<><><>
Elias awakens in a hay stack. He sits up, confused. Looking around he sees that he is in a small barn, on the edge of an impressively large stack of hey, in the company of three sheep and a boy, a man.
“Ah, you’ve awakened.” The boy smiles gently. He is dressed in a yellow tunic a few sized to big for him, a leather belt pulling it in. his reddish-brown hair is cut into a pageboy bob at the chin. He has a large nose that has not yet adjusted to his face, a face just barely leaving its youth behind. “You were in an awful wreck, I’m afraid your companion has yet to awaken.”
The man laying on the other side of the hay now catches Alice’s attention. The driver of the carriage, Elias remembers. He remembers that he will likely not awaken for a long, long time. The driver was wounded, yet patched up. Elias notices a bandages around his own wrist.
“May I ask your name?” asks the boy-man.
“You may call me Elias.” Elias says carefully. “What may I call you?”
“Oh, hmmm.” Something crosses the boy’s mind, a sudden hesitance. “You may call me… Ruthy.”
“Ruthy?”
“Yes, that what you can call me.”
The two stare at each other in mutual suspicion.
“Alright then, Ruthy, I apologize for inconveniencing you.” Elias stands up, hiding his difficulty. He bows politely. “May I ask the location of my carriage and horse, so I may continue my journey?”
“Are you going to leave your friend behind?”
“No? Why would I do that.”
“So why don’t you wait until he awakens?”
“He’s not going to awaken any time soon, clearly, perhaps you can help me carry him to the carriage.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work.” Ruthy says annoyingly.
“Why not?”
“Your carriage is damaged, from the crash.”
“What crash?”
“The one I found you in.”
A spark of memory in a pounding head. The carriage swerving, the driver collapsing.
“Then I will repair the carriage, or take the horse.”
“You will carry an injured sleeping man on a horse?”
“You are not being very helpful right now.”
Ruthy stands, waving Elias to follow. “Here, I will show you.”
The two walk across a grazed field, a few flocks of sheep guarded by dogs dotting the setting. At the far edge of the field, the grass stops at a cliff as high as a two story house. At the base is a smashed carriage, and a dead horse.
“May my father take the horse to be skinned?” asks Ruthy.
“Skin a horse?” Elias asks back, admittedly a bit scandalized at the thought.
“No use in wasting good leather.”
“Horse leather?
“Yes?”
“Truly I have left my homeland.” Elias kneels before the horse, muttering a short funeral prayer. “The horse shall be buried.”
“Buried!” it’s Ruthy’s turn to look scandalized. “That’s good leather, meat, bones, and hooves! Do you have no respect!”
“Do you eat horses in this land?”
“Do you eat sheep?”
“They are hardly the same!”
The two glare at each other.
“The driver will not awaken, he has fallen under a curse, a curse that now infects my entire kingdom.” Elias tells Ruthy.
“How did you escape untouched?” Ruthy asks.
“By my lady’s blessing.”
Elias stares into the distance, at the sun low in the horizon. He breaths in, chest shaking, the breaths out. He is in another land now, his quest ahead of him. Turning slowly, he looks at Ruthy, and asks: “How much will your father pay for the horse?”
<><><>
Elias swallows disgust when he agrees to sell the corpse of the horse to Ruthy’s father. The large man does not speak a word to Elias directly, only whispering in Ruthy’s ear. Elias wonders what Ruthy had told his father about him. Ruthy’s father takes the horse into town, likely to a butcher to Elias’s disgust, leaving the two behind, alone.
“Would you like something to eat?” Ruthy asks. “Do you eat?”
“Why would I not eat?”
“I asked what do you eat.” Ruthy opens a cabinet. “We have… bread and jam mostly.”
Elias is mostly sure Ruthy is human. It was more of a cautionary move to not give Ruthy his true name, not that Elias has had access to that for awhile now, having gotten used to the persona of Elias by now. Hardly a persona at this point.
“What sort of jam?”
“Raspberry, mostly.” says Ruthy.
“That is agreeable.”
Ruthy, a good host, slices open a lump of bread, spooning a lump of jam into it before handing it to Elias.
The kitchen is medium sized, good for cooking yet barely stocked. The farmhouse old yet in good shape, not large, but larger then the occupants need. For all Elias can tell, the only people who live in this house built for a large family, is a family of two.
