Golden Door Chapter 10 James and the Tree part 2 of 2

March 26, 2025March 2, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The imp became the first to recover. “Aw. I’m not scared of her,” he said. He looked back at the twins for support, which they gave by nodding their heads, though they looked plenty scared.

Tekos turned serious. “She should scare you.” He whispered in a James sort of soft voice. Then he spoke up. “Back in the day, we were considered lesser gods, ourselves, though not immortal like the Gods, and yet this one even scares me.” It felt like a big admission.

“Well, we’re not afraid.” Grubby the imp tried again.

“I am,” James said. He remembered the witch and the arm half-way into the room, reaching for his neck. He shuddered.

“Me, too,” one of the dwarf twins admitted.

“And me, too,” the other echoed.

“We all are.” Mrs. Copperpot nodded and looked ever so stern. “But we still have to do what we can while we are able. The Lord Kairos is depending on us. There is no one else.” She paused to explain their mission to Tekos; that they were headed to the castle on the hill to try and set Lord Noen free and release the prisoners from the dungeon if they could.

With that said, Tekos leaned down to James and smiled, his wooden face crackling with the movement. He laid a gentle, though bark-rough hand against James’ cheek. “But I would not see you go defenseless into the lion’s den,” he said. He lifted his hand to James’ head, and his eyes went wide. “Son, I see that you have already been given every talent and connection to the dwarfs and those that walk the earth in between the light and the dark. There is much that you will have to discover and learn, but there is one thing I can activate in you.” He paused and appeared determined. “I have no authority to change you into a lion, you understand. I may not be able to affect the son of the Kairos at all, lesser god though I be. But I think it would be good to keep up with these other misbehavers, and glamour your way to the castle. Yes, I think you ought to be able to put on a good glamour when you have a mind.” He took his hand away as if already finished with his work, and the twins pushed forward.

“Try it out,” they echoed each other again.

James did not understand. “What’s a glamour?” he asked.

“An illusion,” Tekos responded.

“It’s how we move about sometimes when we are in substance form like now,” Mrs. Copperpot began to explain, but stopped when she saw it did not help.

Grubby pushed the twins back behind him and spoke. “Like when some human person comes tromping through the woods, and there isn’t time to go invisible-like, we make an illusion.” Grubby stepped back, and James suddenly saw a bush of thorns where the imp had been. “What dumb mortal is going to guess I’m not a real bush?” The bush finished the comment.

“Try it out,” the twins said again, though they kept back as if even they seemed reluctant to get too close to the thorns.

“It’s easy,” Grubby said, and he reappeared as the bush disappeared.

“But.”

“Just think about what you want to be,” Tekos said, gently. He laid a very long fingered hand on James’ shoulder.

“Just think,” Mrs. Copperpot urged. “But think with your belly, not with your head.” She stopped. She imagined she would confuse the boy again; but in this case, James understood what she said, or he thought he did. He did not think of it exactly. He more felt it. Then he was not there, but aware of the illusion which was a lion, and he roared loud enough to echo through the forest. The twins jumped behind a tree, and Grubby swallowed hard. Even Mrs. Copperpot looked startled, but Tekos merely smiled.

“And now the glamour will remain as long as you want,” Tekos explained while James licked his hand like Seabass his cat so often did; and the illusion lion licked its paw and looked every bit like a real lion. “You must think yourself James again to come back.”

The inevitable thought came. What If I can’t do that? But James tried, and it turned out to be very easy.

“That was great. I’m Picker.” The head stuck out from behind the tree.

“That was really great. I’m Poker.” The other called down from the third branch above. The young one quickly climbed down, while James studied them. He decided that apart from their short stature, not unusual for boys, the only way he could distinguish them from the purely human boys in his school was the fact that they both sported the beginnings of serious beards. Otherwise, they looked like perfectly normal, dark-haired, bright-eyed boys.

“’sall right,” Grubby admitted, but he looked impressed. Grubby, on the other hand, had a bulbous nose that seemed a bit too big for a human nose, and bulgy eyes which looked more nearly like little saucers. He did not exactly look non-human, but then he did not exactly look human, either.

James had a thought. “Will you come with us to the castle and help rescue everyone?” he asked before anyone could stop him.

“Oh, no, dear,” Mrs. Copperpot spoke quickly. “It’ll be dangerous enough just for the two of us.”

“Oh, please.” Tekos spoke almost as quickly. “My dear Mrs. Copperpot, you are a far better choice to watch these young ruffians than I. I understand the danger,” he assured her. “But if they do not go somewhere, I fear you may return to find no forest at all. You may find nothing but cinders.” He looked cross as he pulled a small broken branch from Poker’s shirt, and then snatched several light-anywhere matches from Grubby’s pocket with such speed and dexterity, the young imp could not do anything but shout.

“Hey!”

