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The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Pietro, Dommi, Miss Mouse, and Ruri Heatherson

“Sure, lad...”

Ruri beckoned Cesare over, where he was finishing up with his herd.

“You ever put a cow to bed? Not as easy as it looks. You do it like this...”

Asking to help – that seemed to mean quite a bit in this small place. The more they worked together, the better the farmer’s mood became.

“Don’t worry for that. That’s my job.”

And even with help, some things folks just saved for themselves. As they worked together, the other evening dramas played themselves out.

It seemed that in a tug of war between a Lord and two Forest Folk, that the Forest Folk would win. It probably had a lot to do with the Lord’s lack of stature, they being about the same size and outnumbering him, but for the moment he was undeniably stuck in one place.

They definitely shrunk beneath the protection of Dominic’s cloak at the words of the Amber lady, to which the dark haired rake simply listened — the exact same way he had listened to Missus Heatherson and Ruri Heatherson.

“You know...”

The young lord shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not the sharpest sword in the armory. I wish I could remember the many reasons for leaving Talantal. I suspect, if I had that many reasons, I’d get all tangled up every now and then, and being caught up in things — especially my own stories — one or two get misplaced. Maybe I had that many when I left Talantal. If so, I’ve forgotten most of them. That’s the problem with coming from a small village, we are only allowed one or two important things to remember. Which is a really big problem because I keep forgetting how to tell the difference between grapes and blueberries until I try one, thinking it’s a blueberry and then discovering I hate grapes. Yuck!”

“Of all the important things you remember, the last one is the one I try to not forget. Especially since it really doesn’t apply to us. It’s really about everyone else.”

“About everyone else...”

He smiled and looked at the Forest Kin on his left.

“Don’t you have somewhere you are supposed to be? Go, go, go! Your work here is done!”

Tomomi giggled at that and then turned. Did she get swallowed by Dominic’s cloak? Did she scoot away in a moment when no one was looking? But just like a certain one of Dominic’s servants in Talantal, she was there... look away for a heartbeat, and she was gone.

Well, except for a whisper.

“Thank you!”

Dommi shrugged his shoulders once again.

“You know, if I had a crown for every time a big brother or father got mad at me for something I’d never do? I’d need three shaggies, a fullhand of horses, a hand of pack mules and a donkey. And a marmoset to carry my change purse. Which would be very difficult, since I have no idea what a marmoset is.”

“The important thing isn’t stumbling. It’s how you pull yourself up and move on. Which, I have on good authority, this bloke is right good at.”

Nodding to Pietro, he let out a long breath.

“Moving on is a question now that you’ve accepted the Rhoni’s quest. Starting with simple things — like how to get into the Forest without it eating us.”

Dominic leveled the Squire a steady look.

“First, stop worrying. You should know better. How many Noble marriages do you know of are because the two actually like each other? Well except for the Larsens, of course. How can they not? Even I’d marry Tieg Larsen, he’s such a nice guy. Not that I don’t like this fair lass — when she remembers how to laugh and forgets about being an Amber princess, she’s quite nice to be around. A body could do much worse. For myself... well... the day I finally got rescued out of those bloody mines and forges — aye, that’s right, rescued — my days as legendary and dashing rake became just that. Legendary. No longer rooted in fact.

“So my life... it’s what you’d call... complicated.

“Besides, we made a promise to Missus Heatherson. We got to come back alive, and that’s going to take more than just storming the castle. Because it’s not a castle. It’s more like a lake.

“The real question, however, right now, is much simpler.

“Do we talk tonight or tomorrow?”

That got a tug on his cloak. He and Miss Em shared a look and a nod as she lightly stepped away. The lill’un then skipped over to Cesare. It was a pace he recognized; it was the same light and free step she had when they walked the towers of Talantal together.

Just like she did with Dominic, she reached up and tugged on Cesare’s sleeve.

“Miss Kathi says hello! I was asked to tell you that. She misses you; says it was fun showing you the keep.

“I need to go to Home soon, and I didn’t want to forget.”


