'Til Kingdom Comes - The Banished Prince Vol 3: The Prophecy

Guy and Gillian

"Mummy, could you do us a favour, please?! We had received part of our rewards for our tasks and we also received some silvers for completing the course of charting the maps."

"We won't be taking these coins with us but we would like to change 5 silver for both of us into coppers."

" Do you know, Mummy, that the currency rate outside was 12 coppers to silver while here it's 100 coppers per silver...!"

"It is really a cutthroat world out there and I am glad that Our Majesty had decided to make things fair for everyone and sticking to his own current currency system."

"If the Keeper of the King's Jewels and Treasurer of the Chamber could do the same as what Our Majesty would be doing, we won't be taking so many coppers along with us."

Guy MacDonough was talking to his mother in Shelta language as their father was resting at home since he had come back from delivering the loaves of bread, health and beauty products to the towns designated to the latter.

Their father, a very soft-spoken man and also a man of a few words fully supported Guy and Gillian to be Adventurers because the way he sees it, it was like rekindling the traditions of an Irish Traveller even though they had became settlers.

Guy MacDonough handed their mother a pile of silver coins and told her to store them at the Treasury while he himself took some silver coins aside from the intended 5 that he would change into coppers soon.

This 5 silvers would be more than enough to spare for both him and his sister as they told their mother that they would be heading down to the grocery store and see if they can purchase some meat jerkies and dried fish, along with 20 pounds of grains and flour.

"Come, Gillian, we got to stock up our supplies as we wait for the lecturers or Adventurers guild to pass us the dandy horses that we used to go to Camp before."

"I hope we would be able to get the Dandy Horses by today so we would be able to install the saddlebags topside rear bag as well as the basket in front of the Dandy Horses."

"This trip would take us well into mid-winter. You up for it, don't you?" Gut asked his sister and she laughed at his silly question.

As Irish Travellers, they had braved the harsh weather conditions and had to go by scraps in terms of food.

If not for the hunter-gatherers, they would not be able to survive for long out in the rough wilderness.

They were in luck the moment they had entered the grocery store where shelves of dried and preserved food were prominently displayed as the duo decides in how much meat jerkies and dried fish that they would be carrying.

The meat jerkies and dried fish were kept separately inside some dried banana leaves and tied with a piece of twine. The prices were the same per pound as the fresh ones and they decided to purchase 10 pounds of meat jerkies while 5 pounds for the dried fish.

These dried fish, if mixed with a thick gruel would make a great accompaniment to a simple yet wholesome meal.

They saw some dried apricots and apples and decided to get some pounds of it to brew some fruity tasting teas during their breaks.

There was no need for sugar since the dried fruits had already high sucrose content in them to give the energy boost they needed.

Food was scarce during mid-autumn and the area that they would cover, either its the Northeast or the South East, depending on the ballot draw of the 2 party leaders, would be filled with unexpected events that they have to get ready.

They picked a few hand warmers to top up the ones that they already have since it's going to be cold and wet in the wilderness and there would be no chance for them to light any fires if they happen to be unfortunate enough to be in that dire situation.

A fire in times like this would be a morale booster as well as keep other wild animals at bay especially wolves.

Besides, making a fire would always be the main priority when they make camp and they would try not to divert away from their intended path.

They got some other necessities for the long haul and even bought a spare Flint and striker each in case they dropped it along their way.

Even though they knew how to make fire using friction, but in damp weather conditions like mid-autumn, it would be best to keep a few of these handy and within reach.

After paying for the purchases, Gillian asked the cashier is they could change their silvers to coppers and the cashier gladly compiled to their request. Besides, the cashier had stored enough coppers to change a gold coin even.

After handing out 5 pouches filled with coppers, Guy and Gillian gingerly made their way back home when they saw the Mackenzies were about to enter the grocery store to purchase their necessities.

"Hey, Brother Jo. You coming to get the necessities too, eh? They sure got some good offers especially the meat jerkies and dried fish." Gillian greeted the Mackenzies and they engaged in small talk before bidding farewell tuk head back to their homes.

"The Dandy Horses had arrived at our houses just now before we leave. You better check out yours since the engineers had given a set of tools to make minor repairs along the journey. They might still be at your place. Better hurry then."

The Mackenzies called out to the MacDonoughs as they parted ways.

It seemed the Mackenzies shared almost the same list of things to resupply them for the long haul and they just assume that they would not be able to meet some edibles along the way. So it's better to stock up rather than be sorry at the end.

Guy and Gillian made to the Clothing Store where they purchased another set of Adventurers uniform so at least when one gets dirty, they could wear the fresh ones instead. Depending on where they are, doing laundry was next to nothing since they would be on the move all the time.

Since they would be presented with Dandy Horses to travel, their responsibilities happen to be two to three-fold than before. Once again, they decided to discuss and compromise to cover at least 12 towns this time, giving those towns that had been serviced by our town a miss.

Upon arrival to their homes with the bags of groceries, they saw an engineer who was waiting for them as he gestured to them as he presented two new Dandy Horses to them instead of the ones that they had used before.

"Here are some tools to make minor repairs. Do ensure they the bol s here and here are tightened all the time after each journey. This is the improved version and would make the ride smoother."

"See this set of hard springs? It would be used to cushion your ride on ping journeys and then it would also lessen the impact of the rattling when you travel on uneven grounds. Avoid potholes, if possible. It might damage the wheels and render these Dandy Horses useless."

