As he arrived at Marrel, he noticed several changes to the town. Colorful banners and ribbons adorned every building and merchant stall, and a large stage had been erected at the center of town. It appeared there was some sort of winter festival taking place, but he did not intend to stay long enough to join in the fun.
Yori stopped in the fletcher’s stall to inquire about the town of Marron. Inside, Hydon sat busily tending to his arrows. He looked up as Yori approached and said, “Good morning, Brother. What brings you here today?”
“I’m traveling to the Sunswept Isles,” he replied. “I was hoping you could give me directions to Marron.”
“I can’t imagine why you’d want to go there,” Hydon said with a laugh. “But Marron is at least a full day’s walk south. You might see if some of the mining wagons could give you a ride. They travel back and forth every day delivering gems. They’ll take you right to the docks where you can purchase passage to the isles. Do you have any money?”
“I have a little,” he replied, undervaluing the coins the prince had given him.
“Don’t let them cheat you. I hear those sea captains try to take advantage of travelers. It shouldn’t cost any more than one silver coin.”
Yori nodded. “Thank you, Hydon.”
“Safe journeys,” he replied before returning to his work.
Yori hurried past the marketplace to the warehouses where he had helped Atti unload his goods when he first arrived in Al’marr. It wasn’t long before he spotted the gem wagons. Stout men were loading heavy wooden chests with iron locks onto wagons. No other goods would have need of such hefty locks, so Yori assumed they must be filled with precious gems. Approaching one of the men, Yori asked, “Are you heading to Marron?”
“Sure am,” the bearded man replied, loading a chest into a wagon.
“Do you think you’ll have room for a passenger?”
The man turned and looked Yori up and down. Apparently, Yori didn’t look much like a thief. “I suppose so,” the man replied. “You’ve got to help load the wagons first, though. There’s five of them, and these chests are heavy.”
“I’m stronger than I look,” Yori replied with a smile. He was shorter and thinner than the bearded man, but years of hammering iron and steel had provided him with a decent amount of muscle. He slid a chest to the side of the loading dock and lifted it onto his shoulder. The bearded man raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval.
“We’ll be at this until lunchtime,” he said. “The miners will let us eat with them before we head out.”
“Sounds great,” Yori replied, lifting another chest. The chests were indeed very heavy, but Yori did not mind the work. Offering the man coin would probably have spared him the physical labor, but he preferred to help out rather than sit back and watch.
Lunch consisted of boiled potatoes, a small strip of dried meat, and a large chunk of bread. As soon as he saw the food, he missed the fresh cuisine of the forest. The elves collected berries that they could make into jams that kept all through the winter. The hunters supplied fresh meat nearly every day, and they drank teas from the dried leaves of dozens of different plants. He allowed his mind to wander and tried to imagine what he would be eating once he reached the Sunswept Isles. Everything he had heard of the Enlightened Elves had been negative, so he could not imagine their food being very good.
“All set to leave?” the bearded man asked.
Yori nodded, returned his empty plate to the cook, and tossed his leather bag over his shoulder.
“Can you drive a wagon?” the man asked. “One of our drivers has been throwing up since last night. I thought he was drunk and needed to sleep it off, but I guess he’s really sick.”
“I can do it,” Yori replied. He had driven a wagon for his uncle many times and was not bad at managing stubborn mules.
Along the road to Marron, Yori took notice of the landscape. The area near the city was drab and brown, but as they moved farther away, the land came alive. Fields of gold stretched on for miles, and the trees grew tall and proud. Tiny farmhouses dotted the landscape, and chickens roamed freely beside the road. Children were playing despite the cool weather, and they waved cheerfully as the wagons rolled by.
As they neared the coast, the smell of the sea filled Yori’s nostrils. The air seemed denser and warmer in Marron, and the sound of the waves filled the air. Catching his first glimpse of the ocean, Yori sat in awe. Never before had he seen so much blue. The waves crashed fiercely against the shore, leaving a white foam behind on the sand. Fleets of cargo ships littered the coastline, each being loaded or unloaded by hundreds of workers.