14.9 In Bloom

General Summary

Day 166

It’s early afternoon before we are all really awake and ready for the day, which I intend to be focused on investigating this ruin to the North of the village. I gather Alder, Hella, and Bran (who collects Nina) and we ride out to take a look.   The magic seems to awaken at my presence and by using the pearl I get a better sense of what it once was:

• “In the mists of these forests be safe and be welcome”
• The magic makes it hard to find unless you’re looking for it
• There’s a large Imperial army presence here but no indication that it had anything to do with the War
• Many travellers come through here, many look like refugees of the smaller races
• The magic at the gate reacts to falsehood
• Travellers are greeted by the guards and many are led inside and given food, water, and treated with kindness

  Again using the pearl we clear an entranceway around the gate but it will take several months’ worth of work to uncover the entire buried town. Still, I’m heartened to see for sure that this is a place worth uncovering.   When we ride into Whitewater after dusk Ellen is worried but Dal seems confident that Hella could take care of herself. Alder and I notice a young man waiting around for Hella but we don’t get involved. As Dal said - she can take care of herself!  

Day 167

The real challenge comes in persuading the Village Council of what we’ve found. I take the day to mull this over and I craft a quiver for Melody in exchange for one of their bows.   In the evening I speak to Belle about calling the council together but instead we wind up knitting together and speaking privately.   I’m honest with her - about the Order, Draken, and the northward ruins which she already knows about. She’s not convinced that Draken is related to the Master, particularly because she recognizes his accent as belonging to an overseas kingdom where the churches do indeed wield too much power. It could go either way but he is trouble regardless.   Still, it seems like she’ll support a proposal to move. She advises me of the other council members:

• Nisset: Motivated to escape his past and protect his family.
• Wayla: A baker who has lived here her entire life.
• Assen: A blowhard devil’s advocate. (Nisset later tells me that he is obstinate no matter what, very attached to places, and that it would be very difficult for him to rebuild his sawmill)
• Vedrah: A grudge-holder who thinks the knitting circle is too exclusive.

  As we lapse into silence around the clicking of our knitting needles she poses me a puzzle: The human gods are a Candlemaker, a Fisherman, three Warriors, and a Healer. Where is the Sage? Was the patron of knowledge lost in whatever fight the Six had with the Master and his Beast? Or was the Master the patron of a knowledgeable, orderly, and structured world? This...is a better puzzle than I am prepared for. Moreover it is not one I’m prepared to tackle alone. This seems like one of those mysteries where the answer is to ask someone who was there...whenever I make it back to her swamp.   The next person to convince is Nisset. And the person I want with me for that conversation is Alder, so I bring him along too.   The farm is spacious and tended to by a sprawling family. We find Nisset whittling on his porch and I see his past in his hands as he stands, magicks away the knife, and extends an empty hand to greet us. He speaks frankly to Alder and offers to talk if he ever needs to speak to someone who understands what it’s like to have hands that are still red no matter how much you wash them. Alder, who seemed to have been skeptical that Nisset might have been an assassin last night, gives me a look.   I think the two of them will need some time to talk but first I plow onwards with a forthrightness that I think any dwarf would respect. I paint a picture for him of a past that will follow people here and threaten the peace they’ve made. Belle’s advice was sound and after only a brief conversation I can see that his love for his family will lead him down the path I need him to tread.   “They’re priceless,” he tells me. I leave him and Alder whittling together and head to collect Bran to speak with Wayla.   Unfortunately, Bran tells me, he and Wayla’s eldest daughter have something of a history and he suspects I’d be better off without him in this conversation. So instead I collect Camellia. I think that as an elder in her own race perhaps she will bring a perspective that someone resistant to change might appreciate.   The bakery is being tended by two younger women (both of whom are impressively tall) who I gather are Annette and Mary, a younger sister. They make some light conversation about Bran’s romantic history that has an undercurrent of tension to it. Annette still seems to believe he will be returning and settling down someday...and though I am too high-strung to do the right thing in the moment, Camellia takes it upon herself to speak about Vaneilli. Wayla, when she emerges, is a striking woman. Taller than her daughters and very muscular - she reminds me of Knotrael or Doraal with her strength and presence. As soon as I start speaking about the council she hushes me and leads us back through the bakery (away from prying ears).   Once again, I lay the situation out plainly. I believe their town is in danger and that it would be safest to move. I see the anxiety in her muscles as she tenses at this idea but she asks careful, thoughtful questions despite her clear apprehension at the idea.   I explain, in vague terms, my concerns about the other powerful group operating in this land and how they might take an interest in this village and its inhabitants. I explain my own interest in the village and answer truthfully when she asks how much they matter to me.   Some of her questions are striking to me. She is not afraid of the answers nor expecting any gentleness in this conversation. They are honest questions with honest answers.

• You think we’re not strong enough to fight and protect ourselves? Not at all, but fighting means casualties. Given the choice to fight or to take earlier action to save more people, the early action wins every time.
• How powerful are you? I’ve destroyed cities and it wasn’t challenging.
• Do the hard decisions get easier? Yes. You see them pay off and that makes them easier.

  She asks me to come back early for breakfast to finish the conversation so that she has time to think. Once again I think of the slow, steady strength of Doraal and how grounded this woman is. Still, I think there’s potential. A stone is rooted to the ground but a shield moves to protect its warrior. She strikes me as more of a shield than a stone.   The last visit of the day is the most interesting - Camellia has heard that Vedrah is a skilled herbalist. When we approach her cottage at the edge of the forest I am astounded to see an elvish garden surrounding it. All that’s missing is a fountain, but the layout is distinctly elvish.   When we enter her home she smiles and greets us in elvish as well. Over tea she tells us the story, my immediate mission forgotten.   She was orphaned as a child and spent weeks wandering alone in the woods before she met another lost person - an elf. They travelled together for ten years before settling down to tend a shop halfway between Ipth and Haven. And then one day...an elven man arrived at their door. All elves on this side have lost someone and only a few lucky ones find each other again. Aspen, her teacher, found her shade again. Ever since Vedrah has been here helping a few elves who show up at the village - hiding them from Haman. She hadn’t approached me before for fear that the other village people would shun her herblore if it became clear that it was elvish - sensible.   She and Camellia speak of herbs while I collect myself (though I do get faster every time we find elvish welcome where I don’t expect it), only to be broken from the thoughts by Vedrah speaking about her books. One on her bookshelf catches my attention - it’s one of Doraal’s favourites.   As I flip through it I realize that some of the plants he always asked me to watch for are plants that grow only on this side of the Barrier. I hadn’t realized how old this book must be…   When I mention this aloud Vedrah smiles and fetches a necklace to show me. Once again...my train of thought vanishes. It’s Doraal’s emblem.   Vedrah explains that Aspen, her teacher, learned her herblore from a Dread Lord back home. She had told Vedrah that there wasn’t a human way to explain the title but that the emblem would mean something to the right person one day. Apparently Thalien had smiled to see it but told her that he wasn’t who it was meant for. How many little secrets and gifts did that man leave for me here?   Despite all of these revelations I still try to explain my thoughts on the ruins but she cuts me off with a gesture and tells me that though she is not an elf and Aspen never managed to quite explain what it meant to have oaths, she still wishes to serve.   I know that she is not family to me or to Doraal, but she is absolutely a member of the Empire and welcome in the shade we provide. Tonight at dusk, we agree, she will make her own oaths to formalize that status.   I can feel the significance heavily in this moment - not the first human, but the first human who is not family to me. The first to swear oaths to our people but not my house; her loyalty planted decades ago by a lost gardener and quietly nourished every since - finally able to blossom.