Lyric and Mikal

The grim mercenary listened to the minstrel’s words. In the end, however, he merely shook his head. His manner resolute, his beliefs were set in steel as rigid as his blade. With another shake of his head, he turned and walked back towards the rock that anchored the small hamlet.

He spoke of having a need to think about this, by himself. Alone. And that his answer would be clear tomorrow on his return from his own tasks, for he still had his wood gathering to complete.

He bid the others good night, and if he didn’t return he had found his own fields to ride.

Now Lyric was alone, but not too alone. Kadri, Cesare, and Dommi were less than a stone’s toss away. Keiko had left for the Mill.

If folks allowed, if folks wished, they could set the past behind them and look ahead to opportunities. All one had to do, as Lyric had so wisely spoken to Dommi, was to just chose to do so.

Cesare

He enjoys working with animals, always had, and his last job before joining this group and taking a whole new direction of helping people and righting injustice, had been goat herding. Whole different thing cows. Slow and ponderous, but big. Whereas goats were much smaller and lively. But he learns quickly, always happy to take direction.

Then he feels a tug and looks down to see Mouse, his mind realising that Mouse probably came from here. He hunkers down so that he is on her level.

"Aye we had some fun exploring the keep. I miss Miss Kathi too. You can tell her that when you get back."

He grins.

"And are they treating =you= well at the keep? And is the young Master staying in good health now?

Pietro


The squire cocked his head to one side and gave the Korie lord a long, appraising look. Then he smiled and shrugged.

"I would think we could talk some tonight and more tomorrow, if that suits you, Dommi," he said, thinking it best to skip right over the whole noble marriage thing. He did not see how exploring that subject could possibly benefit him.

"Who knows the most about the Forest Kin and their masters? Which of the Forest Kin, I mean. And can we get together with him or her or them and discuss strategy and tactics?"

"I also would like to know more about the history of the little ones... how the dwarves managed to... create them in the first place, how they managed to get along without souls..." Pietro paused and started ticking items off on his fingers.

"How they are different now that they have been provided with souls thanks to the grace of Lady Attera."

"Oh, and there are many other questions. In fact, I know so little of the matter that I have no idea how many questions I would ultimately like to ask."

Pietro shrugged again and his slight smile warped into a rather crooked grin.

"I do like grapes, though."

Kadri:

"What we need here is to make the complex simple. So we can proceed to make it complex again. I think if we meet tonight and tomorrow, we should do two things. Tonight should be for stories. What led to this point, why things are what they are - -and the next for moving forward, for where we go. And fruit is good, although rather than grapes or blueberries, Lisica prefers apples."

Pietro


Pietro nodded, his lower lip protruding slightly as he considered Kadri's idea.

"I would like that. I feel that I need to have a better feel for the Forest Kin and their history. That would not affect my decision to help them in their... liberation - I have already given my oath on that, but it would make me feel better about those I am sworn to defend."

The squire shrugged again - it seemed to be habitual ever since he'd arrived at Waverider's Watch.

"And, who knows, it might lead to a tactical approach to our quest."

Lyric

The Minstrel stood there watching after the departing Jvrillian until she could no longer see him. Her words had failed. And, while it wasn't the first time in her life that this happened (her words not having the desired effect), it affected her deeply. Life was all about choices. And she knew the consequences of 'giving up' on making those choices. In fact, her Journey began because of a desire to live life. To see things differently... to make choices.

Mikal made a choice and that had to be respected. She couldn't disagree with his choice either. It was his to make and all she could do was try to be persuasive and hope he might be influenced to see things her way.

Choices had consequences. Choices changed things. Some things end and other things begin. It is the way of things. Or, at least, it should be the way of things. Change can be hard, especially when you have lived an isolated life where change is viewed as destructive, and where new ideas are not tolerated.

Choices had consequences. Some choices led to exciting things... new adventures too. Lyrics words could not erase the anguish caused by the words of another. That wasn't her intent though. She hoped to use words to illustrate a larger portrait of the life in which they all lived. The 'sing a song' or 'tell a story' that showed that while words were powerful they couldn't hurt you unless you let them do so.

Her words had failed and it affected her deeply.