“Please, my dear Lady Copperpot. I must insist.” Tekos looked stubborn. One might say he looked rooted in that position.

“Yes, my Lord.” Mrs. Copperpot would not argue, but she had something more to say. “You three had better mind,” she insisted, shook her finger at them and lingered on the imp.

“We will.” Picker and Poker readily agreed, and even the imp nodded.

“Will you come with us?” James asked the dryad.

“Alas,” Tekos said in his most tender voice. “Apart from an invitation and under the protection of Lady Alice, the Kairos, your father, I cannot. Like the Naiads and their springs and grottos, and the Oreads and their stones and mountains, I am bound to the trees. I cannot go far from my roots, you see?”

“I see,” James said, but he felt disappointed to hear it. He imagined this great, tall tree-man might come in very handy against whatever they faced.

“Well, then,” Mrs. Copperpot said, as she came to grips with her extended responsibilities. “Let’s be off. Time is short, and there is a ways to go yet to reach the castle.” She reached out one hand, and the dwarf twins came forward. Grubby held back a bit, until James took the imp’s arm in encouragement. Grubby smiled.

“Son of the Kairos, indeed,” Tekos said, with his own creaking smile. He no sooner finished speaking, however, when the ground began to tremble. It felt like an aftershock from the previous night’s earthquake, perhaps, but this one felt stronger than the other, and it went on longer as well. Everyone fell to the ground. The twins crawled up beside the bigger dwarf, and the imp all but buried his head in the dirt. James tried not to scream, even as he tried not to get sick. The crashing of trees started in the forest, and the voice of Tekos rose-up.

“Hold to your roots! Keep a deep grip!” It felt hard to tell what or whom he spoke to as a nearby tree began to topple toward them. James got a good look, but afterwards, he could not say if the two big branches happened to be in the right place to catch the tree before it crushed them, or if the branches sort of grew and reached out to grab their fallen comrade. Then the earthquake subsided, and the earth stilled.

As soon as she caught her breath, Mrs. Copperpot stood. “Come,” she said. She looked up briefly as a shadow crossed the clearing. “Time is short.” The young ones followed, and only after reaching the path did James think to look back and say, “Thank you.”

“Don’t be a stranger.” James heard Tekos, either on the air or in his mind, but he could see nothing but trees.

************************

MONDAY

Chris discovers there are dangers in the dark, and Beth could tell him there are dangers in the bright sunshine as well. Until Monday, Happy Reading

Golden Door Chapter 10 James and the Tree part 1 of 2

March 25, 2025March 2, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

James had to hustle to stay beside Mrs. Copperpot despite the dwarf’s short legs. She did not ignore him, exactly, but she did not talk much, and she loved the brisk stroll through the old growth forest. James did not worry too much as long as he kept to the path, and as long as he could keep up, he would not complain. The trouble, of course, is dwarfs can walk at a spritely pace all day and all night without a stop, and James soon found his legs were not used to so much rapid walking.

He paused at one point to catch his breath and give his legs a breather as well. “Hey. Just a minute,” he said, but between his soft voice and Mrs. Copperpot’s elderly ears, they did not make contact. James bent down to tie his shoe and thought that the woman stopped, but when he looked up he did not see her.

He ran a little to catch her, but just around the corner, he came to a crossroads of a sort and felt stumped. He could neither see her nor hear her, and he felt afraid for a minute that he might be lost. Then he felt the urge and sniffed. Without hesitation, he knew exactly which way she went. James could never explain how that worked. He said, much later, that it seemed like a sixth sense, something Angel had given him, but in this case, since it was the first time he tried it, his mind filled with doubts. He started down that path, but then backed up to the crossroads, and thought that surely Mrs. Copperpot would notice his absence in a minute, and she would come back to that place to find him. He did not want to be wandering down the wrong path and miss her. His father always said if he got lost, he should stay where he was and wait for the others to find him.

James looked around and decided that apart from being a place where two paths through the forest crossed, nothing special stuck out about his location. There were trees, piles of old leaves, bushes, vines, and a few flowers all around him, but the paths seemed clear of debris and so he sat at the very cross of the crossroads and waited. He heard a rustling in the leaves and started; but it turned out to be a squirrel, as he guessed. The birds came out as well. He began to hum and then mouthed a few words. He moved his arms and elbows sharply back and forth as he sat.

“Now we’re not complaining, but there is still one thing remaining. For bread is quite boring if that’s all you eat.” He screamed. A vine came up from behind him and wrapped twice around his middle. James leaned forward to grab what he could, but the path was just dirt without even a protruding rock to hold on to, and the vine pulled him back among the trees.

“Help! Help!” James cried out, and he flipped around to see where he headed. He spied a fly trap type plant big enough to swallow him, but also a tree root that stuck up out of the ground. He grabbed the root and held on, and his motion toward that plant trap stopped while he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Help! Help!”

