Story of an Exile ~ Chapter 10

"I don' ken how ye elves can eat this!" Gorgen complained as a plate of cheese, fish, and bread was set between them on the table. Vabira's feline growled at Broghrad as she tried to protect her own fish after watching the bear swallow his whole. Vabira nibbled bits of her meal, waiting for Gorgen to finish. She has learned, in only the short time she had known him, that the dwarf was quite longwinde. "I mean, back home we've got Crocolisk gumbo an' boar ribs! Meat, lassie! Meat! Ye elves are daft fer not havin' any." He paused to take a savage bite of his bread and a long pull from his tankard, which, apparently, he carried everywhere along with his own drink.1

"Tha's it. I'm takin' ye wit me."2

Vabira's eyes grew wide and she stared at the older hunter sitting across from her. "What? Going with you? Going where?" she questioned.3

"Goin' home, o'course," Gorgen lifted a brow. "Ye really don't ken anythin' but this wood, do ye lassie?" He shook his head and looked deep into his tankard, seeing past the ale. "I'll show ye worlds beyondthis tree, worlds filled wit' mountains and rivers, forests and dry sands, cold and fire. I'll teachye ta use weapons ye hae nea e're seen before and creatures past yer imagination. Bairn, I'm goin' ta show ye life."4

After the meal, the two stocked up on supplies for the long trip ahead of them. Before they stepped through the elven portal which would take them tot he tiny dock on the edge of the island, Vabira made one last stop. She returned to the Shadowglen, where her new life began. With her feline next to her, now named Kiela, Vabira whispered her goodbye's and thanks to the wind. She also gave a soft promise ofreturn,not to the glen, but to the Druids and the Sisters who gave her this new birth, new strength. The wind carried her voice, as it did all elven magic.5

Vabira joined Gorgen at the docks, strenthened and ready to see and learn things she had never thought possible. They stepped on the ship, side by side.