Sixteen days are left until the tax collection day, everyone skilled with carpentry was working on getting two carts ready by pulling an all-nighter.

“Mr. Bree, how much do you think each cart will hold?”

A bulgy man with rough, dry hands that showed that he worked hard replied “About ten acre's worth of bushels, but the driver needs to be extremely careful - the roads through the forests are rough, and if we stack the bushels very high, they are bound to fall before reaching town, this is not something we have the capabilities to prevent. If can follow the route the merchants usually take, you will be able to add more to the cart.”

“The road the merchants usually take require almost double the time, they walk to the river, and then they follow it north until they reach the capital. The roads next to the river are well traveled and steady. The horses also make the journey easy. Time is against us, so we will have to go in a straight line to the capital through the forest, either way, it is still spring, we should be able to sell what we have in store and then harvest enough to feed us through the year.”

“With Nasha’s wisdom, all will be well.”

“With Nasha’s wisdom, all will be well” Ellanour responded.

She then returned to the Cheif’s house to report. She was 20 years old; she had a wavy dark-brown hair, rosy lips, and a skin color slightly lighter than everyone else’s.

She touched a hanging banner that read "Be true to your responsibility" as she walked into the room.

The room had stacks of papers, and the chief was so engrossed in looking at them and doing his calculations, that he didn't even notice Ellanour walking in.

She coughed, to bring the attention to herself, and then reported “The Carpenters are working hard and will probably finish the cart in the middle of the night. I believe the men will be ready to leave at daybreak.”

“You should prepare to go with them.”

“Why? It is a clear cut journey - I won’t be able to protect the cart, and the men are more than capable of dealing with any issues that come up when they are in town. Even Zaki is going with them”

“Ahh, Zakki is very reliable, but you have a certain charm that might prove better when dealing with the towners.”

“I believe that charm only works on you, dad.”

“Elly, you will one day lead us, for five generations we prayed every day but the Gods did not answer, they did not think we needed help. This generation has a miracle, which means this generation is going to face trembles that we don’t see yet. If something happened to the merchants…”

“Don’t say that” Ellanour interrupted, but the Cheif disregarded her words and continued.

“If something happened to the merchants, we need someone who can understand what the kingdom’s citizens are thinking. We can only seclude ourselves by knowing what is going on out there and avoiding it. Without any news and information from the merchants, we are blind and inexperienced. So you must go and must see for yourself” the chief’s voice was clear and showed confidence, but his hands were shaking slightly, enough for Ellanour to pick up on his body language, but she did not say anything.

Most of the villagers did not sleep that day. There were those who took shifts working on the cart, those who prepared food for them, those that layed the bushels in each cart once they were ready, and those that needed to fit saddles for cows.

As estimated, at the break of dawn eight men alongside Ellanour were ready to go. They bid their farewell and headed northwest, in the direction of the capital.

Not the strongest, but rather the most docile cattle were chosen for the journey, as there was not enough time to train them to drive the cart well. As the animals dragged the carts, the men walked next to them.

The accompanying men were the scariest looking men in the village according to Ellanour. She wanted to avoid fights, more than she wanted to win them. However, 4 of these men have never wielded a weapon before. Only two of them were trained in defending, and 2 were hunters by trade. Everyone in the village, studies and learns everything from a very young age, and then according to their aptitude, they focus on a specific area. The ones that train to fight are usually merchants and their companions. There are some wild animals in the forest, and so the hunters also train with bow and arrow. As a village, they focused on the art of the mind, and on achieving their goals, more than they focused on their immediate comfort.

After about 3 hours on the road, with no hitch in the plans, everyone was starting to feel relieved.

Along the way, one thought was running through Ellanour's head ‘They are kind and have a heart of gold, but had I known I will be accompanying them for the next 20 days or so, I would’ve picked Alby to join us instead. Days on end with him, through hardship and nights - he would've been bound to share my feelings for him at the end of the journey. Ahhh, how did I not predict I was going to end up on this journey, predicting stuff is my job’

Nabih, a hunter with a scar on his face caused by the claws of animals he tried to hunt, kept looking to his right, at Ellanour driving the cart and sighing.

Upon noticing his glances she asked, “is it time to switch places?”

Nabih’s face immediately turned red, but his eyes turned sharp, and suddenly, he started glaring at the cart.

“I can see you, get out here, right. now!” The anger in his voice was apparent, and the trained men among them immediately got out their weapons and had a defensive stance. The rest of the men followed repeated their behavior.

From on top of the cart, among the bushels, a small child’s face popped up.

“Ward, what are you doing here? Does your mother know?” the tone was still angry, but the anger was fused with worry and concern.

Ward was holding back tears, “I wanted to join you, but I knew you weren’t going to take any kids, so I snuck before you left. I did write a note explaining what I did. By the time they will notice that I am gone, it will already be too late.

As Nabih started screaming at him, Ellanour sighed again.

“One of us has to walk back now to take you home, do you understand how bad that is? When did you intend to show yourself?”

Ward looked down for a moment, before saying “Well... Now that we stopped, can I go to the bathroom.”

“There are no bathrooms in nature!”

Ward’s face turned red, but Nabih's voice got softer, he carried the child down from the cart and took him behind a tree.

Zakki, stepped next to Ellanour to discuss the situation at hand. “I can take him back, and run straight back in this direction. I’ll be able to catch up with all of you when you stop to rest at night.”

“Out of all the children in the village, he was the one to come with us. Perhaps this is fate? Maybe we should let him accompany us after all.”

“Because it is that child, we must send him back - we can’t risk putting him in danger” Zakki retorted.

When Ward returned with Nabih, Ellanour asked.

“You said you left a note, I know your curriculum, you didn’t learn all the letters yet. Are you sure your mom knows that you are with us?"

“Yes, I am familiar with the letters, they are similar to what I used before." Ward paused for a moment, and then he took out thin wooden, hand-sized plates from his pants and continued "I also brought these cards with me. I can teach you card games that will pass the time as we rest” He put on an innocent smile and pleading eyes.

Ellanour smiled at Zakki and raised an eyebrow and her shoulders, in an I-can’t-help-it look, and met a sigh from Zakki who then said

“The journey is dangerous, why do you want to come with us so badly?”

“The village is too small; there are not enough things to see and learn, I want to understand everything better.”

At hearing his response, Zakki gave a nod, Ellanour a smile, and the other men a conflicted look.

“All right, let us continue on our journey than" with Ellanour voice ringing in the forest, it was decided. And a fresh mile showed up on Ward's face.