It took Grace a moment to figure out where she was the next morning, sandwiched between Falael and Rinomve. Groggily, she stretched and twisted herself into a standing position, careful not to wake either. No easy feat given that she had been barricaded in on both sides. She managed to climb down off the bed, just as there was a knock at the door. Rubbing her eyes, she answered.
"Can I help you?" She asked, slightly upset at the intrusion.
"Your breakfast is here, miss." The servant replied, indicating to his cart. Grace stepped aside.
"Just put it on the table." She ordered, as she walked over to where Falael and Rinomve were still sleeping. "Get up, you two. Breakfast is here." She declared, as she ripped the bedcovers off the pair. Both Rinomve and Falael grumbled in response, as the servant quietly left the room.
"Did you have to wake us up so rudely?" Falael grumbled, stretching as the pair got up.
"Yes, I did." Grace replied, walking over to the table laden with warm porridge and berries and a steaming pot of tea. "If I let you sleep any longer, breakfast would have gone cold."
"Not to mention, we have a long road ahead of us." Rinomve said in Grace's support. "Any longer and we wouldn't have left until after midday and, while I wouldn't have said no to more sleep, time is kind of running out."
"How do you mean?" Grace asked, serving the tea.
"Queen Envano has tried to take all of our lives at least once, and if we stay in one place too much longer we run the risk of making ourselves an easy target." Rinomve explained, taking the first mouthful of his porridge and berries.
"Fair enough, but I want us to stock up on supplies before we leave the city." Falael said. "No more relying on foraging to survive. Everhelm is a long way away, and I want to go through towns as little as possible."
"Is it far enough away to warrant getting mounts?" Rinomve asked. "Cause if that is the case, then I don't think that we can afford anything better than the most basic road horse."
"I don't think it is that far away, but I would need to check the map." Falael replied.
"Why don't we count out the money, and see how much we have." Grace suggested. "Then we can write a list of things we need, and divide both the money and shopping list equally, and agree on a meeting point."
"That sounds like a perfect idea." Rinomve replied, stacking the now empty bowls. He got up from his spot at the table, and pulled the small purse of coins from his pack as Grace did the same. Falael went in search of a quill, a pot of ink, and a piece of paper before rummaging through his pack, producing a coin purse and map.
Once they found the items they sought, they returned to the table.
"Okay." Falael said, unfurling the map and laying it down on the table. "This is where we are," he pointed to the map dot that indicated where Madmaw was located. "And this is where Everhelm is. If we are quick, we should be able to get there within a week."
"And how many times are we sleeping rough?" Grace asked, emptying out the coin purses.
"Almost the entire week."
"So we are going to need enough food for fourteen meals." Rinomve said, reaching for the quill, ink and paper. "Anything else?"
"I feel that it would be good for me to have a blade." Grace said.
"I agree." Falael agreed. "We should also get a pack mule to carry so much food."
"We should also get some extra supplies." Rinomve said, adding to the growing list. "A tent, some soap, maybe even a few extra wineskins."
"We have three Gold coins, six silver pieces and thirty bronze pieces, minus the accommodations and last two meals." Grace said, dividing the money into three piles.
"So how are we going to divide the the errands?" Rinomve asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I will go and get the pack mule." Falael volunteered.
"I will go and get my sword and the food." Grace said, putting the stacks of coins back into the coin purses.
"Looks like I am left getting the other supplies." Rinomve said. "Are you also going to get the tack for the pack mule?" He asked Falael.
"I can."