Return

Elwood looked out at the setting sun. It was the last day. Would Bard make it? They had given him a bit of extra time, so he didn’t need to show up, but there was a part of him that hoped for it. When he looked back at his son, he could see that he too was worried, in his own way. He was arranging some shapes around on a map of the area.

“They’ll make it,” Elwood chuckled, noting how Amir still had to keep his hands busy when nervous.

“He better. If not-”

“You know, as I, that he’s capable, so stop with the wasteful threats. You won’t go out and hunt him down.”

Amir grunted and growled at it, but didn’t refute it. In a way, it almost reminded Elwood of how Kai responded to Bard’s admonishing. A little bit of nostalgia as he thought of it. Suddenly there was a long howl, which gathered people from their homes towards the windows and balconies.

“He did it!” Elwood shouted, gleeful and feeling several centuries younger. Amir also came over and looked out at where people were looking. Hands were outstretched and others began to shout cheers. Within striking range, a silver, furry figure grew larger and larger as it approached the walls.

“That stubborn teka really did it!” Elwood said as he grasped Amir’s shoulders before whooping and heading towards the stairway down to the ground floor. Amir rested his forearms on the balcony and nearly melted. That Bard really had made it to all fifteen elders in the course of a single year, just like he had promised.

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Bard’s eyes were full of relief as they saw the lights of Sal Shefa. It was right where it was supposed to be. Walls were being built, and above the rushing winds, a cry of jubilation reached his ears. Sen put her arms around him and squeezed his mid-section.

“Home,” he barely caught from her lips, and he moved his hand to cover one of hers. Yes, they were finally going to be home.

The last few days had been frightening. Even staying in the old woods of Perspective hadn’t been safe. Though, that had been without its elder. She had moved on, likely to Sal Shefa, the place Bard was becoming more curious about.

As Kai came close, he howled again and more people were seen coming like ants from the structure and buildings. His eyes caught sight of merlants, a welcome sight, as it meant the caravans had come.

As they crossed the border, the lights shone ever more brightly from atop their towers and throngs of people approached. It was a real welcome. Kai was forced to stop as the crowd grew. Bard was surprised at the sheer amount of people here. Dryad, catfolk, human, all were present.

He rubbed at his eyes. Though they had black hair that was lifeless, he recognized some of the faces from Elder Life’s forest. Knowing some had made it caused tears of relief to fall. Sen clung to him a bit harder, and he looked in her direction. There was Elwood, running towards them.

Bard hastily began to unstrap him and Sen. Within a few moments, Elwood was closing in, and the crowd somewhat parted for him while Bard and Sen got off.

“Welcome home! Bard. Sen,” Elwood chimed as he came up to them.

“Grandfather!” Sen shouted as she jumped and hugged about his neck, the momentum led to him slightly stumbling back.

“So ye made it!” another voice chuckled. Bard looked over to see Ruegar on Elvira’s shoulders so he could stand above the crowd.

“Ruegar!” Bard laughed. “Elvira!”

“The chief has returned!” Elvira cheered as she came forward. A large cheer echoed hers. Ruegar was set down next to Bard.

“How did it go?” Elwood asked Sen, and she pulled out her own string of tokens. She beamed with pride as she began to regale the tale, however, Bard could tell she was worn out. They had ridden hard and fast to make it on time. He, too, felt worn out. A place to sleep, preferably something more comfortable than the grounds they had slept on, so Kai could sleep more soundly, would be nice. As he looked at the others, he also noticed they were somewhat dirty in comparison as well. A bath would be nice.

As he thought this, Kai began to pad his feet in place, small steps that seemed anxious. Bard looked up and noticed the large face looking over at a lake, and he sighed.

“Sen!” he called out, and she stopped mid-sentence. “Before you get into telling about our adventures, I think we should unload and rest. Kai’s ready for it,” he indicated to their things, and she grinned before bounding over.

“Sure! But where are we going to stay now?” she asked. Ruegar coughed and then indicated to the woods that were further in. Sen looked over, but she was too short to see over the sea of heads. Bard however, could. From his vantage, he saw a tree with the balcony pointed towards them. From there, he could barely make out the golden hair of Amir, who was waiting for them. At the very least, Sen would stay there, and so that was a direction they could go. He helped Sen up and climbed in front of her.