Lyric shifted her heavy pack on her back, standing such that she could bear the burden of silent inactivity. She wore the same clothes she had worn the Passing of She before this one and she hadn't bathed either. She didn't know where to bathe in this town. And it occurred to her that she needed to ask someone soon before the good folk of the town took notice and declared her a nuisance or some such.

And yet she still stood there. Mikal was almost out of her sight now.

Her prospects were limited though. Without Keiko to bridge the 'gap of introductions' and other formalities Lyric was sort of 'on her own'. She glanced toward the Rock where Mikal was headed and to the mill house in particular. For Bekkah had gone there and so had Keiko and Tomomi... but climbing the steep switchbacks carrying her pack seemed an arduous task, especially if she was to be told that bathing happened elsewhere, further up or back down again.

"Don't be Grumpy," she reminded herself softly. "It's a choice. Be neither sad nor angry. These too are choices. Choose to be happy, find something, anything, to make you smile, to make you happy, and life is meaningful in so many ways you might never see otherwise."

She turned to west horizon, and knew that somewhere not too distant there was a vast body of water and that She was all but gone and all that remained of her light was the fire orange halo that touched only the clouds now. She let her pack slip from her shoulders and she lowered it to the ground right behind her.

And Lyric sang hauntingly and powerfully to the day's last light, to the Day That Was, to the Day Yet To Come, and to any souls who would pause to listen to her emotional, ethereal voice. Her voice was that of a lover saying good day past and good night to come... Her voice was that of an open invitation to remain, return, or be well in wherever life's journey took you. It was 'Well Met' and 'Good Bye' and 'Safe Journey' all in one offering for any who heard it.

She sang mostly for herself though... and with her back to Kadri, Dommi, and Pietro, she let her emotions loose and fill her song's words with all the hopes and dreams she had for what the future held for her... but it was always just one day at a time. The tears ran down her cheeks unabated.

The cares of tomorrow must wait 'til this day is done

Kadri looked to both Dominic and Pietro.

"Excuse me for a moment. Something to do."

"... and she walks over to the singer.

"Beautiful song. Beautiful horizon."

She says idly.

Pietro


The squire looked off toward the minstrel, his gaze growing soft, unfocused, as he listened to her sing. He felt a chill prickle at the back of his neck and a slight smart in his eyes.

Something had happened which apparently had hurt Lyric.

Had Mikal said something? Done something? He had not struck Pietro as one who would be rude or cruel to a woman.

The song, though. The song was beautiful.

Lyric

Lyric stood still and quiet for only a few moments before she sensed that she was not alone. At the approach of Dama Korie, Lyric turned slightly away from the woman at her right side to hide her face and swept her fingers across her cheeks and under both of her eyes, to wipe away any evidence of her emotions.

"Yes, Miss Kadri... Yes, it is."

Kadri:

She talked in a quiet voice.

"Always loved the horizon back home. Get on a horse, ride towards the ever receding horizon. Nothing above you but the endless burning sky by day or the endless bejeweled blackness of the night. Below the vast seas of waving grass, ruffled by the winds. The thumping beat of the hooves beneath you in rhythm with the beat of your heart. Yesterday fades into the black behind, tomorrow you try to catch up with and overtake. It does wonders for thinking. The Horizon is potential. It is today fading into yesterday and yesterday fading into the yesterdays before. It is the potential of a new day ahead, filled with possibilities. Changes. Yesterday chasing you while you chase tomorrow. Hunter and hunted."

She pauses again.

"I like the horizon. I don't know you - nonetheless, I think I like you."

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Lyric, Pietro, Dommi, and Miss Mouse

“I do very well, thank you...”

Miss Mouse nodded back to Cesare, shifting her balance from one foot to the other, this way and that as if she were finally getting used to being out in the open instead of castle corridors.

“No one can really hurt me, really, since I belong to the Young Master...”

Those words came out light and easy as if there was a smile hidden beneath her travel cloak hood. But then she stopped, the cowl tilted and she actually giggled.

“No, no, no, no...”

She pointed to Dominic Korie.

