Blue Fox joined Cloud Eye in the driver's box because Cloud Eye refused to switch while we were in a set order of wagons. He didn't want to introduce any delays. If we changed drivers on the coach, we would hold up half of the wagon train.

I'm not sure who was more miserable: Cloud Eye or Blue Fox. The news of his sister's death left its mark on Cloud Eye's face. It was rivaled by Blue Fox's state of advanced sorrow well-cooked in the weeks since Red Wing's death. By an unspoken consensus, Blue Fox would relate what we needed to know of Red Wing's death after dinner. Wren took it upon herself to inform the round ears and the hobgoblins that we had gained an extra elf in our party, and she invited the Duke, the Prince, and the Hobgoblin Captain to our campfire at the end of dinner.

If Wren knew that I stalked her on her way to speak with the Prince and Duke, she never gave me any indication of it. I just wanted to observe the Prince's reaction to Wren being her blunt no-nonsense self at him, to see if he was still nursing a case of teen-aged lust. He managed to be all-business to her face, but the sigh he heaved once she was out of earshot wasn't encouraging to me. I made sure he saw me watching him at the end of that sigh.

Owl collected our sandwiches for lunch. Today it was a ham salad with lettuce leaves and thinly-sliced soft pears on a sweet roll with white egg sauce that was flavored with pear juice. I stole one and ate it since the flavors were so unusual and yet enticing. Cat Rider laughed at me when I had him remove the lettuce from the sandwich I stole. Then Cat asked me how I was going to hold the sandwich to eat it. So I opened my big mouth and enveloped the sandwich in one chomp, chewed twice to discipline the bread, and swallowed. The look on his face was amusing.

We set up camp for the night in a pasture on the edge of the town of Perkikish. Cloud Eye and Motley Owl did most of the setup while Wren explained our routine and the equipment we used to Fox.

I did notice that as soon as Cat was out of earshot to feed the horses, Blue Fox was asking what it was that Cat did. If Wren could have decapitated him with a look, he'd be dead. Wren described all the things Cat did when we didn't have the services of a camp cook, like collecting edible vegetation and roots, bringing down grouse and quail with his sling or throwing knives, and preparing various ingredients for our meals.

Then, when he thought she was done, her hand shot out and snagged the neck of his tunic: "Don't ever think he can't pull his own weight, Fox, and even if you do think it, never say anything out loud. Cloud, Owl, and I fought father for half a year to be able to bring him with us. When I found him in Nordweg, in the cave he had made his home to hide from his family, he was dressing out a rabbit and getting ready to tan a pile of skins. His woodcraft is solid, and he can hunt for himself. He is also our healer. And never forget that he's the mage that took out a snow Wyvern with a spell he improvised on the spot."

He swallowed, a bit startled by Wren's passion, and then he turned pale when he spotted the glares of Cloud and Owl, who had paused their work to listen. "I understand Wren. I get it. I will do as you ask."

Dinner for the two-footed ones was mutton stew. Dinner for me was two fresh sheep haunches. Blue Fox brought a brick of tea and brewed up enough for all the elven two-footeds. The look on Wren's face was bliss, and Cat was enjoying it too. We all sat in silence, waiting for the other three we invited to show. It's not that they were welcome, but it was the correct and polite thing to do.

Captain Girgut of the Hobgoblin company arrived. He came in shining chain mail with a fresh linen arming coif on his head. His orderly set up his camp stool, and then a small stand which he loaded with a firkin.

After Wren introduced everyone, the Captain bowed and then gestured to the firkin, "I heard that there would be the airing of sad tiding so I have brought the traditional firkin of smeet for those who may desire it."

"Smeet?" Cloud sat up and looked interested, "the legendary goblin smeet from Smeerv?"

"The same," the Captain nodded.

"Oh my," Duke Sven said from just outside the perimeter of the circle around the campfire. "I brought brandy, but it can't hold a candle to real smeet."

"I'm sure there will be more opportunities, Your Grace," Captain Girgut nodded. After the requisite greetings and such, the Duke and the Prince sat down in the camp chairs a pair of Nordweg troopers set up for them.

