Tag: Fiction

  • Teegan’s last day at home

    Teegan’s last day at home

    Korlot is a small walled town along the hillside in the Lothian Highlands. Every morning Teegan and her little brother leave the Upper Gate with the handful of goats their family collected. They head out to the managed clover fields with their fences. The family cannot dedicate time to herd goats, not today. Dad will work the rye and barley with Ried today. Mom is working on the cheese this morning. In the afternoon she will be trading family mohair for a shield for Teegan and Rohan

    The family isn’t rich enough to buy two shields, and like many who raise two children so close together their weapons-of-age are hand-me-downs. Teegan’s already started practicing with Pa’s hammer. It is light and natural to her hand. She would also take Dad’s halberd.

    Rohan hasn’t practiced. His friend Spence helped him create a pike. It was cheap and simple. Spence found a bit of iron to shod the staff. Hopefully the pike keeps the boy ten feet further from trouble.

    Little Alleway is out front of the goats. The yippy terrier is horrible herder, but Rohan loves him. Everyone in the family has a terrier, except Teegan. Everyone loves them, except Teegan.

    Last year, when she reached bond-age, grandpa was dying. Teegan provided his care for most of the season. She’d bring him tea and listen to the stories about when Korlot mustered out in the most recent attempt to take back Kirtin-on-the-Lake. He’d speak of loyalty and might, of failure and friendship, and of disappointment that the north could not defend themselves from Azsel and Kirtin needed help from the thieves of Daoud.

    As she listened Ha-Lim, the immense bighorn ram, would be at Pa’s feet. As Pa weakened Ha-Lim crept closer. During this time her friends were bonding with various dogs, ponies and cats. She did not go on a bonding journey. Pa had a few months and so many stories.

    by RLEVANS at https://flic.kr/p/6NZYBj
    by RLEVANS at https://flic.kr/p/6NZYBj

    So she listened. She learned. She brought Pa tea, goat cheese and bread. She started to bring Ha-Lim clover and grass. When she cleaned the room, she cleaned for the ram too. When she walked to the well for water, Ha-Lim followed. The rare times that she left the house to bring the goats in, Ha-Lim followed.

    When they buried Pa the ram was there, as usually happens when the person passes before the animal in a bond. He laid next the burial plot for a while and then trotted over to Teegan. Teegan never went on a bonding journey, never had a bonding ceremony. It didn’t matter. Ha-Lim is now her bonded partner in life.

    It’s a lot better than those damn yippy dogs. He’s horrible at helping herd the goats, eats the vegetables and grains when working the crops and the horns get in the way of cuddling. None of those things matter. Ha-Lim is quiet and elegant. Every breath reminds Teegan of Pa. And all those memories of Pa are also memories of Ha-Lim.

    Plus, when Rohan and his friends get too foolish threatening to have the ram bowl through their group tends to get them to change their focus.

    “Rohan! That billie is pissed off. Call Alleway back here,” she screams out. “And dammit, stop throwing rocks at the goats!”

    Tomorrow the four of them will be off to Kirtin-in-the-Sky. They will serve their not-Winter with the Shield of Kirtin. After a week or so of training they’ll head to the northern hills to show force against Azsel. Rohan is going to be trouble with a ten-foot pole, keeping that kid under control is hard enough. Giving him distractions like weapons and new friends will be a disaster, and a requirement of the law.

    “Alle, get here!” and he throws one final stone. ‘Throws one final stone’ could be Rohan’s middle name.

    “Rohan, here’s your bread. Eat, then go tell Ried to watch the goats. We have to finish packing.”

    That evening the town would hold Teegan and Rohan’s Service Feast. That celebration of their final step into adulthood ends their time as youth. The moment they take to the trails and roads to Kirtin-in-the-Sky they are adults. They will serve the Kingdom and starting with next Winter they will be ready whenever Kirtin needs them.