Biting into it, Elias finds both bread and jam of good quality. The bread has to have been well kept, not fresh but not stale, and made from flour of a medium grind. The jam is sweet with a sour edge. It’s… its food.
“So, if you’ve escaped a curse, now what?” Asks Ruthy.
“I must travel to the capital of this kingdom.”
“Do you know what kingdom you are in?”
“No.”
Ruthy props up his chin on his fists. “This is the kingdom of the rolling hills, the grasslands of the sheep herders.” He looks at Elias with a sharp eye. “What kingdom do you hale from?”
Elias stares back. “I come from the kingdom of the deep valley, of the cliffs, on the edge of the sea. I have crossed the lush forest to come as I am to this place.”
“Did you?”
“Yes, why would I lie about that?”
Ruthy breaths in deeply, appearing, and likely is, steeling himself. Exhaling, he asks: “Are you fae?”
“No.” Elias answers bluntly.
The two stare at each other for a few long, long seconds.
“Are you lying?”
“Please stop and consider what you are asking.”
A laugh bubbles in Ruthy’s throat. “Yes, of course. If you were fae you would be unable to lie so bluntly.”
“Unless I was half fae.”
Ruthy freeze, then glares at Elias, who remains as flat and deadpan as always.
“I am not half fae.”
“Unless you are lying.”
“Unless I am lying.”
Ruthy sighs somewhat dramatically.
Elias chews the rest of his jambread.
“What curse has overtaken your kingdom?” Ruthy asks.
“A sleeping curse.”
“What sort of sleeping curse?”
“Am I to take the implication that you are under the impression there are multiple variants of sleeping curse?”
“I find the existence of varying forms of sleeping curse to be self evident and obvious, what type of sleeping curse has over taken your kingdom?”
Elias eyes Ruthy. “The kind that makes everyone fall asleep.”
“Is that it?”
Elias frowns. “Yes.”
“So every single person fell asleep at the same time.”
“Not all at once, it took a full day to spread completely.” Elias half-lies. “That is how I was able to escape it.”
“Did it take awhile for everyone to fall asleep because they would fall asleep at different points?”
“No, once taken effect anyone who went to sleep would not wake up.”
“Then how did you awaken? You were very much asleep when I found you.”
“Easy, I did not fall asleep until I was knocked out in the crash, and at that point I was no longer within the kingdom.”
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“Do you think your driver will awaken?”
“Unknown. I think it may be best to leave him here.”
“You’d burden us with him?”
“He will require no care beyond shelter while asleep and even barely that, and if he awakens he will make for a strong farmhand. From the looks of things you could use that.”
“Perhaps.”
<><><>
When Ruthy’s father places a bag of coin into Elias’ hands the next morning, he says something Elias didn’t expect. “My son will join you on your journey to the capital.”
Ruthy stiffens at his words, eyes wide “fa-”
“We already spoke of this.” the father halts the protest. “Travel down to the river, take a boat from there, you will arrive at the capital in due time. I wish you both luck.”
Elias opens the bag to finger the foreign coin curiously. Ruthy heads up the stairs, footfalls heavy.
“If he knows what good for him, he will be picking up his cloak and staff and satchel.” says the father.
“Thank you, sir.” Elias gives a small polite bow.
“I’m an honorable man, I only ask you show me the same and do well by my son.”
“Of course sir.”
They stand beside each other silently, Elias eyeing the stair out of the corner of his eyes. He can’t help but wonder to what degree the man perceives him to be fae, and if he is dishonest to take advantage of the man who’s actions are effected by the indirect lie. Elias needs as much of an advantage as he can get, his lady waits for him in the cursed brambles, so perhaps it is hardly a slight.
Ruthy to his credit does return with a dark leather cloak of good quality that makes Elias raise an eyebrow, a satchel tucked under his arm and a thick wooden staff in his hands.
“What of the sheep?” he asks his father.
“Darcy’s boy needs something to do with his time, she will gladly give him to me.”
“Darcy’s boy will not do right by my sheep.”
“Yella will nip his heels if he doesn’t, continue your path with unclouded thoughts, boy.”
Yella, the dog, looks up from its place laying on the floor at the sound of her name.
Ruthy’s cheeks puff out childishly, but he swallows his complaints and walks towards to door. “Come Elias, let us get going.”
Elias joins him without comment, and the two of them head out into the day.
<><><>
“You can see the river ahead.”
