Monarch Hill

"The monarchs that come here in the summertime have been known to blanket the long grass and wild carrot of these rolling hills.  What a sight it is!"

That is what Maya Mulberry, the pony rancher would say.

We asked about her when we went to the Honey Festival.  The long-time residents of the area said that she was part of a caravan that was heading north.  The residents said that the caravan stopped in the town for the night before moving on.

Well, as fate would dictate, the caravan left early the next day.  Unfortunately, the child Maya was left behind.  One of the nursemaids found her, and immediately notified the watch.  The town elders sent a rider in search of the caravan.

The rider found the caravan, and those who led it.  He informed them of the child that was left behind.  When the rider returned, he gave a letter to the elders that had been written by the leaders of the caravan:

"Dear good people,

We are survivors from the lands in the southeast.  We were besieged by raiders that would continually attack our little village.  Over time, the raiders became more brazen, and eventually started to do in our people and take over their homes.  We had a council in secret, and decided that it would be best to leave.

By cover of night, we packed our things and left.  Some of us returned to the abandoned village and set fire to every building.  If we weren't going to be left alone, then the raiders weren't going to have what we had built.  The last of us said that he saw the raiders return to find smoldering buildings and ruined fields.

Of the child, we do not know who she belonged to.  It was possible that her kin were victims of the raiders."

The long-time residents said that it did not take long for the people of the town to become smitten with the child, and that she was immediately claimed by a couple that still lives in the town.

Maya had become a member of the town, and it was clear that she was beloved by everyone.

The long-time residents also said that she married and moved to a newly founded town north of Monarch Hill.  They said that she lives there with her husband and three children, and often comes down and visits her parents and the town.

Perhaps, we will visit the pony ranch one day.