Then Blue Fox began his story:

"There were six of us in our adventuring party: myself with spear and kite, Red Wing with longbow, Green Oak with kite shield and broadsword, Golden Trout with spear and kite, Singing Aspen with round shield and short sword, and Rock Hawk with the long axe and assorted projectiles. Those were just our main weapons. We all had backup weapons too.

"We were an all-fighter party. Most of us could do basic camp magic like lighting a fire or drying wet clothes, but none of us could do more than heal a simple wound. We set out with leather but upgraded after our first job to plate legs, brigantines, Beckal chain mail, and long-tailed sallets.

"We got our papers for the mercenary guild in Hempdal, the capital of Osterius. From there, we traveled to Irdukas and took on guard jobs for the southern caravan routes. Our first five jobs were between Irdukas and Adishlam. They were profitable too. We had spent the previous year collecting trumm mushrooms, which we dried and powdered. We each carried two gourds of dried trumm powder, which we then used for trade in Adishlam. We were able to sell our trumm powder and purchased saffron at the end of our first guard job. At the end of our second job, we took a break to go to Hempdal, where we sold the saffron for a markup, bought good armor, and deposited our profits with the goldsmith's guild in Hempdal.

"We returned to Irdukas and took on three more guard contracts for caravans on the Irdukas to Adishlam route. We did see some action on that route, but nothing that we and the other guards hired couldn't handle.

"We had seen enough action that we received two promotions in guild ranks up to silver. We also could fight mounted, which is why we were hired for our last job. We were in Adishlam, looking to pick another caravan. We thought that going south might be nice since it was cold and snowing back in Irdukas.

"We lucked into meeting up with another group of guards we had worked with. They told us about a job with the Sahkuhl of Zimlakuliku, to guard a herd of 400 Armarian horses on a route from the Oasis of Gir to Shupushum, the capital of Zimlakuliku. The two qualifications were silver rank in the guild and the ability to ride and wrangle horses.

"We met with an agent of Zimlakuliku and were hired along with close to 200 other guards. We were provided with stout desert ponies and traveled to the oasis where the herd was waiting. The person in charge of the operation was the Crown Princess of Zimlakuliku. She said she had met Sea Elves before but we were the first Green Elves she had ever met. She had also heard of the elven adventuring tradition but we were the first Elven adventurers she had run across. The Sea Elves don't have the same adventuring tradition.

We were the only non-human guards hired. Because of that, the Princess was quite interested in us and the Green Elves in general. So we got invited every evening to have dinner with her so she could ask us more questions. Zimlakuliku is a great merchant power. They are interested in everything that might be a commodity. She asked us not just about the Green Elves but also about all the human kingdoms nearby and the goblin kingdom too. The current guard job turned into an interesting trip for us because of the Princess' interest.

All that changed on the ninth evening, when we were halfway to our destination. Desert nomad raiders from Lushur attacked us.

"Red Wing died protecting the Princess," Blue Fox stopped and hid his tearing eyes behind his arm, but he couldn't hide the sob that erupted from his mouth. "Rock Hawk, Red Wing, and I saw the raiders about to overrun the Princess' tent. We got four horses, three for us and one for the princess. We got her out, and the four of us started a wild ride into the desert off the trade road.

"Rock Hawk was downed with an arrow. Red Wing intercepted a lance meant for the Princess. The Princess's horse took an arrow. In the end, it was her and me on my horse. I was full of arrows. The Princess was too. They were closing in on us when we entered a scabland. We never saw the arroyo until we fell into it. The Princess and I landed on a ledge. The horse landed on the bottom of the box canyon. The raiders saw the horse and assumed we shared the same fate. I don't remember that at all because I hit my head and was out of it for many days.

"I do not know what happened to Golden Trout, Green Oak, or Singing Aspen. The Zimlakans retrieved all the elven guild badges, my team's pouches, jewelry, and a lock of each elf's hair. Because of their thoughtfulness," Blue Fox sobbed out the last sentence, "I was able to deliver keepsakes to all five families." At this point, the tears were running down Blue Fox's face. Cloud Eye, Wren, and Owl had to take off their masks to dry their eyes. Cat had his face buried in his knees. If cougars could weep, I would have been weeping with them.

