The Great Exodus: Moving Out

The town was abuzz with last-minute preparations and necessities remembered in the final hours—an ever-present aspect of long journeys made only grander by the scope of the trip. The people's excitement and anticipation were palpable. It would be a three-day journey to the Holy Grounds, and even with the full force of the village gathered in arms for an escort, fear held a foothold in the people's hearts.

Despite the promise of safety, no one could deny the risks. The village held no treasure in higher regard than the young, and few of the local beasts valued any treasure more than food. No matter how many precautions they took, the fear of losing anyone to an attack, let alone children, was pervasive.

The final plans for arranging the caravan made up a large part of the commotion that morning. Few groups brought anything of real value that wasn’t necessary for their relocation. The craftsmen, of course, needed their supplies just to keep the village functional. Between that and the provisions needed for the trip, while planning what perishables would need to be consumed first and what foods would weather the journey to sustain them at the Holy Grounds, the beasts of burden were all but at capacity.

The elders finally intervened and curtailed the burgeoning arguments between cattle drivers. The top priority, in their eyes, was to plan proper spacing between any food stores and areas allocated for families. It stood to reason that any attacks would be focused on these areas, but consolidating the food stores would give the best chance at predicting where an ambush might fall and properly placing garrisons of guardsmen. No place would be left undefended or inaccessible to a quick response team, which would patrol the length of the caravan.

Goods could be replaced, even at great cost, but the people and the provisions needed to make the trip were invaluable. Anything else could be put in the buffer zones, with the owners of the goods taking charge of those zones. Temperance fell into this group, gladly accepting a supporting role in the defense of his zone. He was never one to bear the mantle of leadership, but neither would he shirk responsibility. Men like him would hold the line for their loved ones. Everyone, even the most disagreeable, ornery curmudgeon, was cared for in a village such as this.

The Moors were a cruel place; its tribes had to be better to survive their harsh homeland. How intertribal politics would play out, that was a tale of many endings. In an age of chaos, the people had high hopes for a gathering of peace, but that was a problem to be addressed after they arrived intact.

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Anilith, Olina, and Willett were late, but no later than expected of a group housing a whimsical young child. While they weren’t taking much with them, nor even owned much to begin with, Olina had particular difficulty deciding exactly what she wanted to bring.

It wasn’t only a matter of what she wanted, but rather what Wiggums needed for such a journey. After no small degree of back-and-forth, she settled on a simple blanket for comfort and a hat to keep the rain off his head: exactly what she’d chosen when they initially set out.

Anilith, a patient smile on her face, asked, “Found everything you need, Lini dear?”

“Yeah, Wiggums just really wanted to make sure he had the right quipments for the trip is all. His favorite hat is just too broken to bother wearing outside, but he just hates to leave it, y’know? I told him, ‘Wiggums, some day you just gotta give things up, even if it’s hard. That’s what Lolly always says, she says part of growin up means knowin better what you need.’ Took some convincing, but eventually he got it through his thick head.”

Willett rolled his eyes at her antics but couldn’t keep his lips from turning upwards. “So, you’re ready then?”

“Yeah, I think we’re good….unless…”

“No! Let’s get going before they leave us behind, crazy head!”

Anilith chuckled, “I believe Temperance is waiting for us so we can stay close. He wants to help keep an eye on you two, after all. Best not keep him waiting.”

“Yeah,” Olina said pensively, “Yeah, let’s go find Tempy!”

“You know he hates when you call him that, Olina,” Willett said pointedly.

“Oh, c’mon, he hardly knows what he likes,” she countered, full of the jubilance of youth.

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The walk over to the village outskirts, where the militia worked at organizing the caravan, was brief and uneventful. Signs everywhere along the way told a different story for countless other villagers. Anilith found herself silently thankful for Olina’s indecision, which may, in fact, have saved them time in the long run.

The traffic on the first roadway Anilith would have normally taken the kids down had ground to a halt after two drivers misjudged the distance between them. The cart was left with mostly cosmetic damage while the other, a slightly older-looking wagon, sat lopsided after the spokes on its rear wheel splintered from the impact. This, naturally, left the road an impasse as now neither driver had the space to get through, and they had to wait for repair teams to come and clear up the mess.

