poemtry and prose

When they left the Obelisk, Stick was first to break the silence, "So guys. I am starving. And I know you both probably are as well. What do you say we start our journey off right by eating some breakfast?"

"Sounds like a good plan. We can go over the map while we eat, so Cassie can get an idea of where we are headed," Hazel replied. "And you are right, I am hungry."

They walked past the Obelisk, heading into the opposite direction than Cassie and Hazel arrived the day before. The streets were once again bursting with activity, people trading wares and exchanging services. Heads turned towards them and children hovered near as the three past by. Apparently the news got leaked out and all of Stonehaven knew who they were and what they were doing. Cassie blushed uncomfortably, the teasing she endured at school made her uncomfortable when people looked at her for long periods of time.

They entered a small cafe made of wood and mud. Hazel explained to her that the sign above it's door read, "The Horsefly." They grabbed a table, carved from a stump of a large tree, near the window letting the sun warm them.

A barmaid floated over to them, a feather and pad in hand, "Hello, welcome to The Horsefly. What can I do ya for?"

Hazel became the undesignated spokesperson, "We will have 2 bowls of porridge and this little one here," he pointed at Stick, " would love some berries and Flax leaves. Oh and three glasses of water, please."

The faerie noted their emblems as she took their orders, "Okay. Got it. Coming right up and she darted off to the kitchen to place their order.

While they waited, Hazel retrieved the map from his pack and laid it out on the table for all of them to see. He started explaining the route they were going to take pointing to Stonehaven first and then to two more towns. Vertley, where he hoped to stop and rest the first night and then to the second, Greycliff. Finally he pointed to their destination, the silver mountain. Hazel explained that it was 20 miles from Stonehaven to Vertley and luckily, most of the terrain was flat forest. Greycliff sat at the bottom of the mountain and it was from their that they would have a long, steep climb ahead of them.

Their porridge and berries arrived and Hazel put away the map. The faerie floated each bowl and plate down in front of them. Cups of water appeared from thin air and filled themselves full with water. They thanked the barmaid who flew off to attend to the rest of her customers. During breakfast they keep the conversation light, sharing their thoughts about the previous night's festivities. Stick entertained Cassie and Hazel, babbling on about Eleric and the massage he had given her as personal farewell present. She also promised them that when they returned to Stonehaven, Elric would give them all massages.

They left The Horsefly a bit fatter and more energized. Hazel lead them through Stonehaven, back to the tall wall and gate. The gate looked exactly like the other, with two ogre guards standing next to their posts. This time, when the three of them passed thru the gate, the ogres stood at attention, their pikes standing tall and proud in their honor.

Once again farmlands stretched outwards from the town. Green grass and trees and red vegetables filled the spaces between farms. They walked down the past, Stick humming songs for them to pass the time. Occasionally dirty dressed farmers stopped what they were doing and looked up as the three past by their land. Some waived at them, others nodded solemly. When they passed the last farm, they paused for a moment. Cassie drank from her canteen and looked back at Stonehaven. "Fare thee well, Stonehaven. Fare thee well," she thought, "I will see you soon. I promise."

The land continued to spread out in the valley. Every now and then a few trees and bushes appeared. The ground grew soft beneath thier feet, and soon they found themselves traveling alongside a brook. The water glistened in the sun, sending foamy bubbles up into the air as the water hit rocks lodged in the ground.

"If you look closely, you can see the goldmuppies swimming down river towards that waterfall," Stick explained.

"Oh yeah, and this time I will not make you cross a big, scary waterfall," Hazel chimed in.

Cassie laughed, defending herself, "I did not mind. It neat. And I did not say it was scary."

Bushes grew close to the brook and as they walked further into the day they grew taller until golden leaved trees flanked them on both sides. Their branches shimmied in the wind that swept past them, sending them into a cascade of sound. The forest they had now entered was filled with these trees. Their roots digging deep into the soil and running towards the water that sustained them. Occasionally Cassie saw smaller blue and red trees clumping between the long canopies of the golden trees. It felt like summer but the amazing color of the landscape made it look like some small child's color concept of what autumn was to be like.

