Elder’s Song

Bard woke the next morning to the sounds of people waking and talking outside. Sen was next to him, curled into her blanket like it was a cocoon. Bard shook his head, his eyes rolling before stretching from last yesterday’s plans that had gone late into the night. He moved to the side and reached for his boots that he had put close by. As they scrapped on the ground, he heard Kai’s whimpers outside.

He shuffled out of the room and partially froze as his eyes looked over the balcony. Kai had managed to squeeze himself into the house while they slept. The door looked worse for wear and Bard had a very unamused expression. He should have thought Kai would want in as well, and the living room was certainly big enough to house him… but, the doorway was a different matter.

“Just how did you manage that?” Bard asked as he moved along the balcony path and descended the stairs to be next to Kai. Kai looked down apologetically. He then turned his head to the side and Bard yawned as he stretched again. He then looked up and squinted at Kai.

“Get much bigger and you wont fit in here, door or not,” Bard remarked and Kai moaned.

He looked at the doorway and a frown settled quite comfortably on his face. The damage was already done, and it was partially his fault, but now he had more work to do. That, and there was the meeting today. He didn’t feel like he could ask for a festival with his house needing repairs. It felt anticlimactic now. As he rolled his head, he saw one of the catfolk’s ears peek around and then the head.

“Oh!” the exclamation as those eyes saw Kai was evident. “That’s what happened. I’ll get Jamil!” her words petered off as she hurried away. Bard heaved a sigh and looked to the kitchen for some easy food. He wasn’t in the mood to cook right now.

As he munched on something, Jamil came and laughed when he saw Kai inside the house.

“He won’t fit for much longer, but we should have assumed something like this would happen.”

Bard just kept deadpanned as he took another bite.

“Rough night?” Jamil asked with a glint and Bard straightened.

“No,” he growled out, knowing exactly where Jamil’s thoughts had gone. Jamil was stunned silent and then laughed.

“Still a kitten then,” he teased and Bard choked on his food before scowling. Jamil’s grin only grew wider. The other catfolk who had fetched him looked confused and Bard shook his head, not wanting another to join in on the teasing. Jamil, thankfully, didn’t explain it either.

“Well, how do you want to address this chief?” Jamil asked and Bard sighed.

“I just want it done. Make it big enough that Kai can come in for now,” Bard answered.

“And here I thought you wanted to build it yourself,” Jamil teased. Bard bit into the food again.

“I did. And I’ve got a busy day today. Can you take care of it? Please.”

Jamil’s mouth curled into a larger smile and he shifted his weight.

“Sure, chief. I’ve got this. Come here Kai. Let’s get you measured,” Jamil said as he walked over. Kai bowed down and let Jamil measure him.

Within moments, Sen came rushing out and then she froze at the balcony.

“Kai? How-“ She nearly shouted before she ushered a scream as she saw the doorway. Bard closed his eyes and reached for a mug of water. After a bit, he peeked to find it and realized Sen was right in front of him.

“Morning,” he greeted, still groggy.

“Bard!”

“We will be fixing that. So don’t worry your head,” Jamil said as he interjected himself into this. Bard closed his eyes again. He felt Sen reach for his hand and then she lightly pulled.

“You need sleep,” she said softly and Bard opened his eyes with a bit of effort. Her concern was directed at him now, not the doorway. Her expression had softened while her grasp was firm.

“I’m fine,” he said and Sen shook her head.

“You were up late last night. And you got up before me. You need sleep,” her stilted words made it hard for him to follow and he felt his eyes try to close again. Maybe he needed a bit of sleep. A brief rest would be nice. She pulled him upstairs and made sure he was in bed before leaving the room. He barely heard the door close as his eyes finally gave up and he was out.

When he woke, he heard the tokens at the edge of his bed humming loudly. He shifted in bed and then reached for them, rubbing at his eyes, feeling rested and well. Sen wasn’t in and the door was still closed. He glanced out at the bright sky, realizing it was still day.

The tokens grew louder and he shook his head, focusing on their sounds. Three of them seemed louder than normal. It took a bit but he separated their tunes and identified Healer, Abundance and Pathfinder were being loud. He got to his feet and headed out of the room, barely looking at the catfolk and muttering a thank you as they worked.