Indeed the flat land of this kingdom allow Elias to see very, very far. Even from the one road, he can already see distant settlements over the rolling hills. It’s near vertigo inducing, the sky feeling so much closer with the low horizon, Elias began to realize what those foreign books meant when they described the world like a sea of grass. It was as if god has flattened out hills with a roller.
Ruthy’s staff is atop his shoulders like a yoke without the two water buckets usually paired with that kind of posture.
“Long walk.” Says Ruthy.
“Yes, it is.”
Ruthy smacks his lips three times, then begins to whistle. A tune forms, unpleasant to Elias’s ears.
“I must request you cease.” says Elias, face tightened into a look of pained irritation.
“Just filling the air.”
“Surely there are better sounds to fill the air with.”
“Such as?”
“Can’t we simply chat?”
“What do you wish to speak about?”
The sound of caws above their heads, Elias looks up to see a flock of birds, unsure if their feathers are dark or simply contrast sharply against the sun behind them.
“What sort of birds are those?” Elias asks.
“They are birds.”
“What sort?”
Ruthy stares up, squinting. He shields his eyes with his hand to see more carefully. “I think they might be loons, from the lake-lands north of here.”
“Loons?”
“Yes, loons.”
“Fascinating.”
“Really?”
“Not really, I am simply making conversation.”
They walk in silence for a few more minutes. The grass is thicker and taller the further they get from the farm. Elias isn’t sure where the farm ends and the vacant grasslands begins. Perhaps it is all farmland, no thick forest of rocky cliffs to contain and constrict what land can be harvested. Back home the people were in constant battle with the wild, carving out livable land between inhospitably.
No fae forest must make it a safe place to live, and Ruthy living on the edge would be more experienced with such things then others of his nation-kin. That would explain his hesitance to tell Elias his name.
“So why do you need to go to the capital?”
“You join me in my journey without understanding it?” Elias asks. “I need to speak with your king, both to bring news of their neighbors downfall and to ask of the prince’s charity to undo the curse.”
“What need do you have of the prince?”
“I need him to break the curse, I just stated as such.”
“You stated no such thing.”
Ruthy runs ahead a few paces, swinging his leg to kick a small rock. He stops, looking back at Elias waiting for his companion to catch up before continuing to walk.
“So you need a Prince to break the spell, what else?” Ruthy looks at Elias with a tilted head
“He needs to collect three keys.”
“Is that it? I could probably find three keys pretty easily.”
“Magic keys.”
“Magic keys are a bit harder to find yeah.” Ruthy taps his chin. “Are princes overtly inclined towards finding magic keys?”
“Princes are overtly inclined towards going on quests and breaking curses.” Elias explains. “As are youngest sons, and the occasional shepherd boy. Historically, at least.”
“Are you a youngest son?”
“I am my father’s youngest heir, yes.”
“I’m a shepherd boy.”
“That was the impression I got, yes.”
“So with the prince, you as a youngest son, and me as a shepherd boy, we have a remarkably good crew to go on the quest to break the curse on your kingdom!”
“Indeed.”
Ruthy seems somewhat satisfied by his deduction being validated along with his own role in the quest ahead. He swings his staff around absentmindedly, and Elias steps back to avoid getting whacked.
“I’ve never been on a boat before, what are they like?” asks Elias.
Ruthy stops, staring at Elias wide eyed for a few seconds, before returning to matching his pace. “You’ve never been on a boat before?”
“Your kingdom is a flat as rolled bread. The rivers of my homeland are more waterfall then anything else.”
“I suppose that makes some sense.” Ruthy taps his chin again, and Elias wonders if that is a repeating gesture of his. “Boats are like carriages but on water, and shake less, and don’t require a horse.”
“I had already assumed they were like carriages.”
<><><>
“Ahoy lad!” a man at the docks waves to the two as the walk up. “Or should I say lads? It’s been a spell since I last saw you, boy, who is your new friend?”
“He goes by Elias.” Ruthy introduces his companion.
“Ah, Elias, that’s a name I haven’t seen on a young lad in some time.” The boatman strokes his beard. “A good name, glad to see fathers still give it to their sons.”
Elias doesn’t understand what the boatman means by that.
“We will be heading into the capital.” Ruthy informs him. “How much?”
“For you lad, not a cent. I’ve ferried you and your father plenty of times.” the boatman laughs. “I can exchange a favor from your father later.”
