approach her. The man was slender and in his early thirties: he was starting to grey around the temples. The boy at his side, probably his son or nephew, was about her age.
Completely speechless, Ramella stared intently at the pair for a long time. Then, in a shaky voice, she stammered:
"J..just who are you?"
"My name is Menell, and this is my son, Ranthas," the man
answered calmly.
"I'm Ramella. I'm sorry for running away."
"Quite a natural response to someone you don't know, Ramella.
We are both delighted to meet you, as well as grateful. You un-
doutedly have many questions for us, first of all, "What are we
doing here?" Right?" The man's easy manner allayed the rest of
Ramella's fears.
"Well, yes," was all that Ramella could manage to say in
response.
"Well, in that case, let us sit a bit," Menell answered. "Ranthas
and I have come quite a way to end up here, and we are quite far
from home. We're both rather tired. By the way, where exactly
are we, at the moment? What is this place?"
"This is Copper Point", answered Ramella, with a hint of pride
in her voice. "Our village is right up there, just beyond the cliff",
she added, casting a glance over her left shoulder. "I'm not even
supposed to be here, on the beach," she resumed. "It's strictly
forbidden! Still, I love seashells! Wanting to find some got the
better of me."
"You found a good deal more than you expected, today," Menell
said. His humour made her giggle. "So, where shall we begin?
It's a long story. What do you know of Kithan?"
Ramella returned a blank stare. "What's Kithan?"
"It's the continent we are from, beyond the Velta Parthas," Menell
explained. "We have sailed for two months before landing here, at
Copper Point. I can't tell you how happy Ranthas
and I are to have found dry land!"
(Stay tuned for the continuation of Chapter 1, coming soon!)