A man stepped out of the tree, or at least it looked like that to James. The man raised a staff of oak and spoke to the fly trap in some ancient language. The plant immediately burst into flames and withdrew the vine from James’ chest. The man spoke again, and the wind came and put the fire out lest the whole area of dead and dry leaves go up in flames. Then he grabbed James by the hand, without looking at the boy, and pulled him away.

“Come along you nuisance. Are you the imp or one of the twins?” James kept his mouth shut, but apparently, the man thought he was someone else. At last, they came to an area that could not be seen from the paths. Nothing grew in that spot other than sweet grass all the way around in a circle, and in the center of the circle of grass, a tremendous, thick, gnarled old oak grew in primeval splendor, taller than any of the other trees around. It looked like a hand reaching for the sun. “Now let’s see.” The man said, and he spun James around rather rudely; but paused when he got a good look. “Why, you’re neither imp nor dwarf,” he said. “If I did not know better, I would guess you were a mortal human, though I don’t suppose the creature in the castle would be daft enough to allow that to happen.”

“I’m James,” James said hopefully. He did not want to be cross with his savior despite the rough handling. The man turned James around for a thorough look, while James also examined the man close enough to realize that it was not a man. For one, the hair looked too thick, and the face and hands too scraggly, with warts that looked almost like tree knots, and skin that seemed a bit rough and brittle as well, like bark. Most of all, when the man finally stood upright, he apparently stood about ten feet tall, and that made James, who was short for his age, feel especially short.

“I am Tekos the Seventh, Lord of the Oak Wood,” the man said, and with hardly a breath, he added. “And you are mortal, human, aren’t you?”

James shrugged. He could not be sure what the Lord of the Oak was asking. “My father is the Kairos,” he said. He thought that meant something in this world, even if he did not exactly understand what it meant.

Tekos’ eyebrows lifted slowly, and James heard the sound of crackling wood. “I’ll bet the-should-be-gone goddess in the castle did not plan on this.” He smiled.

“No, sir,” James said, politely.

Suddenly, the man-creature softened and plopped down on the ground to speak to James more eye to eye. “You know my sire, the first Tekos by name, did your father a great favor in ancient times. He was rooted in Greece, not far from Athens, and he opened a way for some friends of your father so some of the little spirits could travel instantly from Greece back to their homes at the top of the Black Sea. Of course, your father was a god himself in those days, the Nameless god, but the story says he was very young and did not yet know how to do the work on his own.” James shook his head. He did not follow the story.

“James!” The call came from the path.

“Over here!” James shouted, in case this Tekos turned out to be not so nice as he seemed and tried to stop him from speaking. Then he explained. “Mrs. Copperpot. My, er, friend,” he concluded. He realized that he did not know what else to call her. She was not his babysitter or any such thing; certainly not his cook, though he would not have minded if she was. He supposed guide would have been a reasonable choice, but friend just seemed friendlier.

“I see,” Lord Tekos said, and crinkled those eyebrows up once again. He called out himself. “James is here, and safe!”

A moment of crunching through the bushes followed. James thought that surely Mrs. Copperpot would not make all that noise, when he saw her holding a youngster by the ear and followed by two other boys of some sort that had their heads down like they had just survived a good scolding. He heard the one in her grip.

“Ow! I tell you, ow!”

“Quiet, Grubby,” Mrs. Copperpot said, in a voice not to be argued with. “You behave or I’ll twist the ear right off. And you two, Picker and Poker, I expect better from you than to hang around with wayward imps!”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The two boys in Mrs. Copperpot’s train spoke in unison, but neither raised his head.

“James!” Suddenly the imp got dropped and forgotten as Mrs. Copperpot raced forward to embrace the boy. James did not mind the hug, but he felt a bit uncomfortable as well. He decided it would be all right provided she did not start slobbering over him like a seldom seen grandmother. Besides, the hug felt brief as Mrs. Copperpot turned quickly to Tekos who had stood to his full height and towered over them all. “Lord Dryad.” The dwarf curtsied.

“Lady. Have I the honor of addressing the great Lady Copperpot of the golden cauldron?”

“I wouldn’t say great, your worship.” Mrs. Copperpot turned her head, shyly, and curtsied a little once more. Tekos merely smiled before he turned on the three youngsters.

“And you, you rascals.” Tekos eyes creaked down to slits as he peered at the three boys that James suddenly realized were not boys at all, though they appeared to be about his age. “Did you hear this fine lady? Your behavior is in need of repair, lest you call attention to yourselves and the creepy thing in the castle grab you.” The way Tekos said creepy thing sent chills down James’ spine, and he saw it affected the others in a similar way.

Reflections Flern-8 part 1 of 3

February 6, 2023January 18, 2023M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Heads nodded with understanding as Wlvn spoke. He felt he had been patient enough. “But now, you have something to tell us I think.”