Nothing was more damaged, however, than the pride of the first driver. Bristling at the inconvenience and absolutely agape at the delay, he let everyone know he was clearly in the right here and gestured animatedly at the “ghastly” damage to his mode of conveyance.

The other driver seemed more concerned with whether or not anyone was injured in the incident and genuinely thankful that neither cart nor wagon suffered any major structural damage.

“Boards and wheels can be replaced, but a broken frame would damn the whole venture,” Anilith heard the second driver say as they passed the road by.

“But do you have any idea what the artistry on those boards cost?”

Ushering the kids along swiftly, Anilith chuckled at the display. Even among such neighborly people, vanity and arrogance found their foothold.

“At least it keeps coin flowing to the artisans,” she muttered under her breath.

“What’d you say, Lolly?”

“Nothing, Lini dear, keep hold of your brother’s hand and watch where you’re walking, now.”

Hurrying on their way, Anilith carved a careful path down the road until a bout of carelessness up ahead ended with an apparent injury. Trained as she was in basic first aid, she stopped and offered assistance.

Taking a moment to examine the man’s ankle, she noted that the discoloration and evident range of motion most likely indicated a sprain: painful and ill-timed but not debilitating.

A small crowd gathered in concern in those passing moments, but she dispelled their worry saying, “Don’t worry it’s just a sprain. A quick wrap and he’ll be right as rain. I’ve got my hands full with these two,” she gestured to her siblings with her thumb, ”so he’ll need some help getting to the caravan, though.”

Olina stuck her tongue out rudely at her sister as those gathered laughed at the touch of levity. Two brothers, not much younger than Anilith, quickly offered their assistance, to everyone’s relief. In hardly any time at all, everyone was on their way, albeit some at a more reserved pace.

Having seen the ankle-breaker in the road as they slowed, Anilith couldn’t help but think the man’s misfortune had saved her careless sister from a similar, if not worse, fate.

In this way, the trio made decent time despite the general commotion of a large village mobilizing en masse. The gods appeared to smile on them, as all serious delays fell either just behind them or led to a fortunate detour. Fickle as divinity could be, Anilith gave a silent prayer in thanks.

“Well now, Ani,” Temperance said, jumping to his feet, “it’s about time! I was beginning to think you all slept through the excitement!”

From the parcels precisely loaded onto his perfectly sized cart, it was clear to Anilith that Temperance had arrived early, as always.

“Not all of us are compulsively punctual, you big lug. You try getting these two out of the door in the morning!”

“I’m sure they were just helping you find your go-bag. Always ready but never prepared.”

They all laughed, used to this vein of ribbing between the old friends.

“Seriously, seeing you takes a weight off.” Temperance let out a breath. “I was starting to worry. The village is on edge; it doesn’t take clairvoyance to feel that. It’s best to be with the ones you know have your back.”

“Lini, why don’t you go set Wiggums up to watch over Temperance’s gear? And Will, make sure she doesn’t break anything, please.”

Olina happily ran over to find the perfect place for Wiggums to keep an eye on Temperance’s livelihood, after all, it was the least she could do.

“We can talk about that when the kids aren’t around, but I’d have to be insensate not to see the signs. Master trained us better than that.”

“Master trained you, Ani. I just learned by proxy. Do you think I’d have ever been graced with master’s presence were it not for you?”

“Temperance, the only reason Master hasn’t taken you under his wing is because your calling lies elsewhere. You’re an artist with a hammer, but that doesn’t make it less impressive that your shield stands solid as an anvil before anyone foolish enough to try and break through. Iron will splinter like so many fragments if it underestimates your mettle.”

“We both know I can’t hold a candle to your talent. You’re all but Chosen already; they just need to make it official.”

“You could be, too, old friend, you just need to stop standing in your own way. What does Master always say?”

“‘Greatness comes to those brave enough to take the risk.’ But, Ani, we both know Will and Olina will need me if anything goes wrong in the trials…”

“Stop. Will and Olina are stronger than you give them credit. Sure, she needs a watchful eye every now and then, but she has a knack for avoiding the worst trouble. Like master says, ‘Luck is a talent all its own.’”

“But…”

“You know I’m right. So, assuming I’m chosen in the first place, the best thing you could do for them if I didn’t come back from the trial, which isn’t a remote possibility in my eyes, is to work on your own future.” She went on with a glint in her eye, “Forge your path!”

