water onto her face. She then took a long drink and sat with her back up against a tree and rested from her long and hot trek. At some point, she must have fallen asleep, for it was already dark when she awoke. Angry with herself for sleeping all day she decided to continue on the trail she had been following since she left the grassy plain. It was slow going for the moon had not yet risen and the path was too dark for her to see more than a few feet ahead. Once or twice she managed to walk into a tree, or have a branch slap her in the face, until she finally admitted defeat and sat down at the side of the path and waited for the moon to rise. She waited, but the moon didn’t rise that night. At least not over this part of the world.

Sitting there in the dark, Roma began to go over the events that had transpired over the past few days. It seemed strange to her the way the sudden storm rose from out of nowhere and vanished as soon as she and the ship were marooned on the island. Was it fate, or did someone else have something to do with it? Who knew that she was coming this way? Something told her that it all had to do with the barbarians in the Snowlands, but right now, she could not be sure.