A Journey Never Begun Pt. 06

Copyright (c) 2018 James Miehoff, All Rights Reserved.

This work may not be published whether for fee or free without this copyright.

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This is one of a series of stories set in the Land of Etherium, a place out of time where wizards channeled mana and a host of creatures we call fairy tales roamed the lands. It is said these tales occurred almost 27,000 years ago before a set of cataclysms shaped the face of the earth and the fairy folk retreated or we in our smugness, no longer saw them.

In any case, they are just stories after all, aren't they?

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This is part five of the journey of Muddle to find a new Master to continue his magical education. If you haven't read the first four parts, please do, things may make more sense if you are caught up. I'll wait.

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The next day dawned with a slight overcast, dulling the worst of the heat of the day.

Muddle got up and prepared himself for the journey into town. His last task was to address the frog.

"Mr. Frog, I have set the wards out about 5 feet from the house," Muddle told the frog. "You are welcome to eat anything that still lurks inside, but do not come too close to the wards or you will find yourself with the uncontrollable urge to run away from the house. I should be home by nightfall but in case I am mistaken about how far it is in to town. I will return tomorrow. Stay well and I will see you soon."

The frog blinked his eyes slowly and replied with a hearty, "Re-deep ('Safe journey Master')."

Muddle shook his head still marveling at hearing words overlaid on the frog's croaking noises.

With that, he picked up his pack and left the house. He did remember to leave the front door open a crack to allow his familiar access to the outside.

A few steps later he entered the wards and had to suppress an overwhelming need to run. He knew they were there and he had felt their power before, but every time it was the same, he had to control himself from just running away until he cleared the outer edges.

The depth of the wards was only a few steps and soon Muddle was walking down the almost invisible track back to the main trail.

Turning towards the town, Muddle set a good walking pace and soon was lost with his thoughts. And a great many thoughts he had to ponder. Before he knew it, he walked out of the forest and could see the town across the farmer's fields.

Forreston was a largish town or a smallish city depending on your frame of reference. It was big enough to have several vendors of most goods and services. Most of them resided on streets bearing the name of their occupation.

From memory, Muddle passed Baker Street and turned left on Wool Market Lane. About half way up the street he found Jeweler's Court. It was quite obvious by the two guard houses on either side of the narrow street and if that wasn't enough of a clue, the name was spelled out in large letters on the arch over the gate.

Muddle gently rang the bell mounted by the gate and a small mountain of a man appeared, squinting at him.

"What'cher want?" the mountain asked gruffly.

"I have found some small shiny stones in the mountains and I was wondering if any of the good masters would care to look at them and be interested in purchasing them from me," said Muddle slowly as he rolled a clear red stone between his thumb and forefinger.

The eyebrows of the guard went up, then he turned and called to the other house, "Gwelph, I am going to escort this gentleman up to see the masters. Watch the gate."

A muffled unintelligible reply came back, but apparently it was good enough. The first guard did something that clicked, and then the gate swung in. "Follow me," he said.

"Thank you," said Muddle.

In the end, Muddle sold two rubies and a small diamond to the jewelers. As he put the coins in his purse the head jeweler made a brief bow to Muddle and said, "Thank you for your business. Are you sure we can't entice you with some of our finished products?" as he made a sweeping gesture to the fine jewelry displayed on the shelves.

"Thank you, but no," said Muddle. "I am just here to buy some goods that I need and then to go home. I am afraid that I was hoping that I could get enough money with the two lucky rubies but I had to sell my last stone as well. Maybe next year I will go with the tinker to the mountains again and hope to have more luck."

"Well, if you get lucky," the head jeweler said, "please remember us favorably and bring your stones to us."

"Thank you, sir," said Muddle and he bowed to each of the jewelers before leaving. While bowing, he did see the head jeweler shake his head 'no' at the large guard who had never left Muddle's side.

After hearing the clang of the gate behind him, Muddle let out a silent breath of relief at having escaped with his life. The jewelers had of course cheated him badly, but Muddle was expecting no less. Before going to the street of the jewelers, he had transferred the two rubies and one diamond from the cache of stones that the naiad Selene had given him before he left Throgmorton.

