Early spring… Lovely weather… Agreeable companions: even Maile the carter’s dog was well-behaved! We stayed in the half-way inn, Inn Halfway, as it’s called, where we’ve been almost regulars. The food is good, the white dog is still there, she’s the parent of carter Maile’s dog, and, well, I had a good evening making sketches and even sold one.

The next evening, we arrived in Veray. We’ve been here often enough that the guard at the town gate recognized us. Last time we were here, I had made a charcoal sketch of his newborn son for him, and Master Jeran had painted his grandmother. (I sketched her, and I’ve got the beginning of a painting of her, feeding his eldest daughter pap, who is one year older than his son.)

We took a small room in an inn in the Síthi part of town, but it was very clean, and there was stabling for our mule, and storage space for our stuff. We spent the evening out in the square in front of the Temple of Dayati, eating a bit, drinking a bit, sketching playing kids, loitering adults, market stalls being set up… Tomorrow is the monthly Síthi Evening market, with lanterns and everything, I’m looking forward to that!

We also visited our favorite paper shop. Well, it also sells printed books, old books in addition to paper, panels, silk, blank books. I got five blank books, so I would have enough space for a drawing a day even if we’d be gone for two years, and enough stock for work sketches and painting. And so did Master Jeran. The cart we’re going to order has to be big!

I also got two books with stories so we could read to each other in the evenings, after it gets dark and we don’t feel like working in Rhinla-light. And a book about the geography of the North, with a description of Tylenay and Silver and Ruby village. There was also a book on first aid and medicine, but I didn’t need that, I’ve helped Doctor often enough to know what’s what. (She demanded I help her in order to be allowed to paint her when she’s working, which I really wanted! I love painting people who work, which is weird, given that I’m so lazy that I don’t do anything if I can help it, except for painting and sketching.)

The next morning, we went out to order the cart, and to order everything we’d need for a long journey. But we first went to the wainwraight, Mialle, because she no doubt could tell us what we’d need! We’d heard she was rather rude, uncouth, short-tempered and sarcastic, but I thought she was funny. And I guess she thought I was funny, too, when I gave her a little sketch I’d made of her, breathing fire like a dragon, with huge, angry eyes spitting lightning.

So we got a good deal! And in a week or so, one of the half-done on-spec carts she had ready will be altered to our needs and we’ll be ready to go.

She even had a good word for our decision to go with a mule, not a horse, ox or donkey!

On our way back, we first had our noon meal, which was pheasant flesh in a bread wrap with pickled onions, pickled garlic and pickled gherkin, with pickled dill. This was awesome! Almost as nice as a Síthi pasty!

Then we put in orders for adzes, bandages, blankets, buckets, chest, canvas coverings, oil, meal, pigments, binders, ointments, winter clothes, dried goods and pickles and everything else. It came to a huuuuuuuge sum! At first master Jeran wanted to pay for it all, since I was the journeygirl, but I had enough, so we split it evenly!

And then we had dinner, that is, little bites and tidbits at the Síthi Night Market, while we bought stuff like cute lamps, silk yarn, Síthi “jewelry” and other stuff to give as presents to people during the trip. I think we got a box full of cheap, but colorful and fun stuff that I bet people along the North Road won’t see that often!