“Ah come on, don’t put him in debt for my sake!”
“I can pay for the ferry.” Says Elias. “I have coin.”
“Lad are you making him pay for your ticket?” the boat man accuses.
“No! I can pay!” Ruthy protests.
The boat man laughs.
Ruthy pushes Elias onto the boat, which is far larger then a carriage, perhaps ten times as large. A long narrow (comparably) vessel, parked on the edge of the river, stacked high with crates and bundles of all kinds, smelling like a storage room. A rise the size of a small shed of sorts in the middle is topped with a wheel, a few other boatmen continue to do their work on the dock while the man with the largest hat climbs atop, squinting out into the distant professionally.
Ruthy settles between a stack of hey barrels and sacks of what appears to be raw wool from what spills out.
“Apologies, Anton is a family friend.” Ruthy explains. “I don’t mean to come off unprofessional.”
“No offense taken.” Says Elias. He was neither offended nor annoyed, only vaguely confused by the unfamiliarity. He sits down next to Ruthy. “Will the boat be leaving now?”
Ruthy looks at Elias in confusion. “No?”
“Why?”
“Do they look ready to l-” Ruthy stops. “Ah, you are unfamiliar with boats, it will be a bit before they are ready to take off, but not long.”
“A few minutes or an hour?” Elias asks.
“Eh?”
“Multiple hours?”
“Eh??”
“Do you now know what hours and minutes are?” Elais asks.
“I know what-” Ruthy stops again mid sentence when Elias pulls a small pocket watch out of his pocket, the device thankfully undamaged. Ruthy stares wide eyed. “What contraption is that?”
“A clock.”
“It’s moving.”
“Yes, they do that.”
Ruthy pulls Elias’s hand closer so he can squint at the watch. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before, it’s-”
A third time Ruthy is cut off by a girl standing atop the hay barrel. “Lord in heaven must you embarrass the rest of us commoners?” She grins hawkishly. She gives Elias the impression of someone who will prove a thorn in their side from the mischievous eyes alone.
She rolls down, a small spray of hay from her descent. “Sure, that lil gimmick is a bit more fancy then your average sundial, it’s a lot more precise!”
“Oh? Can you read it?” Ruthy asks.
The girl bends at the hip like a doll, looking closely at the watch. She frowns. “Whys it got no numbers?”
“Those are numerals.” says Elias. “Traditionally used for more formal situations like titles and watches.”
“Useless things, no good for math.” the girl says dismissively. “Only good for those who wanna feel fancy when they count.”
“It doesn’t hurt to be formal.” says Elias, feeling miffed but unsure what has him bothered about the girl in the first place.
“Speaking of formalities, why haven’t you introduced me?” the girl’s words remain primarily targeted at Ruthy.
“He is called Elias, and I am called Ruthy.” Ruthy gives the girl a very pointed look. “What should we call you?”
“Uh, you know my name, it’s Jill.” Jill looks at Ruthy in confusion. “Since when was your name Ruthy? I know your name, it’s A-”
Ruthy jumps up to cover Jill’s mouth. “Don’t tell him that!”
Jill shoves Ruthy back roughly. “Why not??? Is he fae or something?” her face shifts, and she gives Elias a worried look. “Is he?”
“Do you think I’m fae?” Elias raises an eyebrow unsympathetically.
Jill manages to frown, despite already frowning somewhat. “My name isn’t actually Jill, it’s Jack, actually.”
“To late,” Ruthy grumbles, “You should have taken the hint when I introduced him the way I did.”
“What are you even doing, anyways?”
“Elias here is on a quest, and I’m helping him.”
Proving Elias’s first impressions correct, Jill’s eyes sparkle. “A quest? Can I join?”
“Okay.” Says Ruthy. He gives Elias a side glance. “Jill is good at math and finding things, we could use her.
“I am on a quest to the capital, to recruit the local prince in hopes that he will break the spell on my home kingdom.” Elias explains, deciding to get the exposition dump out of the way as soon as possible. “A sleeping curse has overtaken the entire kingdom, I only escaped by the skin of my teeth on my lady’s blessings.”
“How are you going to break th-”
“I’m getting to that.” Elias sighs, then continues. “In order to break the curse three magical keys must be found, and the secret of the cursebreaker will be unlocked.”
“Sounds fun.” Jill grins.