Muddle thought to himself, "If they had only known how many stones Selene had given him, they would have slit my throat in a second."

Putting those cheery thoughts aside, Muddle went in search of the glass makers.

By the early afternoon, Muddle had finished his shopping and headed back along the road back to his house.

Stopping briefly to slide the stack of glass and his other purchases into his largest bag of holding, he continued much faster not having to carry the bulky and heavy merchandise.

Thinking back over his purchases, Muddle was fairly content. Most of the other merchants dealt fairly and he was able to save some coins for his next shopping trip.

"I have bread for a month and several pound of different meats and enough vegetables to last for a while," he thought to himself. "Shaking the coin purse to show that it was empty certainly put a frown on that squint eyed thief that had been following me. But now, I need to step up the pace or I won't make home by dark."

The rest of the trip home was quite uneventful. Muddle stopped brooding about the events of the last few days and just enjoyed the beauty of the forest road. Before he knew it, the turn off to the farm house was upon him. As he approached the farmhouse he made the gestures to open the wards and he stepped through to the house.

As he stepped in to the house, he saw his familiar lazing in the last sunbeam coming through the window.

"And how was your day, Mr. Frog?" Muddle asked.

"Re-deep ('Very nice, plenty of crickets today')," was the reply.

"Good," said Muddle suppressing the shared memory of crickets crunching in his mouth.

Reaching into his backpack, Muddle retrieved the large bag of holding and pulled the precious sheets of glass out of it and stacked them carefully against the wall.

Going into the kitchen, Muddle pulled out the bag of holding that had the food and retrieved a loaf of bread and some cheese. Cutting the cheese and tearing a chunk off the bread, Muddle looked over and asked, "Would you like me to continue the story tonight, or should we just turn in early?"

"Re-deep ('Story, please')," said the frog while hopping into the kitchen.

"All right," Muddle said laughing. "Let me think where we left off.

"Oh yes. My wife had just walked off to catch up to her father and the cart. The tug had returned and started leading me back towards the mountains. This time, there were no side trips and two weeks later found me walking up a valley between two peaks.

"It was getting dark and I stopped to make camp, but the tug had other ideas and as I started to pull my backpack off my left arm shot straight out and I almost fell down from the pull on my arm. Figuring I better go along with the tugging, I kept on walking up the valley.

"Just before darkness set in I wandered into this clearing and saw four buildings. Not wanting to end up with an arrow sticking out of some place important, I called out. But I got no response except an echo.

"I headed for the first building, but the tugging started again and led me to the second. I knocked on the door, but again, there was no answer. When I opened the door I couldn't see anything so I pulled a lamp from my backpack, lit it and then went in. The house was well preserved, except for the mattress in the bedroom. Generations of mice or other small critters had torn it apart to make their nests. I skipped that room.

"The main room was in good shape. A rocking chair was in the corner and the kitchen was at the far end. There was firewood still stacked by the fireplace in the kitchen so I built a small fire and warmed myself. Rolling my bedroll out by the fireplace I was asleep almost instantly.

"The next morning I continued my exploration and found that the other two houses had their roofs collapse and they were uninhabitable. The fourth building was a tool shed and a small blacksmith shop. Finishing up my tour was the open mouth of a cave or a mine.

"Lighting my lamp again, I poked my head into the mine and saw that it went about 40 or 50 feet into the mountain and then there was a cave in. Looking around, I could see some broken timbers and then I spotted the bones.

"It was only a foot, still in a boot and part of the lower leg bones. There was a huge boulder on them, so it was pretty apparent what happened. The men that worked this mine were either trapped or killed as this poor bastard was when the mine collapsed.

"Suddenly it crossed my mind that I didn't know how stable it was and I beat a hasty retreat. When I was outside, safe and sound, I turned back to the mine and said the Prayer for the Dead for those poor souls that lay entombed within.

"In the toolshed I found a small rake and with some persistence and a little squealing from the current residents, I cleaned up the bedroom and got all of the straw out of the room. I piled it up in the center of the clearing and set it on fire. While raking, I saw way too many fleas jumping for my liking.