    Many meet their partner during Summer Service. Teegan just wants Rohan to come home alive. That’s probably going to be harder than meeting someone, even if Azsel doesn’t raid. Rohan can’t stop talking about Azsel-ite cavalry on dogback.

    He’s excited at the chance of battle and his bond is a tiny, yippy terrier. This is a horrible combination.

  • Piyu returns to a hut

    Piyu returns to a hut

    The clouds overhead are dark and gloomy. Winds have picked up enough that Fani is staying close to Piyu. She’d rather not fly and that bird certainly isn’t made for walking. As hail falls Piyu knows that he must stop running and find shelter. His escape didn’t include clothing for a run through the mountains and this type of storm.

    * * * * *

    He took the opportunity to escapte when he earned his weekly hour with Fani. The Scoques were kinder than most other halflings, in that they allowed their goliaths to visit their companions on occasion. Most of the birds on the ranch didn’t even have their wings clipped. The treatment of bonds like Fani, the quality of life for Piyu and his friends and the lack of aggression in enforcing Azsel policies meant that most accepted their place.

    Scoques Ranch became the new tribe. Most of the others considered the Scoques themselves the new tribal leadership and went about their business. It was the better of awful situations with which the border tribes along River Crinth dealt. Many were in fact settled. They were going to get sold or forcibly bred. They could choose their own family and even occasionally would be allowed to participate in local festivals celebrating the Everflow, or Harvest, or Migration.

    While much of the Azsel/Crinth relationship is about a quest for power through slavery versus freedom for the Scoques family it may be something more like servitude, though none earn their freedom. It is supposedly possible. Piyu doesn’t want possible. He wants his bird on wing and his feet sitting in a cool mountain pond while the two of them fish together. Piyu wants to be free, even if that means less well off.

    So Piyu left. He ordered Fani away and followed. Just walking off Scoques Ranch Piyu heads towards the hills. He does not break into a run until he crosses the fence on the ranch. Then his huge stride opens and he runs and runs and runs.

    It is the worst escape plan. At this point he’s committed. He runs through the afternoon and the night not resting until the next morning. Fani brings him back some fish. The two find a crevice and nestle in for a short rest. Goliath and bird will need to get up soon and keep running.

    * * * * *

    Piyu heads back to the hut he’d passed a while ago. It’s the only cover he’s seen since he escaped the settled lands. He thinks he’s still far enough ahead that shelter makes more sense than pushing through this type of storm. Hail is starting to fall, even though it is the Summer. There is also a wicked green tint to the clouds back over River Crinth.

    There’s just one problem. Someone is in the hut.

    Correction there are two problems. A small group is climbing up the slope behind that hut. They are about a half mile away. Three small halflings and too many dogs to bother counting now.

    Three problems – there are tiny sparks flashing back and forth across the river. They are red and gold. Smoke starts to billow out from a ranch near Scoques. Even smaller are the hints of blues and greens in the distance. What is this?

    The storm opens in full. Hail and winds and a tornado off in the distance. It does not matter now that the tiny building is occupied. Fani needs shelter. So they open the door and stare at Master Kellamon Scoques Lady Harsop and Bastos. Piyu can’t see Latarza, but that may not matter. He’s face-to-face with someone who though friendly will be taking him back to the Ranch.

    Lightning splits the tree behind him. Fani gives a soft cry. The peel of thunder shakes their souls.

    “I can’t run through this.”

    “Come in,” Kell says. Moving back. “You don’t have weapons?”

    “No. I just wanted to get away,” Piyu, despite having a huge size advantage speaks with a hint of fear. The Scoques don’t use whips, and rarely even nets, but the natural order is that halflings are in charge, even when alone.

    “I’ll start a fire.” Kellamon begins to gather some dry hay into the fire pit.

    “No!” Piyu shouts quietly. The little halfling raises an eyebrow and looks back. “There’s someone else coming Master Kellamon.”

    “Slavers? We wouldn’t hire slavers!”

