Harris Greensilver was more often than not the one to call out the familiar stops as his wagon was usually first. It was not necessarily the sturdiest, it had been inherited thrice already, but his peshmies were large and their steps were very confident, a trait of increasingly high importance in the old decrepit paths. Harris had named the animals Spot and Browny not the most creative as names went but he felt like they suited the rodents, they were both just above five feet at the shoulder, their was fur shaggy and in the case of Spot a rich almost red brown spotted with black while Browny was predictably a pure light brown. Their legs were stumpy but strong and ended in heavy hooves, their heads were big and block-like, with small ears and big yellow incisor teeth poked out of their mouths. They were not very threatening looking animals but their teeth were very sharp and peshmies were known to ram animals or people when threatened. Harris had raised them since they were barely able to walk, even keeping them in the cart during a couple of mountain passes when they were newly born. Matilda Greensilver liked to joke that he cared for them better than he did the children. Of course that wasn’t true, but Harris did love Spot and Browny. He together with Matilda had taken charge of several children through the years and he was proud of them all, but with time they had all gone to other carts, some even having charges of their own now. Spot and Browny had been with him for nearly five decades now and they hadn’t shown any sign of tiring.
All of this was why when Spot suddenly stopped as they were preparing to go down into the gorge that was the Redstone-stop Harris yelled for a general stop, to many groans from expectant children, and a few from equally expectant adults.
-
Within ten minutes Harris was next to his wagon, discussing with Troy Green, Magtha Sunset, and Jonah Azure the people generally responsible for the caravan’s safety.
“Something could’ve moved in here, several of the caves are deep enough for bears and the like.” said Harris while patting Spot, both him and his brother seemed agitated now.
“There’ve never been bears, wolves, or mountain lions here.” Said Magtha sceptically “At least not in living memory, we’re too far south the peninsula they’d have to cross leagues, and between here and the Mysten woods there’s either cities, swamps, or flat farmland it doesn’t seem likely that anything would’ve moved here.”
It was true that while this mountain range had been largely abandoned by most peoples it was still considered one of the safer places that the Readers cycled through, the fact that they were the only people here also meant no bandits, and the city states of Tel’Morén to the north were between them and anything really dangerous, be it wild predators or something more sinister. The lack of danger and the temperate climate meant that they could forage for the many of the plants the Readers used to make dyes and the odd medicine for trade. If one were to fully explore the Aberimm mountains, as they were called, they’d likely find several Reader camps this time of year. None of this however meant that they should be rash.
“True as that may be, there is no sense in hurrying, it will take but half an hour to be thorough and Spot’s nose has rarely been proven wrong.” Said Troy Green and Magtha relented with a grunt. She wanted to get on with the many tasks that were associated with making a long term camp, but she knew Harris and Troy were right.
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“Get the crossbows, Troy your bow.” Jonah’s voice betrayed some worry, Renni ,one of his girls, was apparently already in the forest getting blueberries.
“We can check out the gorge ourselves Jonah, Troy should take Sam and go after Renni just in case.” Jonah looked thankful and anxious at the same time. He would surely want to go himself but Troy and his husband were the closest thing to hunters among the Readers and they would be faster at finding her.
“Don’t worry Jonah, this is likely nothing and Renni knows these woods, I am sure she’s fine.”
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“So these… twins? Do you know where they’re from? I’ve been in these woods a few times and I don't think there's other people here.”
Their village is north of here I think, naturally I was never there but it should not be too far, they would come often, and sometimes they brought other people here too. They said they celebrated my existence as an elder. I think I remember other people celebrating different “elders” when I was young, but it was long ago.
Renni and I had been talking for a while and it was getting easier. Renni looked like she was having an easier time understanding. Apparently she was not from a village nearby as I had thought but part of a caravan, I could remember the colourful Readers passing through so that made sense to me, they had been invited to the celebrations in my glade a few times I had liked them. Something else was becoming increasingly clear as the conversation went on and my thoughts hastened.
“Tell'Abim, do you know when that was exactly? Our stop is north of here and I’ve heard people say that it used to be a village or town, but that was really really long ago I think and we’d know if there were other people around.”
So they had left after all. The more I thought about it the more I realised they wouldn’t have just forgotten me, or stopped talking to me, even if Hastor and Helen had passed, I was sure that someone else would have come to talk with me, if maybe not as often. It also didn’t seem probable that the twins would’ve left, at least not without telling me.
I am not sure how long it has been, it is hard to tell when no one wakes me. I think something bad must have happened to them, can you please ask about them?
Renni stood at that and brushed off her dress. “Of course, we’re frie-” A new person walked into my glade. My attention had been on the past and on Renni so when the man half walked half ran out of the treeline we noticed him at the same time.
The man walked towards us in a haze. His hands were over his gut and they were bloody. He had not seemed to notice either me or Renni in his confusion, he just kept walking in the same direction. Renni overcame her surprise before I did.
“Mister? A-Are you ok? I can get someone to help you..” Right as she finished her sentence, the man stopped walking and started coughing violently. Still in a daze he raised his arm to wipe his mouth, and I saw the wound. Something jagged had violently pierced him in the gut. His flesh around the gash was purple and his blood was too dark and viscous. The vessels that were visible through the hole in his clothing radiated black from the wound, almost like roots. He went to start walking again but he tripped on my roots. He passed out almost before impact.
As this person started taking his last breaths on my roots, barely a few steps from the young girl, I suddenly knew. The shock finally seemed to drive the fog from my mind. This was wrong. Violence, death, and decay were a part of this world, they were immutable. Inevitable. But not here, not beneath my leaves and upon my roots. This was neutral ground, it always had been.
NOT HERE.