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The Arrival
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The tall oaks of the Viridale swayed with the afternoon breeze, creaking and groaning with every motion like an old man shifting in his favorite chair. Sunlight filtered down in thin shafts from the high canopy, causing shifting shadows to dance about the forest floor. The birds sang their late afternoon songs, to the simple delight of a small humanoid figure, wrapped in a white cloak and matching hood. She contrast sharply with the brown, fallen leaves and fresh green undergrowth, but seemed unconcerned as she lightly stepped across the calm forest floor. Her lack of shoes seemed to be of no issue for her; not that any would fit her unusual feet, which seemed to be not quite beast and not quite human. She stepped through the forest twigs and leaves as silently as a whisper from across a noisy room, the faint sound drowned out by the busy forest around her.
A twig snapped in the distance, and the figure immediately dropped to one knee, eyes wide as they scanned the treeline. Nadya was careful not to allow the serenity of the forest to make her careless; as sure as the long tail that snaked behind her, there were dangers from both men and beast for an unusual young woman walking alone in the Viridale. She had learned a harsh lesson in the months since her mother passed away, leaving her with nothing but warmth and love that totally unprepared her for the reactions of common folk who set eyes upon her animal-like face and clawed hands.
Demon! came their cries, ringing in her memories, It's a monster! It killed three of my cattle!
None of it was true, of course, but that mattered little. The truth was in the mob of villagers, armed with spades, farm scythes, and anything they could get their hands on. Truth was in their wide, fearful eyes, their cries of panic as they tried to protect their homes from what could only be a monster of the wilds.
She shut her eyes tight at the memory, still feeling the tremendous beating of her heart as she ran, the scent of burnt fur thick in her nostrils from a thrown torch that struck home. Her feet had ached and her throat had burned, but she dared not stop until the sounds of angry farmers fell to silence and the moon rose high into the night sky. She felt tears welling in her eyes at the memory, and at the pit in her heart where her kindly mother once dwelt.
:: Do not seek sorrow, Follows-The-Snow, :: a dreamlike whisper echoed in her mind.
Her golden eyes opened upon hearing the familiar name, the name by which all spirits called her. Before her sat a tiny, transparent, faintly glowing green form the same color as wet grass after a summer storm. It's limbs where fluid and ill-defined, seeming to be in more than one place at once. It looked up at her with a flat, featureless face, seeming to be covered in the fresh bark of an oak tree, solid and substantial as though the small creature wore a wooden mask. As she watched, small leaves and little white blossoms sprouted randomly over its green, translucent skin, only to wither and die again a moment later like an endless cycle of seasons.
"Tedoku," she whispered to the creature, which she knew to be a tree spirit, "That's your name." Though she had just now met the spirit, she felt as though she had always known it and there was no other name it could ever have been called.
She felt it reply with a smile, as it had no mouth to move, and she gave a faint smile of her own in return. The tree spirit turned, and silently slipped across the forest floor; its "legs" rolling along like searching roots, effortlessly gliding along the undergrowth without disturbing a single blade of grass. Nadya was not quite as subtle, but managed to quietly keep pace.
The spirit called Tedoku stopped suddenly near a patch of small white and brown mushrooms, and looked up at Nadya in a manner that reminded her of a proud puppy. She grinned and knelt beside it, resisting the urge to pat the little creature on the head. She reached out and carefully inspected the mushroom patch, tilting back the stalks to examine them closely. Placing her other hand in the earth to support herself, she leaned in so close her nose nearly touched the little mushroom patch, and inhaled deeply.
"Pinecaps!" She exhaled with glee, a grin forming at the edge of her lips. "How did you know I'd want these, anyway?"
She carefully brushed away the dead leaves that had fallen around the patch of mushrooms and eagerly gathered several adult caps. She took great care not to damage any of the younger stalks, as she would surely remember this spot in a month's time to seek more of the rare fungus. Even if she could not find a way to trade such a delicacy to a traveling merchant, they would surely brighten her own meager meals. With a happy smile, she packed the last of the adult caps into her large herb bag, and stood.