“The young master? He is the Young Master. Lord Tray is his older brother, yes? He reads me books with big pictures in them, which I like a lot. And Lord Tray is doing very well. Lord Marcus is beginning to actually trust him, which is good — because Lord Tray really doesn’t want to be Marcus. The other big folks don’t like him very much because he doesn’t let them get away with stealing and being unfair to folks.

“But that just means there’s another group of big folks that do like him. Especially the twins and the younger folks who dress like him.”

Her arm shifted then, from Dominic to Pietro.

“The Young Master owns this place, not Lord Tray. This where we first met... well... not exactly...”

The hood ducked and looked to the ground.

“We met in That Place. I didn’t have a name yet. We didn’t really have names there, just what we did. So there were Diggers, Packers, Overseers, Lookers, Finders and me... I was the only one of me...”

That chain of words broke Dominic from the others, his pace as silent and smooth as a shadow until he had slipped up behind the small person, and just as quietly wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, as if he already knew the destination of this chain of words.

“...Executioner.”

Resting his head next to hers, the Korie Lord took over the conversation.

“Not anymore, Emerald.”

Dominic looked up.

“You want tales, Dama Korie? You want to know their history, Squire? And you, word crafter fair, do you want to hear of lands where legends remain and if there is a future to be won from the past that has been lost?

“But I cannot guarantee that the cares of tomorrow will not haunt tonight.”

He then looked to his cloaked companion.

“It is your tale, Emmi. You should tell it.”

The hood shook back and forth, a single slow but undeniable decline.

Dominic closed his eyes, and tucking Miss Em beneath his pure black cloak again, he opened his dark eyes and let one hand sweep a dramatic arc towards the northern border of the Village.

The Dirkwood Forest.

“Imagine... take a breath and let it out, close your eyes and when they open again, imagine a day long ago. On these hills Imperial banners waved above a gathering strong; a tall Prince stood and gazed into that nightmare wood — for they already knew it was death that lived there. And yet, he was the Prince of the Bankorpool Empire, and by his side, he had an advisor who saw nothing but timber, nothing that the axes of his people could not fell.

“Would you not think, would you not believe, that for something to be so deadly, there might be hidden within it treasures and power beyond one’s ken? They knew from the farmer’s stories, from the witches they burned that the greatest army that ever walked on the world perished there, and their armor and weapons were there for the taking.

“The Imperial Prince had become convinced that in the center of the Dirkwood was their Dall Gwynn. I am sure they told tales of riches beyond belief, of powerful magics, of the wine of life forever. How could it not? They had discovered the forest’s real name and how could there not be something shattering at the heart of The Heartwood?”

The Imperial closed his eyes. Then he opened them again.

“I believe that Prince Faast thought he would find glory. But I think the truth of it is that his advisors knew exactly what they were doing, knew exactly where they were going and why.

“I was once asked why the Bankorpool Archipelago was an archipelago.

“Of all places, I found that answer in the Dirkwood.

“Close your eyes,” the storyteller asked. He waited a handful of heartbeats and then continued.

“Open them, and I ask what if the Dwarves were right? What if there is a lake inside the Forest, and what if you sunk a shaft into that lake? You would find that treasure? Of course, it had to be in the center of the lake to serve as your moat, to keep the cursed forest at bay.

“Except... except... what if? What if the mining of that wealth was the most dangerous task you could imagine, and beyond that? What if it were so terrible even the thought of mining it was a brutal and terrifying thing?

“What if... you didn’t care and were going to do it anyway?”

Dominic drew Miss Emerald closer.

“So you need tools.”

“So you go out into the Forest, and you gather its denizens. Baskets of mice, barrels of rats. You find a handful of coven wolves. That was a mistake. You find a bear. That was an even bigger mistake. Foxes and woodland coons, a few hart and the last of your horses.

“And you drown them in the wine of everlasting life.”

He took a breath and to the west, the sun sunk beneath the sea. It was the darkest twilight before night. It was as if the sun already knew the tale and She knew it was not one that should feel Her blessed warmth.

“You can break their bones, shatter their insides, tear and rip their flesh and if you are an equally legendary smith you can forge them into something else. They were critters, so what they felt was never in question. One does not ask a bar of iron if being between hammer and anvil hurts. Somewhere along the way, whatever souls small critters have were beaten out of them.