They paused twice more during the day. Once to have lunch, by the brook, where they ate jerky and berries and drank water. They refilled their canteens with the fresh forest water as well. While Stick sunned herself on a rock, listening to the sounds of water, Cassie stuck her hand into the river, sprinkling the little faerie.

"Hey! That is cold," Stick called out, rushing down to the water poised in retaliation. Hazel offered no help as he enjoyed the small war between his two friends.

They also paused a half mile from Vertley. The sun casting late afternoon shadows over the trees. Traveling all day wore Cassie down. Not wanting to disappoint Hazel, she pushed herself. A bit too hard because her body stung and hurt all over. Somewhere nearby a twig snapped. Immediately Hazel dropped his hand to the hilt of the knife on his belt, his eyes scanning the area from when the sound came.

Cassie stood still, her eyes also darting around. Stick moved back into Hazel's pack, preferring to keep her little body out of danger.

"Show yourselves," Hazel challenged the forest. Laughter answered his call. They had been followed. Five green bodies dropped from two nearby trees.

"Bandits," Cassie whispered, rushing over to Hazel. But she was not fast enough for one of the faeries grabbed her and pulled her into his chest. The creature smelled horrible, as if it had not taken a bath in months. Cassie held her breath and tried hard not to throw up. It smelled her, snorting loudly as he did it.

"Let her go!"

The other four faeries surrounded Hazel, prepared to fight. They looked at each other and then back at Hazel and laughed.

"No. I do not think so," one of them said. From the looks of his colors and size, this was the leader. They did not have wings and their black hair grew straight and tall, cropped into spikes at the end. They wore pants but had no shoes or shirts. Knives were also tucked into each fae's pants. "We know she is not from here. She smells differently, right Juklak?"

The faerie holding Cassie snorted again, "You are right boss. This one don't smell like anything I ever smelled before. Tastes different too." He licked Cassie's neck. She kicked a foot back but missed.

"Let her go. You do not want her, trust me," Hazel said, trying to think of some way to get them out of there without having to fight. They were still too far from Vertley to call for help. Suddenly an idea popped into his head.

The boss continued to taunt, 'You are out numbered. And our weapons are much stronger than your tiny blade. I do not think you are in any position to demand such things from us."

"Boss," the third one chimed in over the laughter, "I wanna slit his throat. Can I? Can I? Then we can take the girl and sell her. I am sure we can get a lot for such a strange being. If she is as intelligent as she is limber, she may fetch a good slave wage."

"Silence. Did I ask for your opinion," the Boss turned towards the now cowering faerie, "No. We will kill him, all right. And I will take the girl and sell her, no trade her for wine and money." He reached for his knife.

"I do not think you want to do that," Hazel started, faking a cough. "You are right, the girl is special. But I really doubt she will fetch you much money or ale." He coughed again, spitting phlegm onto the ground. "You see, she is a carrier of the plague."

Their eyes widened at the statement. Juklak pushed Cassie hard from him and put his hands to his mouth, his nails ripping into his tongue, "You are not joking," he said. "Gawd! And I licked her skin, I am a gonner for sure."

The Boss held his ground, Hazel hoped the green man was as stupid as the others who backed away from Cassie. She walked over to him. Hazel coughed some more.

"You fools, do you really think she carries the plague? Look at her..." but doubt clouded his eyes. Hazel coughed some more, dropping his knife to the ground. He started shivering and held his sides tight, "Oh gawd. Stop. Oh the pain." He reached out his arm to the Boss, "Help me."

Cassie walked closer to the Boss, "If you do not leave now and let me get this poor boy to the town, he will grow sicker and vanish. And you will be next." Cassie kept walking towards the green faerie. Terror crept over his face and he ran off into the woods, calling out for his cohorts.

Laughter came from Hazel's back. Stick was howling with laughter, "Oh goddess, dear me. Hazel that was a bold and smart move you pulled there."

Cassie helped her friend from the ground and hugged him. "Yeah good one. Thanks for saving me. Again."

"I am just glad I did not have to fight them. I doubt I have enough energy to take on the lot of them. And I am sure they were not alone. Come on, let's get to Vertley before anything else happens."

