The day had started off rather well, cool but clear outside. Pleased, Zandrianna finished packing what she had decided she would need for her and her daughter for the next couple of days and, dragging the bags out to the stable, helped the stable hand attach them to her steed. Handing him a coin, she thanked him for his help, before rushing back to the house to gather Althessia for the journey.
Picking her daughter up in her arms, she placed her in a leather and cloth sling she had sewn, creating a cradle for the babe to lay in comfortable as she rode. Having just been fed, the babe was quiet and half sleeping, her tiny legs occasionally kicking out as she looked up at her mother's face. "Come Althessia," Zandrianna spoke to her, a smile on her face, "We're going to have an adventure."
Remembering the note to Caithrin asking her to watch the house in her absence., she ran back into the house to grab it from Kom's desk.
The stable hand waited patiently with her steed and smiled as she approached, offering to help her onto its back. Another coin later, and he was off to deliver her letters, as Zandrianna started down the road.
Taking it slow, so as not to jostle the sleeping babe, Zandrianna looked around the roads as she approached Bree. It was a lovely autumn day, the leaves gold and red, the light breeze rustling the trees as they fell spinning to the ground. Having come to call Breeland home, she couldn't help but sigh contentedly at the lovely scene before her eyes and, relaxing for the first time in days, she was determined to enjoy every minute of this trip. Spurring the horse just a little faster, she approached the gates of Bree as she made her way through it and past, heading in the direction of the Brandywine.
By midday, they had reached the Brandywine River and turning her steed off the path, she decided to stop at the small town of Crickhollow to feed her daughter and stretch. Once she was done, she walked down to the water's edge, sitting on a small dock, as she looked over the water. As she chatted with a fisherman who was out to get a good catch for the day, she stroked her daughter's back, watching the light of the sun reflect off the clear blue water as they rested before thanking the farmer and, wishing him a good day's catch, settled her daughter back in her sling to continue their travels.
Heading up the road, she approached the Brandywine Bridge, a lovely span of stone and wood crossing the river. She paused, waving down at the bounder stationed at the gate and as he nodded and waved cheerfully back at her, she crossed the bridge into the Shire.
The first town they came across was a small village called Stock. It seemed a friendly place, with farms and fields, green as far as the eye could see. Zan considered a moment, before nodding to herself. "This will be a good place to stop for the night Althessia," she said, looking down on her daughter, "And I hear that nearby is a farm full of mushrooms perfect for cooking." Stopping at the stables, she dismounted her steed and paying the young hobbit there to carry her bags to the inn, she headed over to secure a room for the night.
Once done, she asked for the directions to the farm and, thanking the innkeeper, left the inn in search of it. Deciding it was too nice a day to simply ride, she walked up the path in the direction the innkeeper had pointed out, her daughter gurgling quietly in her arms and almost appearing to be taking in everything around her. Grinning, Zan stopped to pick a flower in the nearby grass, tucking it behind her ear as the breeze blew her long hair gently around her face. Briefly she paused to look up at a large stone tower as she pondered it's existence and what it might be used for. Weaving a tale in her head about a maiden with long hair trapped atop the tower, she giggled to herself as she turned and started walking once more.
After a short time, she finally came across the farm she'd heard about and introducing herself to the farmer - a stout fellow named Maggot - she told him what she wished. He pursed his lips, saying that he usually didn't sell his mushrooms out to just anyone, but agreed to let her come look at them. Her eyes widened in appreciation of his large farm, the mushrooms well tended in tents, the scent of fresh dirt filling the air. Turning, she asked him if she might taste one perhaps, and begrudgingly he allowed her to though he seemed rather pleased when she announced to him that they were some of the best she'd ever tasted. Relenting, he agreed to sell her a pound of them, setting his price and, Zan not willing to argue the point, quickly paid him and gave him the address to where they were to be delivered.
Turning back, she made her way back up the trail, the sun's rays already starting to dim and her daughter growing fussy for want of food. Cuddling Althessia to her, she briskly walked back to the inn where, after ordering a small meal to be delivered to her, headed to her room to tend her daughter and settle them in for the night.