“One can only hope that was before they realized who they were and what was being done to them.

“The level of success is not high. But they didn’t care. They were tools. They could always make more.

“In the mines, they died in droves. But they didn’t care. They were tools. They could always make more.

“How do I know this?”

Finally, the Young Master’s voice softened. He took a step back, but his hands still rested on the Forest Kin’s shoulders.

As he spoke, Miss Em slowly reached up and drew down her hood.

“They caught me. Think about this — they caught... me.”

Dominic let those words sink in for a long moment.

“The only reason I got out is Emerald.”

The leather hood fell back over the small person’s shoulders. She shook out her hair. It was tied in a ponytail to help it stay hidden, but now free it fell most of the way down her back. It looked so soft and cascaded like silver colored silk. Her face was that of a lovely young woman, still and exquisitely sculpted, almost statue perfect. She had big round ears; they moved and twitched all on their own, and they were covered in the finest white down. They were not a person’s ears. They were gentler, actually adorable; they were the cute ears of a simple field mouse.

Which were matched, of course, by the long white whiskers beneath her button nose.

Dominic was right about one thing.

She had the prettiest gem green eyes.

Kadri:

As the tale went on, Kadri listened raptly. But when the story reached the part of ... creation, it would be impossible for those who knew her to not see a sort of cold fury building under her exterior.

Her thoughts raged. How dare they. Of all things she despised, this was near the top. People, however small, as things.

By the time the tale had finished, however, she had recomposed herself and her voice was calm and steady.

"So, Emerald. You are not what you were you are what you are. You are what you choose to do. And in keeping you in this bondage? They have done the unforgivable. And that means that I shall have to misbehave. It is only a matter of figuring out the details."

She tilts her head

Pietro


The longer the tale continued, the colder and sadder the squire's expression became.

She was the executioner? No wonder... but that did not matter and he pushed it back to a far corner of his mind.

It was not her fault. It was done to her. She was used... created, then used, abused... looked down upon.

Ignored...

Discounted...

Considered expendable, replaceable. Useful, but insignificant.

But not to Pietro...

He heard Kadri's words and he agreed. He saw the... differences, oddities of Emerald's appearance which hinted at her heritage.

And it did not matter.

She is a cute mouse... but of course we would not speak it aloud.

Pietro approached Emerald, saluted her and went down on one knee to be more of a height with her and extended a hand for her to take if she would.

"With the help of Lord Rames, I will do what I can to achieve retribution, as much as is possible, for the wrongs done to your people."

Cesare

Still hunkered down in front of Emerald, he listens as Dominic tells his tale, still much of it unspoken but enough detail to give it a frame at least. His etes never leave Mouse's.

"Emerald is a pretty name. There is much talk of retribution and actions.. but first I would hear what you want to see happen."

Lyric

Lyric had remained at a small distance from where Dommi and the 'Mouse' named Emerald spoke, thus gathering the others about them as he began a story of great import, deep sorrow, and undeniable grief. Mixed in were all the elements that lead to anguish and suffering such as greed and lust and everything else that is dragged in tow behind those base emotions and motivations.

But the story offered hope too.

She had nodded her head at Dommi's inclusion of her to tell him that she was listening. Most of her companions focused on Emerald as she stood in for the sympathetic focus of the tale. A denizen of the forest, warped and twisted, beaten into submission, broken, made, broken and remade again and again... to become a tool and named as a tool. Despite the task given her she was truly a sympathetic character in this tale and in person in this small village at the edge of a dark and dangerous domain.

But Lyric's attention was directed at the storyteller. She focused on the elements of the story and not just the emotion of it. Emotions made people listen and believe and sympathize... but underlying that, in the tale itself, were the true important things that made the story worth hearing, and worth telling, in the first place.

And so, with others occupied upon the character, Lyric slid forward with a light grace, her layered garments shifting about her as she approached Dommi. The minstrel's pale blue eyes searching Dommi's eyes as if she were staring into him, reading him, and she smiled. It was a slightly crooked smile though, hinting at a twinkle of mischief... or maybe a combining of the sage wisdom and the child-like whimsy to come.