"After the fire burned itself out, I walked into the forest and collected a good quantity of certain leaves that I knew would make a potent flea killer. After finding a pot in one of the other houses I brewed up a big batch of flea killer and set about making sure they wouldn't be bothering my slumbers.

"The next day, the tug was back. It did let me get my backpack and then I was led to a small side trail on the other side of the clearing.

"For three days, I climbed the side of the mountain following this trail. At last I came upon a huge old oak tree surrounded by several smaller oaks.

"I started the words of greeting my Master had taught me in case there were any dryads in the trees. Before I finished I heard giggling and out of the corner of my eyes I could see dryads coming out in a circle around me.

"As I finished the words and bowed my head I heard a majestic voice say, 'We thank thee for thy observance of the words of hospitality.'

"I raised my eyes and beheld a woman before me. Though she was a dryad she looked like the most beautiful and mature woman in the world in my eyes. Her eyes were as green as fresh leaves in the spring and her hair was as brown as the acorns. She wore a green sash that looked like moss covering a body that was perfection.

"It was then that one of the other dryads spoke up with a shrill piping voice, 'He is pretty, may we keep him?' The others quickly repeated the question until it was like the voices of a flock of birds chirping.

"The first dryad looked around and said, 'No my children. It is not his destiny to stay with us. If he lives, he will perhaps be the one to save us all.'

"The other dryads stopped and many of them put their hands to their mouths. Finally, one asked, 'If he is the one, then what must we do?'

"The first dryad replied, 'We need to help him in his quest and send him forth.'

"At this I bowed my head and said, 'Thank you great lady of the oak. But I do not know why I was brought here. I have been getting tugged and pulled hither and yon by a force I do not understand and it led me here.'

"The lady spoke softly, 'The force that pulls you is the power of your destiny. For some people the guidance is so light they never feel it. For others, especially those that try to deny it, it is an unstoppable force.'

"Words then came to my lips unbidden in a voice not my own, 'Thou knowest then what is asked of thee, Eldest?'

The first of the dryads, nodded her head and replied, 'I knoweth.'

She then turned to her tree and reached up to a low hanging branch. It came off in her hands. A dryad to my right made a squeaking noise and I turned to see. When I turned back, the lady was sitting and had two rods of wood in her lap. She rolled the first between her hands like a master baker rolling dough. Then she began to flatten it until it was nearly as thin as paper. She trimmed the edges with her thumbnail until a rectangular piece was left. She set that piece aside and repeated the steps until she had an identical piece made from the other rod. She put the two pieces together and seemed pleased with the result. She then took the top piece and split a piece about an inch in width off one edge. She held them up and examined them. Pleased with the result, she stood up and moved to stand in front of one of the younger dryads.

"She smiled at the younger version of herself and spoke, 'Thy blessings on this we have crafted my daughters and sisters,' and passed the pieces one at a time to the other. The younger dryad held each one, kissed it and handed it off to the next dryad, who did the same.

"While it seemed like time stood still, each of the dryads gave each of the pieces of wood their blessing by kissing each one. As each kiss was given, I felt a stirring of mana. When all had given their blessing, the last dryad then brought them to me and said, 'Be true to thyself and thy purpose and the gift of the Eldest will be true to thee.'

"I bowed my head and let the dryad place the pieces in my hand. I saw that they were perfect. Three thin pieces of unblemished oak the size and shape of the pieces of the covers of a grimoire.

"The Eldest then spoke, 'That which thou desire is in thy hands. They have been shaped by my hands and blessed by the three rings of three. May they serve you well in the trials ahead.'

"With that I tried to take my leave. I bowed deeply to the lady of the oaks and then words again came unbidden to my lips in that same voice, 'Great Lady of the Oaks, dost thou knoweth of any stands of maple, pine or walnut where thy sister nymphs of the trees hold court?'

"The lady's eyes opened wide and several of her sister dryads looked shocked. A few started chattering among themselves until the lady held up her hand.

"She then spoke the following words to me. 'If thou beest the true Child of Destiny, then these words will guide thee true. Follow the path from whence thee came. At the foretold place take the fork sinister and thou will find what thy heart desireth.'

