Sadness dampened Rejji’s smile as he asked, “Did you know my father?”

“Of course,” nodded Brontos. “I have been going to your village for over thirty years now. You grandfather and I had a very good relationship. Stopping in your village was like meeting with old friends.”

“What was he like?” Rejji inquired.

Brontos scratched his head and stared into the fire. “He was a quiet man. Quiet but strong. He wasn’t accepted well when he first arrived. The other villagers considered him an outsider, but your grandfather stood by him always. Over the years, I saw the changes in the villagers towards him. He was always the first to help a neighbor or to entice the village into trying something new. Purchasing different seed types was his idea, something that you continued to do by gathering the teeth. He would have approved of your boat plan very much.”

“It sounds like you liked him,” smiled Rejji. “Why did he decide to leave? Did the villagers chase him away?”

“No, no, no,” insisted Brontos. “He became very respected in the village. Nobody would have asked him to leave. The village came to depend on him. No, he left for your mother’s sake.”

“My mother?” quizzed Rejji. “I don’t understand. Whenever I asked grandfather about it, he just said they would be back soon and then wouldn’t talk about it again. They never returned though. I don’t think they ever planned to return.”

“There you are wrong, lad,” Brontos declared. “I was there when they left. In fact, I offered my wagon to transport your mother, but your father refused. It was the only time your grandfather argued with your father. Your grandfather didn’t want his daughter to leave, and if she had to, then he wanted her to ride in the wagon, but your father said it would only slow them down when they had to cross the mountains. They left the following morning on one of my horses. I had a devil of a time returning to Khadora with only one horse.”