"So, Why indeed is the home of the Bankerpool Empire an archipelago? And, what is the Forest's real name? Is it truly The Heartwood, for which the whole of the land carries it's name since it can no longer carry it itself and is left to be called Dirkwood? Also, this 'shattering' that the foreign Prince sought... what was that? Help me understand these things. I am a simple girl from a small village..."

The last of that was to remind him of how he liked to refer to his own origins... and what that should mean to him in terms he would understand.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Lyric, Pietro, Dommi, and Miss Mouse

“Me?”

Miss Em looked surprised, her green eyes going wide as saucers for a heartbeat, first Cesare knelt before her and then a Squire. From behind her, Dominic merely quirked a brow and looked down at the almost matrimonial tableau before him. Emmi looked back to him, he nodded and then she placed flat incisors on her lower lip, pressing for a moment before speaking.

She also let Pietro take her small paw-like hand, though she wasn’t quite sure what it was for. She looked confused and only relaxed when Dominic piped in.

“It’s fine, Emmi. It’s a Squire thing. They do that. It’s their way of being polite. I tried that once or twice, but no one would believe I was a Squire.”

Reassured, only slowly did the little Forest Kin look back. She let her words lighten as she replied to Pietro first.

“Oh. But I’m just me. I’m not all of us. You should talk to Renyard, Lady, and Broke. They’ll appreciate for all of us. They take care of the folks at Home.”

Again, that word. Home. She spoke as if it were a particular title and not a generic place of comfort.

“Me? I’m fine, actually. I... well... I’m...”

The insides of her ears suddenly turned very, very pink.

“I was shown, completely, no question, forever and ever, that I have worth. It was a gift I could never have asked for and one that I will never forget. It didn’t matter if I had a soul or not. I found out what it meant to have someone care for me.

“And once you find that out, there’s no going back.”

Closing her eyes again, Emmi took a breath before reopening them to answer the Rhoni.

“Those in the mines. They need to know that too. That they have worth. That they can know care, to know there is nothing to be afraid for because they are not alone.

“It would be nice... if they could find their way to Home.”

She leaned back against the young Korie. Dominic just smiled, taking his turn to speak.

“That Rhoni lass, she has a good idea about how I feel, I bet. And I think she’d agree, this is not a matter of retribution. It’s about helping folks. They may have done the unforgivable, Dama Kadri, but that is not my concern — vengeance is a dish best served by someone else. I’d hate to wake up one day, walk down to the commons room and find everybody I’ve annoyed waiting there to get back at to me. Sure, Barris Ironhand isn’t fast enough to catch me, but — as she proves every Midwinters — Dandelion Koromov is.”

He then turned to answer the minstrel.

“Some simple girl! You are the dangerous one, winsome Lyric! You listen! Comes from coming from a village so small you can’t afford to lose a single word, ja? And yes...”

Dominic looked to the north, to the line of black that was the nighttime treeline.

“In the beginning, there was the Forest...

“That wood has only been called the Dirkwood since the end of the Second Age. Before that it was known as The Heartwood, the last stand of the World Forest, the only fragment that survived the Shattering. Something happened at the end of the Second Age, and it was turned into what it is today.

“If you ever want an example of how vengeance can go wrong, it is only a stone’s throw away.”

He then bit his lip and crossed his arms.

“Something made the Dirkwood the way it is. Imagine the power of whatever it was that could curse the World Forest. Imagine being a Prince that would be the one who acquired that which shattered the last of the Heartwood.

“What it is, I do not know. But this I do.

“There are few things more seductive to a man in power than more power.”

The rogue’s nose then wrinkled.

“As for your first question?

“Remember when I said that the miners were reckless? When I spoke of the most dangerous task that you could imagine, and beyond that?

“What if the Opal Archipelago was, at one time, not an archipelago?”

Cesare

So that must be where he had gone wrong.. no power in the first place.. but he had never wanted any.. still didn't. With power comes responsibility, enmity, avarice.. and in the end the Fates deliver their own justice. What you make comes around and clocks you on the back of the head.

He smiles at Emerald.

"Rescue your friends, make them feel good about themselves and bring them Home."

