The Village in the Hills

Previously: Esmiralda and her companions have discovered that the shattered ship—found upside-down and in the middle of a forest—was once captained by Harfirgorn the Merciless, a pirate of some repute that had vanished long ago. Following clues in a log book they find in the pirate’s quarters, they hope to discover clues to his final resting place. On the way, they meet up with a lady of the wood whose husband has succumbed to the vile magic of the pirate's witch. Together, they search for the source of her vile magic.


We crested a hill and saw a small village laid out in the valley below us. A few houses were huddled near another, larger structure that looked like an inn or a trading post--perhaps both, for it had an enclosed pasture behind it that backed up to the forest. Near that a barn sat with open doors. Two horses grazed outside, although what they nibbled on I could not be sure. The yard contained more dirt than grass. I heard the rhythmic sound of someone chopping wood, but could see no one.


The inn was a long rectangular structure that had a second story perched above the end closest to us. A chimney made of rough stone let out a thin wisp of smoke from the other side. The smell of roasting meat reached my nostrils and my stomach rumbled with desire.


Merrick frowned down at the small settlement and scratched his head. He looked questioningly at me, and I nodded. Seymuhr stretched his arms and Broo Fang Tane wore a slightly worried expression.


"Do you know anything of the people here?" Merrick asked Baram.


She nodded once. "They are simple folk, but good. They may be wary of strangers, but I doubt they pose any danger--if that is your concern."


"It is," he admitted with a gesture toward Tane. "My companion does not always mix well with 'simple folk.' Or rather, they do not always mix well with him."


Tane bowed his head, embarrassed. "My message does not...always...find suitable...soil," the little man said in his usual, halting way.


"Do you think we should risk it?" Merrick asked me.


I didn't want to answer too quickly. I would have, at that moment, given my left leg to eat anything besides spiders. We had consumed so many of those eight-legged beasts that I would not have been surprised at all if I started to sneeze silk. I pretended to consider our options, looking down at the valley and then up at the mountain again. Also, I was in no hurry to face the mountain witch, if her power was as vast and dark as I suspected.


"I think it might prove valuable," I answered. "It may be that these good, simple folk, know of our quarry and can aid us--with information, if not sword or axe. We may also find provisions."


"Indeed. It's settled." Merrick looked at Baram. "Are you familiar to them? Do they know you enough to put credence in your word?"


Baram gave a slight shake of her head. "I do not think so. I fear most who live near here would consider me somewhat aloof. They do not seek me out, nor I them."


Seymuhr grunted at that and I flashed him an irritated glance. "We will have to introduce ourselves, then. Perhaps we should leave Seymuhr behind? Until we know it's safe?"


"Keep him in reserve, you mean? In case they are hostile?"


I shrugged. That hadn't been my first thought. My first thought was that our best chance to make a good impression on a cluster of wary strangers would be to keep Seymuhr out of sight and, if possible, down wind. There was no reason to risk offending him by giving that thought a voice, however. "I just think we should be cautious, this close to the witch's lair."


"I a...gree," said Tane. It was the first time I heard him sound anything but cheerful. What had happened to make both him and Merrick leery of interaction with others?


"Then let me do the talking," I said. "I would guess that I am the least threatening of all of us."


I shouldered my pack and led them down the hill.

The words we make

Previously: Esmiralda and her companions have discovered that the shattered ship—found upside-down and in the middle of a forest—was once captained by Harfirgorn the Merciless, a pirate of some repute that had vanished long ago. Following clues in a log book they find in the pirate’s quarters, they hope to discover clues to his final resting place. On the way, they meet up with a lady of the wood whose husband has succumbed to the vile magic of the pirate's witch.


Baram paused, a quizzical look on her face. The forest was deep around us, the mountain still distant. Between us and its gray slope, a thin curl of smoke rose into the air. The trees teemed with life, even though the chatter of birds sounded sullen and muted.


"We must be drawing near," she said. "The air grows foul."