A sharp snap rang out through the underbrush, causing Nadya to freeze. The spirit seemed to turn sideways and vanish, but not before a warning rang out in her mind.
:: Danger! Hide! ::
Nadya's heart leaped into her throat as she quickly scanned the forest, her eyes and ears alert. Be it wandering orcs or Legion patrol, either could prove deadly to the young woman, and the spirit would not know the difference if it was even still nearby to ask. She had to hide, and quickly!
Her gaze settled upon the roots of the great tree she stood beside, where a recent rainfall had caused a small landslide in the sloping hill. Tangled roots lay exposed to the elements, where they had already begun to turn brown and dry. The deep dirt depression under the tree was begging for some animal to come along and make itself a fresh den; There was just enough space for her, maybe, but it would be tight.
She dove for the tree roots without a second thought, crawling underneath them and into the red, wet earth as far as she was able. She curled herself into a tight ball and wrapped her long tail around her knees, trying to make herself as small as possible. She yanked her herb bag in after her; at least with its tan earth tones, it resembled the clay and loam better than she did herself. Dirt clung to her clothes and her fur, but she did not care to contemplate a bath just right now.
Several long and silent heartbeats passed, and then nothing. She began to wonder if Tedoku, the helpful tree spirit, had made some sort of mistake. Such spirits were prone to misunderstanding matters outside of their own nature; maybe it had sensed the footprints of something that had passed long ago, or even just seen a discarded old helmet, and not understood that such things were different than real and living men.
She had almost convinced herself of this, when a large, black, paw-like foot stepped down onto the earth not three feet from her hiding spot, followed by another just like it. It was joined by two other pairs, similar in shape and color, and at least one butt of a longspear planted itself in the ground near the closest pair of black-furred feet. A guttural, language, full of half-snarls and high-pitched yelps, pierced the deathly silence.
Gnolls, she thought with a shiver, holding her knees tightly.
The nearest gnoll barked something to the other two, and she could hear him, or her most likely, snap her teeth angrily for emphasis. This was followed but a half-whine from another, and a shuffling of the feet that she could see. Nadya's breath caught in her throat, fearful to even leave her lungs with the fierce predators so very, very close. In the back of her mind she knew that if discovered, these beasts would drag her from under the tree roots and kill her for the sheer joy of it. Perhaps they would eat her afterward, but either way it was a fate she tried not to contemplate.
One gnoll suddenly knelt, and her eyes grew wide in terror. He did not appear to be facing in her direction, but she could now behold the beast in all his terrible glory; a male, this one, judging from his small stature. A crude but deadly spear hung from his claws as he sniffed at the ground with his long snout. Various leather piecemeal covered his shaggy form, from which hung all manner of bones, teeth, and skulls, trophies from previous hunts. Some were birds, or even wolves; others appeared to be from humans or elves.
Don't let him see the fresh-picked mushroom patch! she screamed inside her mind. Oh, Gods above, don't let him see the mushroom patch...
A crash in the underbrush from nearby caught the gnoll's attention instead; a hart bounding from the foliage, from the sound of it. The smaller male rose at once, and a great yipping and mad cackling fell from the three gnolls as they gave chase. They bounded away from the old redwood under which Nadya huddled, hungry with their bloodlust and eagerly chasing after the fleeing hart, caught up in the thrill of the hunt.
Nadya wasted no time to see if they would return. She closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten, giving the gnolls ample time to make some distance between themselves and her. At the last breath, she scooped up her bag and bolted from the root-covered hole with a faint whimper of fear escaping her lips. Her feet dug into the forest loam as small, hooked claws slipped out from her toes to grasp for purchase as she ran. She crashed through the undergrowth, her only destination being away.
She did not stop running, until the moon rose high in the night sky.