He nods.

"An admiral goal and one I will do my best to achieve. Renyard, Lady and Broke.. they are your people too?"

This would explain much. He wishes Mikal had stayed to hear this.

Kadri:

"Your freedom would be perfectly adequate mischief."

When the archipelago was not what it is, what was it?"

Pietro


His smile was small but warm as he took Emerald's paw-like hand in his own and gave it a light squeeze. After a moment, he released it, nodding pleasantly.

"He is quite correct, Emerald. It is my way of trying to be polite. I am not always successful in my efforts in that direction."

Pietro cocked his head to one side and thought about her reply.

"Then could you arrange for me to meet Renyard, Lady and Broke?"

The squire's eyes widened in surprise when Dominic mentioned Captain Dandelion, but he said nothing, just listened closely to the statements of the others.

"Yes... if it were not an archipelago, then what was it? A peninsula?"

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Lyric, Pietro, Dommi, and Miss Mouse

“But I am free...”

Emerald blinked once, her head tilting as she listened to Kadri’s statement.

“I mean, My Lord is my Owner, but that’s because being his means I can go anywhere in Talantal and no one can hurt me. Or shouldn’t try and hurt me out of hand just because I’m me. But I am free. A free range Mouse.

“The ones in the mines, and the ones in the forges, and the ones they capture in the nets, they are the ones you should worry about, not me.”

Cesare’s question came next. She shifted on her feet, her nose and whiskers twitching. Looking once over her shoulder to Dominic, seeking a touch of reassurance. He nodded once and then she spoke.

“Renyard is one of the oldest, and he teaches. Lady built Home and makes sure Home is welcome and warm. Broke guards the Forest Kin and this place, like I guard My Lord. Well, not exactly the same way I do; she isn’t a Mouse, after all. You should ask the other Mouse; I didn’t spend much time in Home. The one I remember best was Soft. She teaches us rescued ones how to live without fear... which is very important because Broke and Wrath are very scary if you don’t understand that Broke will do anything to make sure we are safe.

“It’s a good thing she and My Lord are best friends, or she would have never let me leave with him. Not that anyone can stop a Mouse when we learn we truly can go anywhere we want.

“As for meeting them...”

Emerald looked to Dominic again. The young Korie Lord took up the conversation.

“The only time you can guarantee seeing them come here is on Marketday; that’s part of the arrangement I made with the folks here. They allow the Forest Folk to trade that one day and the other four they stay away. Between Emmi and the other lill’un, we could summon them here. And if I needed, I can get to Home, but the Forest would eat the rest of you.”

The Korie Lord rubbed his chin.

“We are going to need a coracle. Maybe two. Or three. Or four. A fleet!”

He peered to the Squire.

“Have you ever been an Admiral before? Nin? Congratulations!”

He then looked back to the others.

“You know what an archipelago is, ja? Think. Take a big rock. One big island. Smash it. Lots of little islands.”

Cesare

He nods and smiles to Emerald, encouraging her and happy that she can now steak for herself with more confidence. Impulsively he leans forward and gives her a peck on the cheek.

He has been listening to Lord Dominic but has learned in the past that it is best not to converse with nobles if it can be avoided. Let the waves of Fate wash around them, path of least resistence.. but this one and his bother seem to be cut from a different weave. He does however realise that awesome power has been used in the past.. but it is not the first time he has come across such.

He straightens, standing tall and looks at the Lord for a moment.

"You sound like you have a plan. I would like to hear it and understand the dangers.. and I would guess I am not alone. I am however committed to help.. whatever you tell us."

Pietro


The squire smiled at Emerald and released her small, rather furry hand, but the smile faded, eroded into a frown of thought as Dominic speaks.

"An admiral?" Pietro rolled his eyes.

"Not even a sailor. But a coracle? Is that not a small, round boat?"

Pietro shook his head.

"Are there no other, larger boats available?"

Kadri:

"I am there, of course ..."

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Lyric, Pietro, Dommi, and Miss Mouse

“...squeeeeaaaAAAACK!”

Deep green eyes went suddenly wide and just as fast as that impetuous embrace was made Miss Emmi was standing behind Dominic, peeking back around at the Rhoni lad.