Seymuhr turned away, snickering into his palm, and I rolled my eyes. "Your senses are indeed keen, daughter of the wolf, but they mislead you this time. Our companion has difficulties that frequently cause exception to the nose."


It was as polite as I could put it and it made the thick brute howl with laughter. I felt my cheeks color, having to explain such a thing to this noble forest warrior. I looked to Merrick for help, but he had not paused. His back disappeared behind a thick trunk and so I walked on, instead. I fell into step with Broo Fang Tane, happy that Seymuhr was behind us and the wind favored his position.


"How came you to this company?" I asked him. I knew little of any of my companions, of course, other that Merrick was an agent of the Ministry of Human Preservation and Tane was a monk, an optimist by calling or disposition. "It is unusual to find someone of such continual good cheer this far south in Korin."


He nodded slightly and beamed, his eyes half closed. His fingers, tucked up into his sleeves, suddenly appeared as he plucked a forest poppy from the ground and held it up.


"What use is the seed, if it stays where it is...planted?" He asked. A slight breath scattered the white pods from the flower. One of them landed on my upper lip and I sneezed so violently my ears rang. "We train not to perfect our art, our joy, but to share it."


"I see," I said with a nod. In truth, we were much the same, except his charge was to spread the seeds of optimism throughout the land and mine was to gather these nuggets and preserve them in the annals of Queen Phedera's history books. I was a Falcuhn, a gatherer of histories and stories.


"In truth," he said. "I was never much...welcome...at the Temple of the...Sun. No one would tell...me of my fam...ily, or the circumstances that brought me...there. I...taxed my tutors more than my peers did."


"How so?" It was the most I had heard the little man speak, and I was curious. I wondered if his usual slow, halting pattern of speech was due to a lack of practice and was determined to help him. After all, in the dangerous world of Korin, one who tried to bring happy news could not afford to be slow about it.


"I saw it in the ...little things. I knew I was tol...erated but not love...d."


I gave him a sympathetic look and patted his right shoulder. My arm briefly encircled his back and I was surprised at the coiled power I felt there. He might have been a slight man, but he was in his own way as sturdy as Seymuhr--perhaps more so.


Tane looked up at my touch and smiled broadly. Suddenly, the words flowed out of him like a creek gurgling down a hillside.


"I remember one day I was helping in the kitchen," he went on. "It was not my usual station but the sun was...hidden...and it was cool. I thought my assistance would be welcome there. The head cook went by the name of Grool, named so because of the meal he served up on odd-numbered days.


"He was a fine cook, given to ominous words," Tane went on. "He weighed each one and delivered them like they were a dish prepared for the High King. I found him that day stirring a vast pot of bub...bling brown...liquid. A silver plate piled high with sliced meat and mashed fruit was nearby.


"'You'll find a gravy boat on that shelf, in the corner,' he told me when I asked if I could...help. Make it live up to its...name.' I leapt up to the counter and stretched to find the vessel, then dropped it into the steaming...vat."


Tane paused, giving me a sheepish look. I wasn't sure what to say. Had I missed the significance of this odd tale? He was silent for a few minutes, so I prompted him. "What happened?"


"He swore at...me, of course. 'What are you doing, you rock-headed toad?' I told him that I had followed his instructions. I pointed to the dish, floating--somewhat, any...way--in the gravy. 'Is that not what boats do?'


"'You fill  a gravy boat with gravy'," he said. He spoke very slowly, a kind of...wonder...in his voice. "You don't float them in gravy."


"'Why aren't they called gravy buckets, then?' I asked him, but he didn't answer my...question.


"'Just take it out of there,' he grumbled, a hand across his forehead. 'Put it aside.' I did as he instructed--again--and tilted it on its side. 'There,' I said, 'now it's a gravy shipwreck.'"


I smiled, in spite of the gravity in his tone. "They made you leave the temple because of that?"


"Oh. No. I was still very young then. That did not make them show me the door to that hoiy place, but I suspect it unlocked it. I gave them...other reasons...to make me leave. I was not a good...student."


And then he was silent, his hands tucked up into his sleeves once more.