With a direction in mind, Kai parted the crowd with his howl, and they made their way over. Sen noticed who was on the balcony, and she stood up and waved. Bard looked back to see Elvira and Elwood directing everyone. It put Bard’s nerves at ease to know they would handle things without them for a bit longer. In all honesty, he wanted to sleep for a week.

Amir came down from the balcony and greeted them. His gaze was cold, silent. Sen and Bard were a bit struck at the stark difference between how Elwood and the others had greeted him and how Amir stood before them. Bard noticed how Sen hesitated, and he closed his eyes to take in a calm, steadying breath. Then he walked forwards and bowed to Amir.

“We have returned,” Bard said solemnly in Asternum.

“Sen. Come.” Amir said sternly. Sen’s footsteps were hesitant until she got close. They then turned more confident before she stopped next to Bard. The silence stretched.

“The tokens,” Amir’s voice was just above a whisper, but his tone conveyed a deep authority. Bard could hear the sounds of the tokens rattling as Sen procured them. As she handed them to him, Amir’s stance shifted. “Black.” The word was in the human language, which caused Bard to look up. Amir’s eyes were full of disbelief and grief. He then looked at Bard, who scrambled to procure his own tokens. The black ones did stand out, and Amir held out his hands to receive them. Bard hesitated. These were practically sacred, but it could also be part of the dryadic customs surrounding the pledge, so he complied. Amir looked over them both and then returned the tokens to them. Bard suppressed his urge to sigh in relief.

“You must present them to Elder Defender before the night is over. I will unload Kai, so you two can head there now,” Amir said. Though he spoke humans words, the pronunciation was a bit stilted and mirrored how dryads would speak. It brought a smile to Bard’s lips.

Sen looked about, as if confused on what direction to go, but Bard could tell. He could hear Defender’s song, and… was that Perspective? He grabbed Sen’s hand and indicated with a flick of his eyes which way to go. Amir seemed to have a slight reaction, but Bard ignored it and guided Sen into the woods.

Eventually, the trees and growth crowded around them, and Bard paused to listen to the music. As he did so, Sen copied him. There was something else at play here.

“Craft?” he muttered, picking up on her tune. As he said the words, Sen moved around to look him in the eye.

“Did you say craft? Like Elder Craft?”

“I heard her song,” Bard muttered before shaking his head. Three elders in one place? Was that possible? Sen looked about in wonder before her hair shifted, noticeably. She then looked in the direction that seemed to have the songs the loudest, and the two began to move again. Bard noticed the subtle shifts of the trees as they allowed them to pass. There was also a strange mix of trees. Most were the silver woods, but some seemed to be from the other Elder’s forests. He then stopped as his eyes saw the type of trees found only in Elder Protection’s woods. Sen noticed his gaze and then froze as she too saw the tree. This couldn’t be true.

Bard and Sen hurried their pace as they headed further into the woods. By the river were signs of Craft’s forest, and between gaps, they could see the trees of Elder Protection’s woods. Then, the songs became loud and Bard and Sen course corrected and found themselves in a glade with five Elders present. It looked like some sort of council, and they seemed to have waited for them.

The songs grew a bit more harmonious, changing and melding into one. How Bard wished he had brought an instrument with him. To join in. Sen sunk to her knees and then put her hands on the ground, as if to show some form of reverence. Bard shook himself from his impulses and then took one knee and bowed respectfully to the Elders.

“It is well met, Elders,” Bard said respectfully.

“Bard and Sen. Welcome back,” Defender spoke first. “Present your tokens.”

As Bard and Sen did so, he could feel the disturbance in the song. No doubt it was due to the black tokens.

They asked about the journey and what Sen learned. As she explained it, she seemed a bit nervous as her gaze flicked to elder Protection a few times. Bard grabbed her hand to help her remain calm and confident. He was there for her, and it seemed to help.

However, the stars came out and Sen seemed even more worn out as she tried to answer the questions that seemed never ending. Eventually, Bard pulled her close.