“Hey!”

The first bark from Dominic was sudden and quick, both surprisingly fast and protective.

“No startling my... no startling my... bodyguard!”

Dominic’s cloak wrapped back around the little Forest Folk as the Korie lord shook his head.

“It’s okay, Emmi... that’s something Rhoni lads do... it’s mostly harmless. Mostly. Right, Mister Cesare? Besides, from what you’ve told me, if he meant anything of it, Kathi would be sad, and we know he’d never make Kathi sad, right?”

From behind Dominic Miss Em nodded, adding a very quiet reply herself.

“Apologies. Sometimes I spook easily. I am my duties; it’s an important thing to be.”

Dominic’s shoulders shrugged, and he returned his attention to the three companions. On the one hand, Dominic was a Korie Lord. On the other hand, once he had his say, long winded or short, he returned to his easy going nature — relaxed once more, like any bloke you’d meet in a bar. At the last comment, however, he looked back to Cesare with an expression of absolute shock.

“Plan? Plan! Plan? Plan? You wound me, sir! Accusing me of having a... a... Plan? Oh, nonononono! That would mean I’d be taking on a responsibility! I’m deathly allergic to responsibility, and if I had a plan I’d be coughing all the way into the Forest, and I’d blow up like a blueberry, and the bears would eat me!

“Please, Cesare...”

Dominic fell to his knees and pleaded with the Rhoni lad.

“Please, please, do not sentence me to being eaten by bears.”

Behind him, Miss Emmi just closed her eyes and shook her head. She let out a long, experienced sigh... but was smiling again. Without missing a beat, however, Dominic continued.

“The only boats are back in Talesan’s and they mostly... well, fine. They stink of fish. Ew. A coracle, however, Pietro, is an interesting craft. You can make one out of oilcloth, leather, and grass. Notice what’s not said? What’s not said is always so crucial. You don’t need wood like you do for a boat, and that’s important when the nearby trees don’t take kindly to being cut down.”

He leaned back a bit, changing from a kneeling position to merely sitting on the ground.

“We need to get into a fortress in the middle of a lake. On the one hand, the folks we are up against aren’t the most imaginative in the world, except when it comes to making things. That’s a good thing. On the other hand, they aren’t the most imaginative in the world, except when it comes to making things. That’s a bad thing.

“Assaulting the castle isn’t an option. We are going to have to be clever. But I don’t think knocking on the door to deliver a load of wood carvings is going to work either.”

He glanced over to Kadri.

“This should be our kind of task. Just remember, the more She laughs, the better chances we have.”

He then turned his attention to Lyric.

“Small Village. Big Fortress. Dark secrets. The type that probably can’t be sung about when we are all set and done. That fine for you, minstrel lass?”

Looking up, Dominic also made a decision.

“It’s also late. And this is a matter best discussed when one is awake and not sleepy. Me... I’m going to find a place to rest my head and dream of breakfast. Breakfast is good.

“It means bears didn’t eat you when you were sleeping.”

Standing, he stretched and looked about.

“Nice thing about being from a small village? Since there was never enough room for a bed, you get used to sleeping beneath the stars.”


Hasday, the Seventh Day of Yrick

The next morning was a clear and warm — the perfect harvest day. The farmers were, of course, up with the dawn, doing their morning chores and such. For the others, mostly, they followed Dominic’s choice — if the Noble Lord felt it was proper to sleep outside and not bother the villagers, that was probably the wise thing to do.

It was not as if, for any of them, sleeping beneath the night sky was a strange thing.

Come morning, Dominic and Miss Em were easily found.

They had found a small outcropping and were sitting back to back, nibbling at bread and cheese.

It was day one of Lady Yurisdotter's Quest.

Cesare

As he has been sleeping outdoors since that first night of snores in the tower, he too wakes early with the light. Last night he had finished helping the farmer before heading for his outdoor bed and falling asleep though he had strange dreams before waking, swimming underwater trying to find an entrance to an island fortress.

So his head is not entirely clear when he joins the others.

"Morning."

He sits down and pulls out an apple from his pocket.