[Child of the 7th Age]

When Cami awoke, the morning sun stood high in the sky. She could hear the scampering of hobbrim feet echoing at her door. An instant later, a knock came. She wrenched herself from bed and walked over to lift the latch. On her table, left over from last night, the book and pen still lay. At least, she'd remembered to tighten the lid on her ink bottle.

"Mistess Nitir, Mistress Nitir," came the whispers of small hobbrim children.

"Yes," responded Cami, staring sleepily out at them.

"We've come for our lesson. You weren't in the galley this morning so Mistress Andril said we were to knock politely at your door. She said we should check to be certain you fared well. So, are you alright?" the boy continued, eying her up and down.

Cami laughed, "Yes, I am fine this morning." And she did feel well. She could still sense that pall which had crept in under the dark skies of night. It hung like a great sail over the ship itself, but somehow they'd manage to push it back just a bit so that their hearts could breath freely again. It didn't surprise Cami that Andril had also sensed something wrong.

"Please thank Mistress Andril for her concern. Then ask her to meet me in the galley. I have something special we're all going to work on together We'll need the large tables and the extra space."

"One more thing, please check first with everyone on the ship and see if they have any old clothes or extra scraps of cloth. If so, have them to bring it to the galley."

When the boy opened his mouth to question why, Cami told him to wait, and promised she would explain everything later. "But now, make haste. We have a big task to undertake, and only twelve days remain to complete it."

[ October 03, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]