Shaking his head, Temperance replied, “Gods, Ani, some days I think your sense of humor will be the death of me. Reminds me of your father.”

“Yeah, his jokes were the worst,” she said in jest, her jovial attitude a little more forced than before.

Silence filled the space between them, the nearby sounds of Willett and Olina getting settled belied the somber air.

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“They would be proud of you, Anilith. They always were, but the strength you’ve shown these past few years honors them beyond words.”

Breathing deeply for a moment, Anilith muttered, “She hardly remembers them, Temperance, even I’m losing their details. Sure, she knows some stories, but it’s not them. She knows the ghost of a memory, and I’m losing the memory of a ghost.”

A span of breaths passed in the companionable way only old friends can share, a brief repose in a turbulent world.

“Sometimes I see them in my dreams. I know I do, clear as anything, but I wake up and they’re already fading into the ether, gone to the edge of memory like the dreams they are; there but just…gone. And every time I’m just left without the chance to say goodbye.”

“I know that eats at you. I wish it didn’t, but it’s the world we live in. The Moors are cruel to take those we love, swallowing them whole without a trace, but they live on in our thoughts, in our actions. You three are their greatest legacy.”

Whether she heard him or not, she went on, “Will handles it the best of us. He keeps me grounded, really. Kid’s smarter than he has any right to be with his thick-skulled sister raising him, doesn’t forget a thing either. For all the details I forget, he’s got an answer and then some. The only thing better than his head’s his heart, and I know he got that from ma.”

Giving her a moment before breaking the silence, Temperance put his arm around her and softly said, “Come on, Ani. Let’s get you settled in. I managed to snag a place just ahead of one of the ‘safe’ zones. We can stick together the whole way, keep an eye on those two.”

The two walked unhurriedly over to where the children stood, making themselves at home.

“The militia is still scouting ahead and clearing a path. It’s not going to be a quick trip with so many people, but they’re doing everything they can to make it a safe one. Feel free to store your things in my wagon, Owen won’t even notice the extra load.”

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Two days in, and the trip so far had been uneventful, if nothing else. The militia was doing an excellent job of keeping the beasts away, whether baiting them away from the path they set or repelling creatures directly. Nothing had come close to the caravan itself, and injuries were kept within acceptable margins. No one expected this to be a bloodless journey, after all.

Anilith and Temperance had volunteered to patrol their section of the caravan in case anything made it that far. The militia appreciated the opportunity to reallocate a few men to better protect the people under their charge. While they weren’t the only patrol in their area, the most experienced warriors made up the advance teams that paved the way for everyone else. The Blade Weaver’s apprentice and her companion were a welcome addition to any defense effort, while their master himself played an important role in organizing the quick response teams in the event of an emergency.

All in all, it was a boring job so far, and the pair couldn’t be happier about the fact. Exciting events are tainted when innocent lives are at stake. A day and a half more of boring patrols, and they could leave this whole ordeal behind them.

Willett and Olina gladly took charge of the wagon while Anilith and Temperance made their rounds. Willett loved sitting in the driver’s seat; Olina was simply enamored with Owen, Temperance’s lowback. He was a simple, blubbery beast of burden: slow, but powerful. Temperance had raised him from an eggling, and he knew the children well. Olina had a longstanding tradition of sneaking Owen whatever snacks she could find, and he was not a selective eater.

“Back in a few,” the two called out as they set out for their next patrol. “Keep your eyes up and trust Owen! He has a good sense for finding a path.”

The swamp lands weren’t known for long stretches of solid ground, making long treks like this even slower than solitary forays. The militia gladly used this to their advantage, allowing their smaller teams time to scout and handle potential threats while the caravan just mucked along, one plodding step after another.

More than a few wagons and carts needed to be rescued when their wheels got bogged down. Even designed as they were for traversing these lands, with enough movement, even the “solid” ground tended to destabilize and return to chaotic mire. This, of course, added even more time to the already slow journey as the people worked together to fashion a way forward.

The two worked in silence, well aware of the importance of their task. As much as they hoped for another peaceful day, they knew their home better than to tempt its ire needlessly. The better part of an hour later, Temperance disrupted their silent vigil.

“I can’t help but think that Owen is going to be impossible to deal with after this,” he sighed, shaking his head. “He loves it when Olina comes to visit, always pestering me for extra snacks for days af