____________________________
The tall oaks of the Viridale swayed with the afternoon breeze, creaking and groaning with every motion like an old man shifting in his favorite chair. Sunlight filtered down in thin shafts from the high canopy, causing shifting shadows to dance about the forest floor. The birds sang their late afternoon songs, to the simple delight of a small humanoid figure, wrapped in a white cloak and matching hood. She contrast sharply with the brown, fallen leaves and fresh green undergrowth, but seemed unconcerned as she lightly stepped across the calm forest floor. Her lack of shoes seemed to be of no issue for her; not that any would fit her unusual feet, which seemed to be not quite beast and not quite human. She stepped through the forest twigs and leaves as silently as a whisper from across a noisy room, the faint sound drowned out by the busy forest around her.
A twig snapped in the distance, and the figure immediately dropped to one knee, eyes wide as they scanned the treeline. Nadya was careful not to allow the serenity of the forest to make her careless; as sure as the long tail that snaked behind her, there were dangers from both men and beast for an unusual young woman walking alone in the Viridale. She had learned a harsh lesson in the months since her mother passed away, leaving her with nothing but warmth and love that totally unprepared her for the reactions of common folk who set eyes upon her animal-like face and clawed hands.
Demon! came their cries, ringing in her memories, It's a monster! It killed three of my cattle!
None of it was true, of course, but that mattered little. The truth was in the mob of villagers, armed with spades, farm scythes, and anything they could get their hands on. Truth was in their wide, fearful eyes, their cries of panic as they tried to protect their homes from what could only be a monster of the wilds.
She shut her eyes tight at the memory, still feeling the tremendous beating of her heart as she ran, the scent of burnt fur thick in her nostrils from a thrown torch that struck home. Her feet had ached and her throat had burned, but she dared not stop until the sounds of angry farmers fell to silence and the moon rose high into the night sky. She felt tears welling in her eyes at the memory, and at the pit in her heart where her kindly mother once dwelt.
:: Do not seek sorrow, Follows-The-Snow, :: a dreamlike whisper echoed in her mind.
Her golden eyes opened upon hearing the familiar name, the name by which all spirits called her. Before her sat a tiny, transparent, faintly glowing green form the same color as wet grass after a summer storm. It's limbs where fluid and ill-defined, seeming to be in more than one place at once. It looked up at her with a flat, featureless face, seeming to be covered in the fresh bark of an oak tree, solid and substantial as though the small creature wore a wooden mask. As she watched, small leaves and little white blossoms sprouted randomly over its green, translucent skin, only to wither and die again a moment later like an endless cycle of seasons.
"Tedoku," she whispered to the creature, which she knew to be a tree spirit, "That's your name." Though she had just now met the spirit, she felt as though she had always known it and there was no other name it could ever have been called.
She felt it reply with a smile, as it had no mouth to move, and she gave a faint smile of her own in return. The tree spirit turned, and silently slipped across the forest floor; its "legs" rolling along like searching roots, effortlessly gliding along the undergrowth without disturbing a single blade of grass. Nadya was not quite as subtle, but managed to quietly keep pace.
The spirit called Tedoku stopped suddenly near a patch of small white and brown mushrooms, and looked up at Nadya in a manner that reminded her of a proud puppy. She grinned and knelt beside it, resisting the urge to pat the little creature on the head. She reached out and carefully inspected the mushroom patch, tilting back the stalks to examine them closely. Placing her other hand in the earth to support herself, she leaned in so close her nose nearly touched the little mushroom patch, and inhaled deeply.
"Pinecaps!" She exhaled with glee, a grin forming at the edge of her lips. "How did you know I'd want these, anyway?"
She carefully brushed away the dead leaves that had fallen around the patch of mushrooms and eagerly gathered several adult caps. She took great care not to damage any of the younger stalks, as she would surely remember this spot in a month's time to seek more of the rare fungus. Even if she could not find a way to trade such a delicacy to a traveling merchant, they would surely brighten her own meager meals. With a happy smile, she packed the last of the adult caps into her large herb bag, and stood.
