thorinside
The Forest: Chapter 5
Predecessors
Kieran fashioned for himself a small pouch, which could hold more inside it that the volume of the bag would suggest. Into this he packed his dark, seeing stone, then he tucked the pouch into his pocket and began to walk carefully up the fern covered hillside toward the summit of what looked like a small mountain. Several hours later he came to the top of this mountain and was able to look at the forest around him. This was indeed the highest point that he could see within the confines of the horizon, and it afforded him a view that suggested the lay of the land. There was, not far from here, what looked like a curving black snake through the trees: a river, slowly winding its way through the forest. The river seemed to end at the foot of another hill, smaller that the one that Kieran was currently standing on.
Kieran decided to make his way down the hill, and follow the river to the second hill. But first he ate a magical meal of wild mushrooms and cranberries that appeared from the grass in a small wooden bowl that seemed to bubble up out of the ground. Sated, he stood and crossed over the peak of the hill and started down the other side. The path that opened before him was all down hill, and there were no obstacles, as if the forest itself was arranging for him swift passage. He was shortly at the river, its dark waters slowly moving away from the sun putting Kieran in mind of the back of a large black fish, its scales sometimes catching the sunshine and sending it back to him. He closed his eyes and thought of how he might transport himself down the river, and when he opened his eyes again, a white boat, clearly made of wood from a silvery tree, perhaps birch, was floating on the water nearby his feet. He stepped into the boat, which was surprisingly sturdy, and found there were paddles inside it, which he fit into the notches in the side of the boat and he began to paddle slowly out toward the strongest currents.
"You have done well." said a sudden, small voice behind him. Then he felt a small hand on his shoulder, and a small body passed his side in the boat coming around him to sit on the small seat at the bow of the boat. She was wearing leafy robes, and a longer green skirt, with perfectly formed bare feet which sometimes kicked enthusiastically. The smile on her face was a coy one, but her eyes betrayed how proud she seemed to be. Tess had a golden aura that was not simply from the late afternoon sun at Kieran's back which highlighted her shining blond hair. No, she seemed to be shimmering.
"It is very good to see you again, Tess. I wondered when you might visit me again!" Kieran replied after a time. There seemed to be little urgency to speak since the river was carrying him where he needed to go, and all he needed to do was provide periodic, course correcting, modulations of the oars. "I have discovered that my needs in this place become reality, is that not wonderful?"
"It is indeed. But I must warn you that while your needs have been simple thus far, you must be aware that those who came before you were all destroyed by theirs.", Tess said gravely, her smile dimming to a mask of caution.
"I have not seen any evidence of people here.", Kieran said.
"It is true, but you will soon. But remember, their fate was not because of any external difficulties, but instead was caused from within.", Tess then smiled again, "You will not meet this end if you are careful to manifest only what you need."
"I will keep that in mind, thank you Tess. Oh, it looks like we are coming to the hillside I was paddling for." Kieran said as he made for the bank of the river nearest the gentle rise of the hill.
"Well, then, Kieran, I must take my leave. We will meet again, for I am what you might call your guardian in this place.", and as Tess finished talking, a pair of the most beautiful, gossamer, and gilded wings unfurled from behind her, and she began to fly off and was quickly out of sight.
Kieran brought the boat onto shore and thought about having dry feet, and suddenly they were. He passed though a small stand of shrubs, and was met suddenly by a frozen man in battle gear. It startled him so much, he crashed back through the shrubs and fell down onto his backside, his heart pounding in his chest. In order to make sure that it was safe to go forward, he took the seeing stone out of the bag in his pocket, and took a closer look at the frozen, statue like man on the other side of the shrubs. When he had determined that there was no immediate danger, he returned the stone back to its bag, and carefully stepped through the hedge again.
The man was dressed in armor, made of some sort of gilded metal, but instead of a gold shine, he was all white as if encased in a layer of ice. It was unclear how he had come to this demise. Perhaps, Kieran thought, he was overheated from his trek in armor, and hoped to cool himself, and had overdone it. But that would not explain his persistent state for he would have thawed eventually.
He did not linger long around the statue, but pressed on toward an opening in the side of the hill. Whatever had frozen the warrior was no longer nearby. Or at least that is what Kieran thought, for it was at that moment that something that guarded the doorway in the hill woke up from its long slumber and opened a single penetrating eye and waited as Kieran approached it.
