1. A Journey Home part 2


    Date: 8/20/2015, Categories: Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Author: sirreadsalot10, Rating: 1, Source: LushStories

    said. She slipped into the trees and was gone. Aerik lay there beside the pond for a while reflecting on everything that had happened to him on his journey home. His time with Aubria had been the most wonderful of his life, but she was just like Ella and Unkes. All the good things in his life were lost or taken from him. Tears threatened him but he fought them down and climbed to his feet. He rinsed off in the cool water before dressing, gathering up his spear, and heading back to where he had dropped his pack. He took one last look east, the direction Aubria had gone, then turned south toward what he hoped was home. Five days later, he came to the village of Gralt. He had been there many times before and knew home was ten leagues to the southwest. He had definitely passed far to the north of his village. The elders of Gralt offered him hospitality for the night, and he slept in a bed for the first time in what seemed like forever. He had a hot breakfast and set out for home. Normally it would take all day to walk the ten leagues to his village, but he wanted to get there by midafternoon, so alternated between walking and running at a steady ground eating pace. He was surprised at how far he could run before needing to catch his breath. He was met with cries of shock when he finally trotted into his village. He and the others had been gone so long that the village had assumed they were all dead. He was ushered in to see the elders where he recounted the tale of his journey. ...
    He told them everything, except for the friendship that had grown between him and Unkes, and his encounter with Aubria. Those things were too personal and he kept those memories for himself alone. A great feast was held in honor of Aerik’s return, and the village storyteller, who had been at his meeting with the elders, recounted Aerik’s tale to the assembled village. There were gasps as he told of the battle with the long tooth, and tears at the deaths of Gunter and Kaden. The storyteller weaved his magic on the rapt listeners as he told of Aerik and Unkes’s flight from the deadly flood. There were more tears, mostly from the children, as he described the death of the loyal garg who had come so far with the hero of the tale. Aerik listened dispassionately. The storyteller was making him out to be some grand hero instead of a man who had been tossed by events out of his control and barely managed to survive. When the storyteller concluded his tale with Aerik’s triumphant return the feast began. Aerik ate more than he had in a long time and endured many slaps on the back from the men and hugs from the women. Throughout the night of revelry, Aerik didn’t feel right. Among all the people, he still felt alone. For so long all he thought about was getting home and now that he was here, he realized that home is being with people you love, not where you live. Suddenly he didn’t want to be among people, he just wanted to go to his house and climb into his bed. He moved through the ...
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