    “They almost certainly are, but I didn’t get a close look. Master Kellamon today is going to change our lives.”

    “Yours will be worse for it.”

    “No, this isn’t about me and trying to leave. This storm is different. It will last through the day, maybe the next.” And in front of Piyu’s hands a greenish cloud, hail and a tiny tornado appear.

    Kellamon’s jaw drops. Bastos whimpers. Fani tucks her head under wing. Piyu just stares in wonderment at the model of the weather that somehow appeared in front of him. He’s never done this before today.

    “Close the door.” Kellamon’s authority is slightly weakened. The door closes, untouched by goliath hands.

    Piyu is startled. Maybe it was the wind, acting in concert with the words? The visual model of the storm disappears.

    “Let’s settle in and hope that those slavers pass don’t notice the hut. If they do I will try to pay them off.”

    It is the night when things change for Piyu, Kellamon and all of Kin.

  • Prelude to a discovery

    Prelude to a discovery

    The recent empowerment of cantrips sparked the greatest interest in the Font of Two Paths out in Western Kin. This place is holy, clearly something unnatural creates the Everflow. Each day a new group shows up in worship, or to search the lands for a clue as to why this Awakening occurred.

    A generation ago Telse was just a merchant town that connected upcountry villages to the great port city-states of Mira and Qin. Now it is overwhelmed with newbs. They are taxing the ability of the town to feed everyone. The villages in the area cannot provide enough. Food is now being brought into the area by barge.

    Formerly a pastoral town and region Telse is the new frontier. Cultures are mixing in ways that are unexpected. Due to Telse’s history as a faith retreat and shipping region the language is commonly known, but new tongues enter the town constantly. Outside the walls, which enclose the Font, there are districts of the Five Kingdoms, as well as the guilds, clans, tribes, faiths and ways. They have their normal conflicts and worries, but in much closer proximity.

    The town guard and militia are overwhelmed. When dustups between the ghettos flare to a great enough level they are ignored. Violence, robbery, assassination, forced conversion, slave trading and other evils disgust the people whose families called Telse home for generations.

    Mayor Kellamon (Halfling) is losing control. His guard is needed to have some semblance of peace.

    He formulates an idea. Find the greatest scholar in all of Kin. Find the Lorebook. Use its immense power to set things back to normal. Rid the outsiders from Telse. The last Mayor tried creating a rumor that the Lorebook was in Aszel, held by the Emperor. Adventurers ran off to Aszel to take the Book. They were slaughtered or enslaved. Aszel stepped up its involvement in Telse-ian affairs and Kellamon because mayor by freeing a significant number of slaves. Prior to that he was a shepherd with three dogs and even earlier he had a dark past.

    Mayor Kellamon gathered a group of about twenty at the base of the Everflow Falls. He stands on a dias that preachers typically use. At his side are Captain Piyu, Corporal Allison, Elder Sealm and Bishop of Quar Ollium. Nils is in the rear with a doubtful scowl on his face.

    His amplified voice booms over the selectees and the other crowds.
    “Thank you for coming. Telse is changing. It is not the simple place of pleasure and pilgrims, but now boom town. After the various wars and quests of the Awakening, Telse doubled in size. I am trying to get a handle on things here, and am getting help. Bishop Ollium is working with other faiths about shared access to the Font of Two Paths, this should go a long way to soothing the needs of the religious. Piyu and Allison are continuing their efforts to train the guard and militia, as well as leading an effort to build a new wall. The towers are helping provide early warnings about those that would raid our lands.

    “These, here before us are on a different mission. They are to search for the Lorebook. If our small village is to become a city, we must know the cause. Maybe then Telse can use the knowledge to build something great together, rather than have outsiders define our future.

    “Piyu and I talked with all, and have grouped them together. They are not criminals beings sent on a fools errand as Mayor Benson sent those souls to Aszel.  Some will stay behind to reinforce others that near success.