“Indeed,” Lord Oakvein also nodded his head. “Of late I have become aware of a great power in the east. Her eyes are turned in this direction, and not for good. She alone has power to force others to her will. There is nothing that even the gods can do to force my will, being counted as a lesser god myself, but I fear the little ones, the elves and dwarfs and the dark elves who live under the mountain might not have the strength to resist her. As for men, she might not have the power in herself to take a whole village. I see she has soldiers for that task. But one man here, one woman there might be swayed by her, even at this great distance. I know you oppose her. Be careful whom you trust. What is more, she does not work alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“I cannot say who, but I imagine one of the gods themselves is supporting her, directly, and I see the other great gods holding back as if they promised not to interfere.”

“The gods don’t make promises,” Wlvn said.

“So I have heard, but they may pledge to stand back for a season. It is not unknown.”

“One of the gods?” Vinnu sounded frightened by the thought of opposing a god.

Wlvn could not help teasing her. “Do you see what trouble Flern has gotten you into?”

Thrud and Tiren laughed nervously.

“I don’t care.” Vilder spoke up, and it sounded a bit loud. “The Jaccar have taken our homes and imprisoned our families. I will fight the gods if I have to in order to set them free.” Pinn touched Vilder on the arm and leaned up to kiss his cheek. Everyone but Oakvein and Riah gasped. They had never seen them so much as touch. Vilder also appeared shocked, from the look on his face, but he quieted and took Pinn by the hand, and they held hands for the rest of that night.

“What of the Were?” Wlvn asked.

“I do not know,” Lord Oakvein admitted. “They may be beyond her reach for one reason or another.”

Wlvn nodded. “I am not as concerned about my little ones as I am about those that are not mine.”

“Your little ones?”

“Yes, mine and Flern’s.” Wlvn told Oakvein, and the others by extension, though they understood or suspected as much.

“So that was why she traveled with the half dwarf and the half elf and Moriah’s mother, Laurel. But what of the mermaid? How do you explain that?”

“Tell us about Flern,” Vinnu spoke up. She wanted to get her mind off the idea of fighting the gods.

“Yes, what did she stumble into?” Thrud asked, having been exceptionally quiet that whole time. “Flern was always a pretty good klutz.”

Lord Oakvein lifted his ivy vest and showed his scar again. “That sword, actually.” He pointed at Wlvn. “She was learning.”

Wlvn listened at that point. He felt glad to hear that things were continuing according to plan. Skinny Wlkn and Elleya were still clinging to each other, Badl and Moriah would end up together and Flern apparently found the one Mother Vrya and Aphrodite designated for Andrea. If Wlvn should find his way back to his own time, he would not have to marry any of those women. He smiled and turned over to sleep while they talked, Riah right in the middle of the conversation.

Wlvn instinctively knew it would be best not to listen too closely. If he heard too much about how things turned out in those days, he might be tempted to change things, or accidentally change things if and when he got back there. He considered his situation and wondered briefly if this double trade might really be the accident it seemed, but then he slept.

In the early morning, Riah woke with him before the sun. They walked as they talked so as not to wake the others.

“You were named after Moriah, my friend,” Wlvn said it out loud.

“Yes.” Riah looked at the ground. “She died seventy-two years ago, the day I was born. She and mother were best of friends.”

Wlvn nodded and stopped when the light began to peek above the horizon. “And Badl?” he asked.

“Very old,” Riah said. “His son, Balken is chief of the dwarfs of Movan Mountain.”

Wlvn stopped walking at the edge of a small clearing and looked at the elf. She became self-conscious under his stare and looked away. “So, you are seventy-two. From your appearance, a girl about fourteen or fifteen sounds right.”

“I am older than my mother was when she accompanied you, I mean Flern.” Riah said in her defense and wondered what Wlvn might be getting at.

“And I suppose you can’t tell me what happened with your mother.”

Riah shook her head. “Mother was right about that. I never paid attention. I only know what Lord Oakvein spoke about last night, and I am sure some of that is not to be told. I would not be surprised if the others woke up without remembering it at all, and while I remember what he said, I am sure my tongue will not form the words. The law is young, but I know the law in my deepest being. I cannot tell you about things you have not experienced for yourself, even if they are things in the deep past.”

That was indeed the law, his law. It was safer that way. He understood, but he did not answer. He stood still instead when he heard the bushes rustle behind him. Riah looked and smiled, but Wlvn figured it might be one or more of the others. His eyes were drawn instead to the increasing light in the forest because that light did not come from the rising sun.

After only a moment, a bright white light erupted from the trees and into the little clearing. When the light dimmed, they saw a unicorn, its horn pointed up in a non-threatening manner. It shook its head and glowing white sprinkles fell from its mane. It pointed at Wlvn and stomped its left foot twice on the ground. Then it turned and bolted back into the woods to be lost from sight.