A sharp snap rang out through the underbrush, causing Nadya to freeze. The spirit seemed to turn sideways and vanish, but not before a warning rang out in her mind.
:: Danger! Hide! ::
Nadya's heart leaped into her throat as she quickly scanned the forest, her eyes and ears alert. Be it wandering orcs or Legion patrol, either could prove deadly to the young woman, and the spirit would not know the difference if it was even still nearby to ask. She had to hide, and quickly!
Her gaze settled upon the roots of the great tree she stood beside, where a recent rainfall had caused a small landslide in the sloping hill. Tangled roots lay exposed to the elements, where they had already begun to turn brown and dry. The deep dirt depression under the tree was begging for some animal to come along and make itself a fresh den; There was just enough space for her, maybe, but it would be tight.
She dove for the tree roots without a second thought, crawling underneath them and into the red, wet earth as far as she was able. She curled herself into a tight ball and wrapped her long tail around her knees, trying to make herself as small as possible. She yanked her herb bag in after her; at least with its tan earth tones, it resembled the clay and loam better than she did herself. Dirt clung to her clothes and her fur, but she did not care to contemplate a bath just right now.
Several long and silent heartbeats passed, and then nothing. She began to wonder if Tedoku, the helpful tree spirit, had made some sort of mistake. Such spirits were prone to misunderstanding matters outside of their own nature; maybe it had sensed the footprints of something that had passed long ago, or even just seen a discarded old helmet, and not understood that such things were different than real and living men.
She had almost convinced herself of this, when a large, black, paw-like foot stepped down onto the earth not three feet from her hiding spot, followed by another just like it. It was joined by two other pairs, similar in shape and color, and at least one butt of a longspear planted itself in the ground near the closest pair of black-furred feet. A guttural, language, full of half-snarls and high-pitched yelps, pierced the deathly silence.
Gnolls, she thought with a shiver, holding her knees tightly.
The nearest gnoll barked something to the other two, and she could hear him, or her most likely, snap her teeth angrily for emphasis. This was followed but a half-whine from another, and a shuffling of the feet that she could see. Nadya's breath caught in her throat, fearful to even leave her lungs with the fierce predators so very, very close. In the back of her mind she knew that if discovered, these beasts would drag her from under the tree roots and kill her for the sheer joy of it. Perhaps they would eat her afterward, but either way it was a fate she tried not to contemplate.
One gnoll suddenly knelt, and her eyes grew wide in terror. He did not appear to be facing in her direction, but she could now behold the beast in all his terrible glory; a male, this one, judging from his small stature. A crude but deadly spear hung from his claws as he sniffed at the ground with his long snout. Various leather piecemeal covered his shaggy form, from which hung all manner of bones, teeth, and skulls, trophies from previous hunts. Some were birds, or even wolves; others appeared to be from humans or elves.
Don't let him see the fresh-picked mushroom patch! she screamed inside her mind. Oh, Gods above, don't let him see the mushroom patch...
A crash in the underbrush from nearby caught the gnoll's attention instead; a hart bounding from the foliage, from the sound of it. The smaller male rose at once, and a great yipping and mad cackling fell from the three gnolls as they gave chase. They bounded away from the old redwood under which Nadya huddled, hungry with their bloodlust and eagerly chasing after the fleeing hart, caught up in the thrill of the hunt.
Nadya wasted no time to see if they would return. She closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten, giving the gnolls ample time to make some distance between themselves and her. At the last breath, she scooped up her bag and bolted from the root-covered hole with a faint whimper of fear escaping her lips. Her feet dug into the forest loam as small, hooked claws slipped out from her toes to grasp for purchase as she ran. She crashed through the undergrowth, her only destination being away.
She did not stop running, until the moon rose high in the night sky.
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