Adventures of Jessa

6

"Kallen? Where's the food you packed?" Jessa inquires as they stop to make camp for the night. They are only about three hours out from the city at this time.

"Should be in the saddle bag there," Kallen replies gathering wood for a small fire. The night is rather warm so a fire is only to heat up water and for the food.

Jessa lifts up one of the saddle bags and is rather shaken at the weight of it. Confused she looks inside and gasps. "Kallen, what is this?" Jessa lifts up some of what is in the bag. She had seen coins, but they are rare there in the elven city, so she hasn't had much experience with them.

"Jessa, where did you get that?" Kallen asks coming over to his daughter.

"It and many more are in the saddle bag," Jessa gestures to the bag that she had just been going through.

Kallen swears under his breath and goes over to the bag. Looking into it he sees the bag half filled with all kinds of coins, but there were several gold coins among them. The king and queen had made sure that Jessa would have enough to live off of after all.

Kallen finds a paper and pulls it out. "Jessa, you better read this, it's addressed to you and it is likely linked to you alone." Dhiren is quite proficient in elven magic and would make sure that the message would only be read by the intended recipient.

"I have enclosed a letter of introduction to the money lenders that tend to our money for when we have need there in the city. She is known as the most honest of the money lenders and will watch out for your money if you choose to leave it with her. Her name is Frosnak and her sigil is a gold dragon. Just ask for directions to the money lender street and you will easily find her location.

"This money is for you to use as you see fit. Should you choose to not be a guard than you might wish to set up shop. Frosnak will teach you all you will need to know about money. If this amount is insufficient than Frosnak will have instructions to give to you what you will have need of.

"This still in no way pays you back for the loss of your family and home, but I do hope that it will help you find and settle into your new home.

"Frosnak has branches all over the south and will help you relocate should you choose to not stay in that city. Although, I do hope that you choose to stay nearby since you will find it difficult to visit should you go further a field.

"I know that Kallen is still angry with me, and you are likely still thinking of me as an enemy, I do understand and hope that in time you can both come to forgive me. I honestly only did this for your safety, Jessa. 

"I hope you will find happiness and love in your new life.

"It's signed Dhiren" Jessa finishes reading the letter out loud. She wipes her tears away as she places the letter into the bag with the coins.

Kallen looks at the bag and shakes his head. "With that kind of money you will be able to open a shop instead of being a guard, if you so choose."

Jessa snorts at his words. "You have taught me how to use weapons, how to track and fight. I know nothing of how to run a business. Besides, it would drive me crazy being inside all day every day. I need to be outside. I like being able to be off on my own or be in a fight."

"You say that now, but you have never had to kill any one before. It is different from sparring and there is an impact on the soul when you take a life." Kallen cautions her gently.

Jessa smiles at her adopted father sadly, "I am aware. I know that I haven't taken a life and I hope that it will be a long time before I have to, but I am prepared to do so. I think that working as a guard for the caravan's will be fine, at least for a time. Perhaps in time, it will grow old and I'll wish for something more. Perhaps this Frosnak will have an idea of what to do with my money for when I no longer wish to fight for others."

"Very well, get some sleep, I'll keep first watch. We'll leave as soon as it is light enough to see in the morning."

"Good night, father," Jessa says giving him a hug and calling him father rather than his name.

"Good night, short stuff," Kallen says and holds back his tears. Jessa rarely calls him father or Sorid, mother. They love it when she does, but she says that the other kids have bullied her for doing so and so she stopped it several years earlier.

He's going to miss that girl, but Sorid is right, Jessa will never learn to soar if she stays with them. He just doesn't like the thought of not being there to watch over her, but that is part of growing up.

Instead of waking Jessa up for a turn at watch, Kallen stays up the whole night. He isn't so lost into his thoughts that he fails to notice the stealthy sound of footsteps approaching but he is rather shocked when it isn't his knife that kills the would be thief.

"You were able to take him out before me, I am impressed, Jessa." Kallen praises his daughter even as he takes her knife out and cleans it off on the now dead thief. He hands the knife back to Jessa before taking a look at the dead man.

"Looks to be just a down at his luck bandit." Kallen says looking over the clothes and although he feels sorry for him, he doesn't feel that bad. There are options to banditry, even if they aren't all that palatable.

"So, do we take the time to bury him?" Jessa says, now wide awake and starting to pack up what little they unpacked.

"Only slightly, let the animals have him." They roll the dead man's body into a nearby ditch and set a light layer of dirt and rocks over him. 

"That will be sufficient. The animals will likely deal with the rest of him later. How are you holding up?"

Jessa shrugs, "Fine I suppose. Perhaps the shock just hasn't worn off or it doesn't seem real to me yet, but I don't feel any different."

Kallen nods his head slowly, "Very well, let's mount up and be on our way." Kallen wonders if perhaps she is one of those people that understand and have no problem dealing with death. If so, in another life she might have been an assassin. With how well she fights, she would have made an excellent assassin. He'd hate to go against someone like her in a fight to the death.