Reflections Flern-7 part 3 of 3

February 1, 2023January 15, 2023M G Kizzia Leave a comment

In the morning, Wlvn rode out front with Riah close beside him. He needed Riah to show the way, but he also wanted to keep a close eye on her. The more he learned about his many lives throughout time, the more he learned that prolonged interactions between humans and his little ones were not recommended.

Vilder and Pinn rode behind and stayed very quiet the whole day. They only passed occasional whispers between them, and while Wlvn knew full well Riah listened in with those good elf ears, he refused to hear what he assumed was private. Meanwhile, Thrud and Vinnu became very talkative and animated the whole day. It had to do with the terrain, the weather, men and women, husbands, babies, and whatever else came to mind. Tiren and Gunder came next and said nothing, being content to let their women do all the talking. Wlvn only hoped that Kined and Fritt were paying attention at the rear of the column. He felt a little concerned that neither Kined nor Fritt had yet expressed their feelings about Flern’s disappearance and his arrival in her place, but he could not worry about that just yet. It would happen.

In the meanwhile, Wlvn instinctively kept his ears open for the sound of a baby cry, a sound seldom, if ever heard when the sun came up bright. They were night creatures after all. Of course, he knew he had fallen into another time altogether and he had no reason to suppose the Wicca would follow Loki’s pattern. He did not imagine the woman, powerful as she might be, would even have access to night creatures. It would take a god to bring them from their world of origin, wherever that might be. Still, he listened all the same, and the more so as the sun began to set.

He called for an early camp and let Riah practice her hunting skills while the couples built a fine fire. Wlvn sat and occasionally stared at Kined and Fritt. He did not know what to tell them. He knew that Flern started seriously falling for Kined, if not already fallen, and he got the impression the feelings were mutual, poor Fritt. Sadly, there seemed absolutely nothing he could do about it but stare at them now and then and sigh. Things generally stayed calm and quiet in the camp until he heard a voice instruct Tiren.

“Please take only the fallen and dead branches, if you don’t mind.”

He heard Fritt fall over. He imagined Tiren fainted as well. He heard Gunder shout and Vinnu scream, and he sighed and got to his feet. He found a tree-man, a dryad some eight feet tall, well back from them all, and posing no threat to anyone. In the perfect timing that the little ones show now and then, Riah came into the camp at that very moment, a roe deer slung over her shoulders.

“Hello, Lord Oakvein,” Riah said. “An honor to see you again.”

“My pleasure, young daughter of Laurel the Wise.” Lord Oakvein smiled at the elf as Riah walked to a small clearing downwind from the camp where she could butcher the deer for their supper. “You are not the young woman I expected,” Lord Oakvein turned his eyes on Wlvn. “But unless my old memory is failing me, I would say you look exactly like her in a masculine sort of way. Besides, I recognize the sword.” Lord Oakvein lifted the ivy that hung like a vest around his shoulders and showed a scar in his right side. He continued to smile and appeared to consider the scar something like a badge of honor.

Wlvn returned the dryad’s smile and invited him in. “Come to the fire, though not too close, of course. Fritt, get up. Kined, help Tiren. Gunder, why don’t you go help Riah butcher the deer. Ladies, I believe the water is boiling to make the elf bread. Vilder and Pinn, you might want to stick with me. I imagine this good gentleman has some news for us.”

“Not entirely good news, I’m afraid.” Lord Oakvein shook his head as he stepped up to walk beside Wlvn.

They passed pleasantries for a time, until the deer got cooked. Strips of meat started being smoked to take on the road. The bread also got made and some tubers, not unlike potatoes that Lord Oakvein pointed out. They cooked quickly. By then, the company had become comfortable with the dryad’s presence and found him to be a kind and caring soul. But by then, it had also become dark in the woods, and the travelers were inclined to keep close to the light of the fire.

Finally, Lord Oakvein told something of himself. “I am the spirit of the forest,” he said. “I feed the birds and animals that live in my place, and I know that they, in turn, feed others. Even those that die of age feed my roots and help me reach for the light.” He paused to nod at Riah. “The elves of Miroven take the dead and fallen wood. They also cut the trees I mark, the diseased, broken, and stunted ones.”

“Does that hurt?” Vinnu interrupted with the question.

“Like a haircut,” Wlvn responded. “Go on.”

“The elves do me much good when the fires come.” Lord Oakvein took a breath. “But the men by the rivers have no restraints. They take what they will and cut down what they would have. I am the one who is restrained from interfering, but then I have seen the homes and wagons and great things they have done with my wood. I am not unhappy that they nibble at my edges.”

“Good to know,” Vilder said, and he explained when the others looked at him. “We have cut many trees from the forest around our home, but I never thought of it as cutting into someone who was alive.”