“Respected Elders, may we continue this at another time?” Bard asked politely. He heard a thrum of laughter in their songs.

“Well done Bard. You two are finished now. Work with Elwood and Amir as to when the wedding will take place.” Defender chuckled. It seemed like they were aware of something and it bothered Bard.

“We aren’t doing it now?” Sen seemed to hum, and Bard looked down at her as she leaned against him for support. She was more tired than he had supposed. He shifted to scoop her in his arms. If only he had asked what the ceremony would be like, instead of just going along with it. Sen likely knew something, but seemed like it wasn’t even what she expected. Somehow he had a gut feeling that something would be different, and he wasn’t sure if he liked the idea.

As he excused themselves and carried Sen out of the woods, he watched her begin to fall asleep. It was tricky navigating, but then the song changed, and the trees made a simple path that was easy to tread as he left. The stars were visible from the path, and he admired them briefly before walking the rest of the way. Sen shifted a few times, but she was soundly asleep when he came to her father’s tree. He waited for them and when he saw, he came over and Bard was relieved to hand her over. She was light, but that distance was a bit long.

As he stretched and then rubbed at his aching arms, Elwood approached.

“As much as you may wish to retire, there are a few things we need to discuss,” he said. His tone itched at that nagging feeling that Bard had, and he refrained from swallowing hard as the dread began to build. “Oh come now, don’t look so nervous,” Elwood chuckled as he put his hand on Bard’s shoulder. “It’s about the wedding,” he said, and Bard didn’t feel all that comforted as he was led to another tree. At the base was Kai and his things were somewhat visible inside. A female Dryad was moving them about and paused to bow before leaving.

“We had your things arranged. You can adjust them later,” Elwood said as Bard watched the Dryad leave, answering an unspoken question. Bard followed up the stairway into the second level of the tree, where a bed and a few comfortable chairs were placed. The bed was obviously fit for two or more people.

“This is what we could arrange ahead of time. But I expect you will need to decide on a place and build it for yourselves,” Elwood commented as he moved to one of the chairs. He motioned to the other, and Bard sunk into it, enjoying the stillness. Elwood seemed to be enjoying seeing him like this, as he remained silent for long enough that Bard was about to nod off.

“My apologies, but didn’t you want to discuss something?” Bard asked, shaking himself awake. Elwood cleared his throat as a smile remained on his face.

“Indeed. Since Sal Shefa is a bit of a new entity, you two will be the first ones married, and I’m afraid it’s turned into a rather important affair.” He seemed apologetic.

“I see. And is there a problem with it?” Bard asked, hoping to drive the conversation to the end quicker. That bed looked rather nice.

“Well. It might be a problem for Sen. She did often tell me she wanted a simple and quiet wedding if she ever wed. With all her suitors and her position, it was almost expected to be grand, and I assume she wanted that as a form of rebellion to the expectations.”

Bard rubbed his hand across his face as he started to connect the dots. Sen was of course a bit rebellious. He could understand it, seeing how she was raised to be the next leader of her people, and so he could see why he was having this conversation.

Elwood commented that he had reined in some of the ambitious folks, trying to give them a more simple wedding, but with the village becoming an important place on the continent, a symbol of unification and the end of the war, it only made sense that a wedding between two of the hostile people would be expected to be a bigger deal.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to rest much,” Elwood said softly, even more apologetically. Bard let out a long sigh as he slunk into the chair and leaned his head back, letting his gaze rest on the ceiling. It really was too much to ask for. A week of rest. That’s all he wanted, but with the size and scope of this, he knew it really was just a dream that wouldn’t be realized.

“I understand,” Bard said at last. Elwood rose and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Now get some rest. I’ll hold the hosts off as long as I can, but no promises,” he said. Bard thanked him and struggled out of the chair as Elwood left. He pulled off his shoes, his robes and then flopped onto the bed, hardly alert to realize when his head met pillow as he was already out.

(little note. I realized I forgot to say that Watcher is the fifth Elder present. She guided the dryads from Life's forest down and will settle up on the mountain where she can observe the stairs and watch)