The engineer showed the MacDonoughs the new and improved version of the Dandy Horses that would be used for the long haul. It had a set of panniers at the back, front and the sides of the Dandy Horses so the MacDonoughs would be able to hook up their saddlebags with ease.

Since the main transportation device had arrived, and the methods to perform minor repairs had been taught, the engineer took his leave while the MacDonoughs prepared to load up their Dandy Horses.

Once the items had been successfully loaded and secured, all the other provision and supplies were loaded as well.

They looked and tested the Dandy Horses and found that the hard springs at the seat cushioned the impact of long rides considerably.

The hard springs near the front and rear wheel also took away some of the shocks if they travelled on a gravel road, unlike the paved road that the present unimproved models that were in use by the soldiers around the Barracks.

After checking out their new rides and securing all the empty bags at the panniers, they loaded their supplies and provision thereafter.

A heavy tarp was used to cover the whole Dandy Horse so that the felines would not go and sit around and start to scratch at the bags that contained the dried fish...!

Once they had done so, they even placed a large knapsack by the doorway that was used to store those easy to reach supplies and some light items.

The total weight of the supplies that they had loaded on the Dandy Horses was more than 40 pounds and they hoped it would not strain their rides at all.

"Alright, everything is set and done. Let's head to the Adventurers Guild to see any updates."

"We have already collected our rewards and passed to Mummy to keep in the treasury. So we let the money grow over there then."

"Besides, there are only two parties left in the Guild and we can choose to ballot draw which one we prefer. What do you think?"

Guy beckoned to his sister since they both had completed their tasks and had made sure that the Dandy Horses had been maintained to be in tip-top condition. The set of tools was placed inside their knapsack so it would be within reach.

"Alright brother. We have finished our work here and there's nothing much for us to do. We would go to the Guild and then we would head down to the Macleod Coliseum and watch the wrestling match."

"Mummy... We are off to the Adventurers Guild now and somewhere else. We would be back in the evening for dinner...!"

Gillian called out to his mother who was at the back in the kitchen area doing the laundry. It would be some days left before their children would be off towards the unexplored lands again and she was washing their Adventurers uniform and hanging them to dry.

"Alright, be seeing you, kids, back for dinner then." their Mummy called back and she was delighted to see her children to be involved with this type of tasks they had been assigned to them by the Adventurers Guild that helps them to keep close to their traditions.

Besides, she also missed the wilderness but thinking of the years of hardship she and her husband had gone through together, she preferred to stay down as settlers instead. Besides, there's a lot of work to be done especially in the crop fields too.

"Sigh... Children nowadays. They seemed to grow up too fast...!" their Mummy wrung the Adventurers uniform before she brought it into a basket and went to the rooftop to hang the clothes up.

She peered inside the bedrooms and found that their beds were done and the curtains had been open apart to let the draft and fresh air in. The rooms were kept tidy and there wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere.

"Sigh... These rooms would be quiet once they have left for their adventure trip. I wish to have another one that would pitter-patter around the house. At least it does not make the house too quiet."

Mummy MacDonough closed the doors gently behind her after she had checked the conditions of the room to ensure no dirty laundry was left inside the laundry basket.

She sauntered downstairs and found her husband was still resting on the armchair in the middle of the living room and prepared a pot of tea for her and her husband who would wake up later on.

Life had been simple, easy-going and hassle-free ever since they had stepped down from their wagons and became settlers in this town. They had silver coins as their salary every month, food on their tables almost 3 times a day and a perfect roof over their heads.

Meanwhile, Guy and Gillian had arrived at the Adventurers Guild and through the ballot draw, Michelle had allocated the Northeast navigation to them instead.

So when they meet any Romani Gypsies, Irish Travellers or other relocators, they can redirect them back to town by telling them to head to the Southwest direction.

That way, the people they meet along the way would not lose their way when they head back the same direction as to where the Adventurers had come from.

"Let us take a look at the map since we would be taking the Northeast direction. Gillian, make sure you have the compass, the ruler, protractor and the quill and ink bottle too. Oh, look... Our town is marked right at the very top of this map and we already have an arrow to where we need to move out on Wednesday."

Guy MacDonough held the map and spread it on the ground and looked at the large map that was before them. There was nothing on it except the word 'Gracehaven Town' at the very top of the map, no river, pond or any known landmark et cetera. There was a large thick arrow indicating 'NE' that represents where they would be heading out.

It's literally a plain piece of a large map with nothing on it and the Adventurers would be the one who would be charting all the landmarks on it.

"When all the 8 navigation maps had been compiled, the lecturers would be the one who would draw them all back into one super large map that would measure at least 10 feet down and across."

"What you have here is the version of the 5-foot map. As you can see at the bottom right hand, it already indicates the scale of the map they would be charted by you."

Michelle showed them the scale and was surprised for a small map of 5 foot down and across would actually cover up at least 60 inches.

A single inch would represent half a mile and this means the whole map would represent 30 miles down and across...!

A stack of papers was handed to Guy MacDonough and he knew what's the purpose for this. A special marking would be made on the main map. These papers would actually represent a blown up area of the markings of the main map.

Fortunately, they had gone through the basic map charting course or else they would be flabbergasted on what they need to do thereafter.

"Thank you, Miss Michelle. We are on our way then. Thank you for the map and supplies. We would take good care of these from rain and moisture."

The duo then bade their farewell and headed to their homes first to put the map and stuff safely before they went out again to have some leisure time with their kinship at the Macleod Coliseum.