Lord Oakvein smiled again for the young man. “All of creation is alive in one form or another. It would be very sad if men began to think that all the world was dead and empty.”

************************

MONDAY

After a visit with the Dryad, Wlvn and Flern’s friends follow their elf guide into dwarf territory. And Kined proposes to Flern, which is strange. Too bad Flern is not there… Until Monday, Happy Reading.

Reflections Wlvn-9 part 1 of 3

November 7, 2022October 15, 2022M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After a moment of shocked silence, everyone laughed a thank God no one got hurt kind of laugh. Badl’s branch was gone, but Badl stayed good about it. They had plenty of fallen lumber around to make another club. Flern called to her sword and expected it to vacate the tree and fly back to her hand. Like Thor’s hammer, the sword and long knife of the Kairos always returned to the hand when called. But this time, though the sword wiggled, it stayed stuck.

“You must have really done something,” Laurel decided, and looked big eyed at her lady. Flern just frowned a little and stepped up to the tree. She grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled. It came out a few inches, but then got pulled in again, deeper than before.

“That’s odd,” Badl said

“Someone is fighting you,” Moriah added

“Maybe the Giant?” Elleya suggested.

Wlkn swallowed. “Or maybe the god with the Titan.”

“Loki?” Flern shook her head. When it came to something serious, Loki did not play games.

“Maybe the tree.” Laurel whispered her suspicions and on the mention of it, Badl readily agreed, and Moriah agreed with him, though she was honestly just being agreeable.

“Maybe it’s the tree,” Badl said.

“Oh.” Flern had not considered that.

“Don’t be silly,” Andrea said. “Trees aren’t alive, at least not like that.” And Wlkn and Elleya were inclined to side with her, so the group appeared to be evenly divided. Flern took a step back.

“My apologies Mister Oak,” she said. “This was not intentional. I deeply regret if I caused you any injury.” She paused, and after a time of silence, there came a response.

“I should think an apology is the least you could do. You nearly cut one of my main arteries.”

“I am sorry. I am just a beginner,” Flern said, and she looked sad to think she may have really hurt something.

“You have obviously not made a very good beginning,” the tree said.

“Yes, but that is what I keep trying to tell everyone. I can’t do this. I don’t have it in me to hurt anyone or see them hurt.” Flern found a few tears. Silence followed for another minute before the tree spoke again.

“There, there. No real harm done.” The Dryad came out from within the tree. He stood about eight feet tall and still looked like a tree, but in a human form, with a bark covered but relatively human face. He held the sword in his hands. “Here. Clearly you need practice. That is all it should take.” He handed back the sword and Flern immediately put it away. “I tell my acorns all the time that you must plant your roots deep if you wish to grow tall and strong.”

“Thank you, sir.” Flern wiped her nose on her sleeve. “You are very kind.”

“Think nothing of it,” the tree said, and thus began an hour of company that no one expected. It became a most pleasant lunch, so much so that Andrea, of all people, asked the tree if he would like to travel with them.

“No.” The tree responded honestly. “I thank you for the invitation, but the forest is where I am rooted and where I will stay.” After that, they said goodbye and moved along, and Flern thought of herself as a lucky girl to have gotten out of sword practice that whole time.

In the afternoon, Laurel moved up to ride beside Badl and Moriah. Flern suspected that Laurel began to realize that Moriah might really be a very nice person, but on the surface, she needed to be in front because Badl sometimes seemed unsure about the way. This hill country, the foothills of the mountains, had real hills that were tall enough, so they had to wind their way around and through them, rather than going over them. The ice and snow covered the tops.

After an hour, they began to move away from the mountains, and when Wlkn asked, he got told that the hills became very rocky ahead and full of earth slides and narrow ledges that would be very hard for the horses. They needed to go around that part to reach the Prt River, and then after that came the River Swr, and one village they could not avoid because it lay at the foot of the mountain pass.

Andrea moved up that afternoon to ride beside Flern, and they got to know each other a little better. Andrea did not appear to mind Flern as she had minded Wlvn.

“Of course, I am still not going to marry you,” Andrea said with a grin. “I don’t go that way.”

“Me neither,” Flern said. “That’s just what Ydunna said.”

“The goddess?” Andrea’s eyes got big at the thought, but she started adjusting in her mind to this new land and a whole new set of gods and goddesses, and she probably did not even realize it. Flern just nodded, and Andrea let out a little of that healthy, but nervous laughter. “What is it with you? Every time I turn around you are talking with the gods, cavorting with elves and dwarfs, and them bowing to you like you are some sort of goddess yourself, you are flying and tossing men through the air like they are just little pebbles or something. It is always something; but then I just spent an hour talking to a very nice tree, so what do I know?”

“But that wasn’t me, mostly,” Flern said. “I just got here.”