    “You, you, those two, that one, her and her see Elder Sealm when we are done.”
    A fight breaks out between two of that group. A sergeant of the guard and his squad pull apart a Halfling and Goliath about to go at it. They are taken to the overcrowded town jail.

    With a broad gesture, “those to my right see the Bishop. Those to my left will talk to Allison. Piyu will join you after he  jails the idiots. Thank you for volunteering.”

    Kellamon walks away followed by his three herd dogs. Nils starts climbing the Cliffs of the Everflow.

    Sealm’s advice for the group is simple. Do not assume the myths are lies. Go West, away from troubled times, because what scholar would seek violence while trying to learn? He hands Aamar a smooth stone and indicates the group should leave on the western trail to the Cliffs of Gallinor and Dakhan Thaeeb.

    Samul, Shonie, Saffron, Behn and Aamar lack direction, but not hopes. They have their own reasons for participating in this foolish errand. Heading through the boom town and its multitude of neighborhoods with their menagerie they do not get odd looks, except for Samul due to the rare iguana and Aamar’s bear cub.

    The mostly Halfling group does not have a pack mastiff, so they purchase a mule to carry supplies on their journey. They head to the western gate. They look to the hills of the Western Wildes not knowing what their future is.

  • Chasing Piyu

    Chasing Piyu

    Finding this one was going to be trouble. The rough lands towards Telse along the Bell’an Range is a good place to hide. Getting into the unclaimed hills is a way to avoid the Crinth-Aszel war and, probably more importantly, a way to find evade capture. Some rush to the front, where the number of Aszel soldiers and their dogs make hiding harder. But, those that rush to the front also stand a chance of finding their tribe.

    Piyu took the other route towards sharp crags, forests, brambles, and streams. The goliath’s massive frames make hiding hard, in the Range and Upper Telse there is hope.

    Kellamon does not care for Piyu’s hope. He doesn’t care for his ability to hide. This hunt already cost him Latarza. It wasn’t even violence, just a horrendous accident away from any help. A stupidly rushed river crossing so as to not lose the scent. Lat had the lead, a little slip and Bastos’ littermate is gone.

    Pain had ripped through Kell. A companion of several years torn from his little pack. Losing the food, other traveling goods and time meant little. Latarza is gone. He was a damn fine dog. He’s gone.

    That was two days ago.

    Now Bastos cannot find the scent. There’s a narrow path, and it is likely that Piyu followed it. An abandoned homestead sits off to the west. Recent rains weigh down tall grasses, they may be some kind of grain gone wild.

    A shadow passes over Kellamon as he’s bent to the ground inspecting trail sign. He glances to the sky and sees a massive eagle. It is circling. Bastos is several dozen feet away, and could be the center of that circle. Kell gave the whistle for come. Losing a second dog just trying to catch an escapee would be foolish.

    The wingspan and that grand beast could cover a cloud. As it drifts off away, Kell wonders about the kind of place he’s in where a bird that large would be free. Kell, also thanked As that Piyu’s bond is just a heron. Piyu wouldn’t run out of food, but there’s nothing to scare Kell and Bastos. Impracticality would be Piyu’s downfall.

    Dark clouds roll overhead, chasing the giant eagle to the mountains. The storm would be massive. Since the escaping goliath’s trail had stopped here recently, the abandoned shed could be shelter again. He’d lose little time to this soon-to-rage storm. Piyu could try to keep running, but these rains would slow him, the winds would threaten his bird.

    Another night with no fire, but at least he’d be warm with Bastos curled next to him. Dinner is nuts, tack bread and some dried roots paired with a bit of fresh water. It was the best night of the chase, even if both he and Bastos were lonely.

    Maybe tomorrow he’d catch Piyu or that damn bird. One would lead to the other. Maybe tomorrow he could start a journey home and grieve properly. For now, he could sleep. Tomorrow he’d recapture the massive goliath.