The Captain got up, took Blue Fox's drinking horn, and filled it halfway with smeet, the traditional drink of goblin wakes. Then he did the same for Cloud Eye, Wren, Owl, and Cat. He took the mugs of the Prince and Duke and again filled them halfway with smeet. Then he served himself.

Blue Fox downed the smeet in one go, which raised the eyebrows of the Captain. He wiped his eyes and finished his story: "I stayed at the palace of the Sahkuhl of Zimlakuliku until their healers pronounced I was well enough to travel. The Sahkuhl had one of his mages take me home on a rug enchanted to fly through the air. We left at dawn from Shupushum and landed just as the sun was going down in Elvenhome.

"If going home had not been so sorrowful, it would have been a great tale of hilarity, as this short little human with a great beak of a nose and a pointy little beard entered Storm Eagle's chaotic common room. As an important person in Zimlakuliku, he was garbed in golden robes and wore this huge hat that looked like an onion, I don't know what he expected when walked down the passage to Storm Eagle's home.

"I don't know if you know this, Captain," Blue Fox got up and refilled his drinking horn from the firkin, "but we have this large and lavish long hall, decorated with the best of everything elvish, with gold inlays and our best wood carving which no one in the world can be better. The upholstery on the chairs is sable fur, and every tablecloth is silk and cloth of gold. It's where the king receives foreign dignitaries and hosts feasts and holds our yearly althing. But it's not where he lives. He lives in a mostly-buried warren of interconnected rooms, stuffed full of family and retainers, full of noise and bustle. So this poor mage from Shupushum gets his first look at the king as Storm Eagle is bouncing his first grandchild on his knee..."

"Blue Fox, Shy Finch delivered?" Wren grabbed his shoulder.

"Just a few days after you left," he smiled at her, "and before you ask, it's a girl. Green Elves live in large communal households where the lowest spit boy eats at the same time and in the same room as the king or chief. Instead of a grand reception, the mage saw typical elvish dinnertime mayhem, full of noise and children underfoot, and people sitting around singing. I'm sure he went home to report that the Green Elves were a riot of tribal savages.

"Father sent that mage home bearing a carved opal pitcher with matching goblets and two barrels of maple syrup for the Sahkuhl, plus a letter whose contents I was not privy to. He gave the mage a huge bag of dried trumm, golden chanterelles, and morels, so the man left with a smile on his face. The trumm alone would make him a very wealthy man in Zimlakuliku.

"As soon as father was sure I was well enough, he sent me to find your hunting party, Wren, and to join you if you will have me. He also told me to find a new name, if I so desired."

"And if we send you away," Cloud Eye asked, "what will you do?"

"Father said he would give me the same sorts of courier duties that Wren did before she left to go adventuring. I was never good enough with book learning to do any of the things that Cloud and Cat can do to keep the records rolls and copy letters and lists for the king's business. I'm not good for much besides fighting, hunting, or farming."

Willam was frowning, "but you're the Elven King's son. You're a prince. How can a prince be a mere huntsman or farmer?" His voice slid around vowels when he spoke that hinted he was a bit wobbly from drinking smeet.

"We are not like you," Blue Fox added a friendly smile to add tact. "If I choose to farm because I am good at it and enjoy working with the soil, what does it matter if I am my father's son? My father was a farmer before he was a king. Ability, not blood, is what makes a king or queen. I'm not saying humans should be this way too because your history indicates you prefer hierarchical governments instead. I'm just saying that this is the way we are. We live in large groups in extended families. We like to live in the ground because it is cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. We hold land in common and prefer not to gain wealth beyond what we need to live, and no one is forced to do work that does not suit them."

Blue Fox looked at his emptied drinking horn and made a face, "I do believe I am quite drunk. Maybe we should change the subject to a safer topic, like politics?"