“Wlvn the man or Flern the woman, it is still just you, and I am not just saying that because you look like him. You can change to a hundred different people, change your appearance and everything, and it will still just be you, the same you as it has been all along.”

That was not entirely true. She was not just the same person living different lives like photocopies of herself. She felt more like different persons in time, with different personalities and upbringings and everything. Clearly, she might be the same consciousness, the same spirit if you will, and maybe she shared the same basic genetic code, the nature part of her seemed nearly identical, outside of some cosmetic changes, and the male-female thing of course, but the nurture part, all of her upbringing, her family, her culture, language and everything was always different, and sometimes radically different. Still, it felt insightful on the part of Andrea, and Flern told her so.

Suddenly, Badl stopped. Moriah looked back while they all stopped. Laurel put her hand down toward her bow, but she did not draw it up. Flern and Andrea heard the distant male voice grow louder as the man came closer.

“Almighty Perun was my grandfather, the god of all the righteous. Vashti the spring was my grandmother who fills the world with life and love. My father was the mighty man whose voice made the mountains tremble, and my mother is the sun, the moon and the stars. Her paps are the great hills of Mara on which I suck my daily milk. And I am the meanest, biggest, strongest man the world has ever seen. I am so big I can stand on the hills and piss into the sea. I turn the rivers yellow with my stream. I am so tall I can sit on the mountain and dangle my feet in the deepest valley. I am so strong I can wrestle the bear and win three out of three falls. I rip the sapling from its roots for my toothpick, and I grab the wild boar for my hairbrush. Women tremble and throw themselves at my feet. Men tremble and get out of my way.” The man came out from the trees, and he certainly looked tall, being well over six feet tall by Flern’s estimate, and broad, though it appeared hard to tell how broad he actually might be given the bear skin coat he wore against the cold. “And here I am, little people, to be your guide through the mountains and beyond. Sweet ladies.” He tipped his beaver hat. “And you men, are you not afraid to cast your eyes on my greatness?”

Avalon 4.9: part 3 of 6, Some Big Help

August 17, 2016July 30, 2016M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“Strangers. Where have you come from? Where are you going?” one big warrior stepped out from the crowd to address the travelers. Lockhart and Katie got down to answer. The others stayed in the saddle, but Mingus had a suggestion.

“Time to take off the glamours.”

Mingus and Boston let their elf nature free, and after a moment of thought, Elder Stow dropped his glamour of humanity. The Gott-Druk still looked more or less human, but as a Neanderthal, the emphasis was on less.

“We are just passing through,” Lockhart said, and he tried to not look threatening, though to the people he may have looked like a giant. The big man of the locals was a good three or four inches shorter. “We came to your land through a door in the sea, and we are going to a door on the other side of this island. Let us pass and wish us luck and we will leave you in peace.”

An old man dressed in leaves stepped to the front. He held a stick with a human skull upside-down on the end. He shook it and it rattled like a baby rattle, suggesting the skull had some pebbles inside. He spoke in a sharp and loud voice.

“You have disturbed the Eniwahs. The land rejects your intrusion. You must give gifts to make amends. We will take two of your beasts and sacrifice them to the spirits of the land.”

“The shaman,” Katie whispered. “Possibly the chief.”

Mingus got down with a sharp word for Boston. “Stay here.” He walked himself and his horse up to stand beside Katie and Lockhart. “We are the spirits,” he said. “The spirits of your land are hiding because you are so cruel and make too much war and killing. You must learn to be good to travelers and kind to the strangers among you.”

“You insult our ancestors,” the shaman yelled. “Now you must give us all of your beasts to satisfy the old ones.

“My turn,” Elder Stow said, with another word for Boston. “Stay here.” He stepped up to the others. “I am the old one. Your ancestors are ashamed of you because you treat outsiders badly. You must learn to treat outsiders like family, no matter how strange they may appear to you.”

“You don’t do the telling,” the old man screamed, and looked like he was going to give himself a coronary. “I have the power. You must do as I say. We will sacrifice all of your lives, you and your beasts, to satisfy Dienak and Shamoak.”

Alexis had stepped up by then, but she said nothing. She had her wand and gathered a pocket of air around her hand. She pointed at the man and the air hit him like a punch, knocking him over. The rattle flew out of his hand, and his leaf skirt became shredded. The warrior who spoke stared, first at the shaman, and then at Alexis. The crowd of warriors behind him that had been mumbling, now spoke up, loud and afraid.

Lincoln stepped up beside his wife and Decker came up alongside Elder Stow. Decker shared his thought. “For the first time, I might feel bad if I have to kill them all.”

Boston shouted from behind. “Can I move now?”

The earth began to shake. People feared an earthquake. Some locals looked to the mountains, afraid one of the volcanic peaks popped its top. Two men-like people, roughly twelve feet tall, stepped out from the woods, one from the jungle and one from the mangrove.