The Forest: Chapter 5
Predecessors
Kieran fashioned for himself a small pouch, which could hold more inside it that the volume of the bag would suggest. Into this he packed his dark, seeing stone, then he tucked the pouch into his pocket and began to walk carefully up the fern covered hillside toward the summit of what looked like a small mountain. Several hours later he came to the top of this mountain and was able to look at the forest around him. This was indeed the highest point that he could see within the confines of the horizon, and it afforded him a view that suggested the lay of the land. There was, not far from here, what looked like a curving black snake through the trees: a river, slowly winding its way through the forest. The river seemed to end at the foot of another hill, smaller that the one that Kieran was currently standing on.
Kieran decided to make his way down the hill, and follow the river to the second hill. But first he ate a magical meal of wild mushrooms and cranberries that appeared from the grass in a small wooden bowl that seemed to bubble up out of the ground. Sated, he stood and crossed over the peak of the hill and started down the other side. The path that opened before him was all down hill, and there were no obstacles, as if the forest itself was arranging for him swift passage. He was shortly at the river, its dark waters slowly moving away from the sun putting Kieran in mind of the back of a large black fish, its scales sometimes catching the sunshine and sending it back to him. He closed his eyes and thought of how he might transport himself down the river, and when he opened his eyes again, a white boat, clearly made of wood from a silvery tree, perhaps birch, was floating on the water nearby his feet. He stepped into the boat, which was surprisingly sturdy, and found there were paddles inside it, which he fit into the notches in the side of the boat and he began to paddle slowly out toward the strongest currents.
"You have done well." said a sudden, small voice behind him. Then he felt a small hand on his shoulder, and a small body passed his side in the boat coming around him to sit on the small seat at the bow of the boat. She was wearing leafy robes, and a longer green skirt, with perfectly formed bare feet which sometimes kicked enthusiastically. The smile on her face was a coy one, but her eyes betrayed how proud she seemed to be. Tess had a golden aura that was not simply from the late afternoon sun at Kieran's back which highlighted her shining blond hair. No, she seemed to be shimmering.
"It is very good to see you again, Tess. I wondered when you might visit me again!" Kieran replied after a time. There seemed to be little urgency to speak since the river was carrying him where he needed to go, and all he needed to do was provide periodic, course correcting, modulations of the oars. "I have discovered that my needs in this place become reality, is that not wonderful?"
"It is indeed. But I must warn you that while your needs have been simple thus far, you must be aware that those who came before you were all destroyed by theirs.", Tess said gravely, her smile dimming to a mask of caution.
"I have not seen any evidence of people here.", Kieran said.
"It is true, but you will soon. But remember, their fate was not because of any external difficulties, but instead was caused from within.", Tess then smiled again, "You will not meet this end if you are careful to manifest only what you need."
"I will keep that in mind, thank you Tess. Oh, it looks like we are coming to the hillside I was paddling for." Kieran said as he made for the bank of the river nearest the gentle rise of the hill.
"Well, then, Kieran, I must take my leave. We will meet again, for I am what you might call your guardian in this place.", and as Tess finished talking, a pair of the most beautiful, gossamer, and gilded wings unfurled from behind her, and she began to fly off and was quickly out of sight.
Kieran brought the boat onto shore and thought about having dry feet, and suddenly they were. He passed though a small stand of shrubs, and was met suddenly by a frozen man in battle gear. It startled him so much, he crashed back through the shrubs and fell down onto his backside, his heart pounding in his chest. In order to make sure that it was safe to go forward, he took the seeing stone out of the bag in his pocket, and took a closer look at the frozen, statue like man on the other side of the shrubs. When he had determined that there was no immediate danger, he returned the stone back to its bag, and carefully stepped through the hedge again.
The man was dressed in armor, made of some sort of gilded metal, but instead of a gold shine, he was all white as if encased in a layer of ice. It was unclear how he had come to this demise. Perhaps, Kieran thought, he was overheated from his trek in armor, and hoped to cool himself, and had overdone it. But that would not explain his persistent state for he would have thawed eventually.
He did not linger long around the statue, but pressed on toward an opening in the side of the hill. Whatever had frozen the warrior was no longer nearby. Or at least that is what Kieran thought, for it was at that moment that something that guarded the doorway in the hill woke up from its long slumber and opened a single penetrating eye and waited as Kieran approached it.