"Again I bowed to the lady of the oak. I turned, but not to leave. My feet of their own volition took me to stand in front of the first of the sisters. Without knowing why I put my hands on her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her forehead. As I did so I felt a stirring of the mana again, but I did not feel any less in my stores nor did I feel any fuller.

"I then turned and repeated the kiss to each of the dryads, one at a time until I had stood before each of them. In all, I had kissed 27 dryads.

"With that, I was released. Not knowing what else to do, I slowly walked over until I stood in front of the Eldest. I could feel the tension and I knew somehow that if I did the wrong thing now, I would be fertilizer for the trees before I knew what hit me.

"Somehow, she was smaller than she seemed to be when I stood outside the circle. I had to go to one knee to be low enough to take her hands. I kissed each hand and then looked up into her eyes. They were proud eyes, but somehow sad. She gently took my head in her hands and leaned in and kissed my forehead. Again I felt the swirl of mana and then it was gone. With that act, the tension among the dryads evaporated and the clearing no longer felt like a death was imminent.

"I remained on that one knee and addressed the lady and through her the rest, 'By your leave, my lady. With your blessing and the blessings of your sisters, I go to my destiny.'

"She closed her eyes and nodded. I stood and walked from the circle to whatever awaited me.

Muddle then looked at the frog who was staring at him with unblinking eyes. He chuckled and said, "Well Mr. Frog, I think this would be a good time for me to go take a piss and get some water for the morning. Why don't you go get a snack and we can continue when I get back."

The frog closed his eyes slowly and then hopped off to the door.

Muddle stepped outside with the bucket and went to water a bush. When he was done, he walked to the stream and seeing the naiad splashing in the moonlight, called out to her and asked if he may take a bucketful of her water. She giggled and told him to help himself and then thanked him for doing her the courtesy of asking.

When he returned to the house, the frog was back in his place on the table licking his lips. Muddle gave a brief shudder and said, 'Don't tell me what you had for supper, but I am glad you are back."

Settling down on his bedroll, Muddle gathered his thoughts and then dropped back into his tale.

"When I left the circle of oaks, it was almost dark, so I promised myself that I would make camp as soon as a suitable place presented itself. Stupid me. But I was young and I was so full of myself and so horny. All of the dryads were gorgeous and most of them were naked. I had such an erection when I left the circle, it hurt. I just wanted to find a nice quiet place out of their sight and whack off.

"About a half mile down what passed for a trail there was a very faint animal track the split off to the left. Thinking back to what the Eldest had said, I started down that path. I hadn't gone but a hundred paces or so when I came up on the edge of a cliff. Since it was now dark I stepped off the edge and if it wasn't for a vine that my foot got caught in, I would have fallen to my death. As it was, the vine tangled up around my foot as I stepped off and I ended up slamming into the cliff face upside down and knocking myself out.

"When I awoke, it was morning. I was dangling by one foot, upside down, over a vertical rock face that seemed like it went on forever. My arms were numb from hanging down all night and it was generally not a good place to be.

"Because of the weight of the pack, I could not raise my body up and as I said my arms were numb so they couldn't have caught the vines to pull myself up anyway. I was struggling both physically and mentally trying to get myself out of this predicament, when I heard a very pleasant voice call out to me.

"As I turned to the voice, I heard it say, 'You look silly hanging there.'

"When I finally finished turning, I saw a little girl standing on the cliff face. Not standing vertically like you or I would, but standing on the face of the cliff as if it was the ground.

"Immediately I knew this was an earth nymph.

"I called out to her, 'I feel silly. Is there anything you can do to help?'

"She giggled and then walked over to me, picked me up in one hand and walked me up to the top of the cliff. There she dropped me, rather ungently on the ground.

"Knowing the capricious nature of earth nymphs, I immediately got up and bowed to her and said, 'Thank you milady. Is there anything I can do for you?'

"She looked quite happy and jumped up and down just like my dirt sisters would when we would return with something special like a ham or some sausages or the pie that Mudtomba brought back one time. It was very distracting. Did I mention that she was naked?