The shaman got his rattle. He ignored everything in his anger. Apparently he had some magic, because Alexis saw the magic come from the man like a counter-attack. It was pink, the color of a fine tropical sunset, but it stopped after a short way, and the man himself froze in place. Men ran screaming for the village. Some fell to the ground, covered their eyes, and trembled. The big warrior in front also looked petrified, and did not move.

The man from the jungle looked very tree-like, covered in soft bark for skin and with leaves for hair. “I am Dienak,” he said.

“I am Shamoak,” the other said. He also had a tree-like look, but his limbs appeared to be gnarled and he came draped with seaweed.

“You called?” Dienak asked, and smiled.

“Thank you in advance,” Lockhart said, quickly.

“I really did not want to kill all of these people,” Decker mumbled.

“But, that would not have been a terrible thing,” Shamoak said.

“The little one is right. The little spirits hide because these people are cruel and like to eat everything that is not them,” Dienak explained.

“Extreme Daleks,” Boston said as she finally joined the others.

“Come,” Shamoak said. “I will take you out of the territory of the Tadek.”

“I will keep the people here so they do not follow you,” Dienak volunteered.

“Thanks,” Boston shouted up at the tree-man. He smiled.

“Quite all right, little one. My pleasure.”

###

They hardly began to follow Shamoak when the rain came. It poured, drizzled and stopped on and off all night.

“Tadek?” Katie asked right away.

“The small island off the coast. That is where this tribe came when they first arrived, and they have their main village there. But the island is too exposed to the ocean and the Typhoons, so they have come to settle in three places on this main island, and let the smaller island of Tadek act as a barrier to the wind and wave.”

“They settled peacefully?” Lockhart asked.

“No,” Shamoak said. “They drove away or ate the people who welcomed them ashore.”

“What?” Lincoln was listening in.

“There are still many alive,” Shamoak said. “I believe the main island is home to a half-dozen tribes. Fortunately, the mountains on the big island make contact between tribes rare enough, and the island is big enough to avoid competing for resources.”

“You sound well informed,” Alexis said.

“Yes. Feilo is a fine and bright fellow. He knows many things that I would not otherwise know.”

“Man or woman,” Lockhart agreed. “I have always found him to be honest and giving.”

Shamoak made the trees stand aside so the horses could come through safely. There was not anything he could do about the rain, and soon enough the journey became soggy and miserable. The horses moved, but with their heads lowered, and at best they shuffled forward. The people did not blame them. Shamoak did not seem to mind the weather

After three hours, they were well out of the area and not likely to be followed. Shamoak said goodbye, with a warning. “This rain is the leading edge of something. I would guess in two or three days and we will have a real blow. I think I will go and fasten down my roots.”

The travelers said good-bye and decided to camp where they were. It was dark from the rain clouds and the sun was setting, even if they could not see it. Shamoak had led them to a broad, elevated field where there was plenty of room for their tents and the horses. There was not anything handy to eat, but for one wet night, it was about as good as they were going to find.

Elder Stow put up his screens against intrusion, in case the blobs or people showed up, and he set the particle screen to block the rain without blocking the air. He could not do anything about the soggy ground, but the fairy weave tents could be built with waterproof floors, so it was not so bad. The horses would dry and there was plenty of grass for them to chew on, soggy though it might have been.

It took some effort for Boston to get a fire started with the wet wood. Mingus helped, but he reminded her that while he had fire at his fingertips, it was really his secondary strength. His main magic was mind magic. Boston was the fire girl. The Amazons called her Little Fire. So she started the fire, but Mingus helped. Then they did not have much to cook.

Alexis had some plantains to fry and a couple of those early avocados to share, but otherwise they had to make do with the last of their smoked tuna. Mingus thanked Alexis for her good cooking, and everyone, Alexis especially, wondered if he felt all right. Little spirits rarely got sick, but fevers were not unknown. Lincoln and Boston were the first to think that maybe, after all this time, just maybe Mingus was coming around.

Everyone huddled around the fire for most of the night. Everyone got some sleep, since now the rain was not falling on their heads. They all took their fairy weave blankets and rubbed the horses. Horses could get sick, so they gave them extra attention and covered them in the night. They hardly needed the blankets in a land where even with a cold night rain the temperature never got below seventy. In the daytime, the temperature would creep up to eighty-five or more, no matter how hard it might rain.

Lockhart and Katie flattened two fairy weave tents so they could lay their saddles out and keep them dry. Elder Stow kindly snored inside his tent, and Major Decker chose to sleep in his tent as well, but the rest laid out with their saddles, under the sky full of clouds and rain. Elder Stows screens not only kept out the rain and the blobs, it also kept out the rats, bats, lizards, birds, and innumerable insects, some of which could be pretty nasty.