The sun had just set behind the mountains, the last remaining rays of light lingering over the Vertley. Unlike Stonehaven, all the homes in this town were made of mud. The buildings were circular and only level tall. Roofs made from the large golden leaves capped each home. What also set these homes apart from Stonehaven was that at the center of every home, a the tall stock of a golden tree grew upward, covering each domicile with their canopy.

Small fires had been light outside. More green faeries huddled close to some of the fires, tending to kettles and pots filled with food. The smell of stew and freshly baked bread filled Cassie's nose. Her stomach rumbled.

A green faerie approached them. He stopped and stared at the silver medallions. "Oh my, you are here. We have been waiting for you." He pumped Hazel and Cassie's hand and gave Stick a finger to hold as well. "I am Mac, leader of this little village. It is a pleasure to have you stay with us."

"Thank you," Hazel said. Cassie nodded as she was too tired to speak.

"I trust you had a safe excursion?" Mac asked. Hazel told him about their unexpected visitors. "Most unfortunate. I am sorry they picked the wrong folks to heist. They are outcasts of our society. Having taken to a way of fighting that is far from our peaceful existence. I am sure they will not bother you anymore from you have told me. Heck, they may never come back here again either."

Mac lead them through the village. Green men and women followed them as he proudly talked about his village. He then stopped at a clearing, a small table had been set up. Two candles flickered, the only thing of interest. "I apologize for our humble accommodations. Like I said, we keep to ourselves and tend to eat in the burrows."

They sat down around one of the tables. Two green fae walked over and set plates in front of them. A bread bowl filled with a starchy soup sat in the middle of the plate. A spoon carved from wood sat besides it.

"Thank you ladies," Mac said. "That will be all. Enjoy your meals." The two women bowed and walked back to their homes.

Mac bowed his head, saying a few words to honor the meal. Then he picked up his spoon and pushed it into the soup. Hazel tore off a bit of bread and handed it to Stick who happily accepted it and started eating. Cassie also put her spoon into the bowl and started eating.

At first, she thought they were going to eat yet another meal in silence, but then Mac put his spoon down and started asking them questions. He was full of questions, wanting to know where Cassie came from, what she saw, what her world was like, how the three of them met. Sometimes he rambled off two or three questions at a time, making it hard for the tired Cassie to remember what she was saying as well as what he asked.

Hazel intervened, "Mac, this stew is wonderful. Can you tell us how you made it?"

Mac stopped and blinked, "Well, the recipe is quite modest actually. We use water, of course, for the broth and then cut bark from the trees and tublars from the ground. The bread, well we have grain imported for that."

Cassie thought Mac was modest. He seemed more interested in their stories than sharing any knowledge on his people and culture. She figured that it was just apart of their culture, and kept secret. When they had finished eating, Mac took them to a large bonfire. In the middle a fae stood, waving his arms while he told a story. Children sat at his feet, entranced. They sat down as the storyteller finished his tale and then clapped. In a gesture of thanks, Stick stood next and graced the whole village with her voice. She sang a rowdy bar tale first, the men shouting out when asked, in return to her lyrics.

After that, she calmed the night down by singing a ballad sung in her native language. Cassie thought the language sounded like two chickadees singing their springtime songs. When Stick finished, everyone cheered and thanked her for her voice. The fire raged on and the faeries broke into small familial groups, speaking in hushed tones about the daily chores.

Cassie leaned against Hazel's feet, the fire lulling her into sleep. Stick had crawled up in his lap, and had fallen asleep as well. Mac walked over to them, "If you would like, I can show you where you can rest for the night."

Hazel nodded, carefully scooping Stick up into his hand. She shifted, lost in dreamland and relaxed. "Cassie," he whispered. "Come on. Mac's gonna show us our beds." She rubbed her eyes and stood. Luckily their burrow was close to the bonfire. It was smaller than the others. Three beds surrounded the perimeter, three lamps sitting on three tables, giving them light. They thanked Mac and got ready for bed.

Cassie slipped under the heavy blanket. The mattress was not as soft as the one at the Obelisk, but her body did not care. She fell asleep to the sounds of Stick and Hazel snoring in their own beds.