Now that he was heading outside, he looked skyward. The meeting would be soon, but he still had a bit of time to figure out what was going on. Being that the home was so close to the woods, he turned and walked in, seeking solace and clarity. It only took a moment before Kai followed after him. Bard looked back at his friend and Kai paused, hesitant.

“I’m not mad, honestly I should have thought of that first,” Bard answered. “But Kai, what do you think? They’re being noisy.” Kai crept closer and then winced as he rubbed at one of his ears. “I know that,” Bard pointed out and Kai stopped his motion and came closer, his large muzzle sniffing earnestly. Bard smirked. Like that would help him figure out anything.

They went back and forth, trying to decipher it, but ultimately, Bard was summoned to the meeting before they had an answer.

As he passed his house, the doorway was wider, and they were shifting the beams and other wood around to make some accommodations. For the most part, it seemed the next part was crafting the door and hinges. It would be massive, which Bard didn’t exactly like, but if it prevented Kai from doing that again, it was worth it.

He heaved a sigh and felt his stomach rumble. The catfolk paused and one dashed into the house before rushing over with a pack of cloth. They quickly handed it to him and Bard could already smell the food. The warmth spoke that it was freshly made.

“Thanks,” he said and the catfolk bowed before retreating.

“Seems, he has taken a liking to you,” Jamil said, coming over and then guiding Bard on.

“Really?”

“Sure. He’s mute, but his actions speak loudly. Sort of like Kai here. Now, off you go,” Jamil shooed him away and Bard tried to understand what that was about as he left, heading to the lake where the others were gathering. He sat down and opened the bundle and found a fresh pie of sorts. He found the utensil and dug in, releasing the aroma. It was a fish pie, which was no surprise when he considered the source. He bit into it and enjoyed the meal quickly while the others finished gathering.

Elvira, Amir, Elwood, Ruegar, and a few of the leaders of the refugees gathered. Bard set the last morsel aside and cleaned his face before the meeting started.

Elwood was the one who started, being the oldest and becoming the most respected other than Bard.

Bard rose after being called on, and he took a calm breath before introducing the idea of a festival. The idea was centered around having some celebration now that the work was completed on the homes.

Many seemed to like the idea, however he noticed the reservation from several of the dryads who were present. His tokens also hummed louder and he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“You seem troubled,” Bard said as he moved over to be facing the dryads. They looked at one another before one sighed and rose.

“My name is Ellender. It’s a pleasure to be addressing you all today. As the Chief has noticed, there is something that needs to be done, urgently.” She spoke a slightly older Asternum but used simple words. Bard nodded slowly, encouraging her to continue. She looked once at the others who didn’t offer any help.

“The trees and the forest isn’t ready. So many haven’t taken root, and are suffering,” she reported. Her words went on, detailing all the setbacks, the influx of random trees from those who fled here, those who abandoned their ways or had nearly been wiped out from a shade swarm. Bard listened to their plight. Unlike humans and catfolk who built homes, trees were the Dryad’s homes and if they were not doing well, then they couldn’t sing them into the shapes they needed.

Bard thanked her for brining up the problem and asked those present what their thoughts were. Many wanted to postpone the festival till winter, this would allow everyone time to finish their homes and they could focus their attentions on helping the forest adapt and thrive. A catfolk delegate mentioned using some of the discards from fishing and hunting to increase the soil’s vitality. It was a tactic they used in the desert to help their elder tree flourish. Another Dryad mentioned that some trees might create resources that could hurt other trees while helping different trees. Ideas were put forth on how to gather the information and then how to utilize it to change the arrangement of the place. Some trees would need more water than others, and some would need their base protected from the coming freeze, as they didn’t do well with the cold.

While they discussed this, a horn blared, interrupting them all. Bard looked to the wall and on top, a catfolk was sounding the alarm. Others began to do so. While others voiced their concerns of shades and the rumored storm shades Bard knew it wasn’t so. Kai would have alerted them if that was what they faced. And since Sen hadn’t seen any raiders or hostile humans in the area, it wasn’t that either. The tokens hummed around his neck getting louder. Bard’s eyes grew wide. He knew this experience, but his sense had dulled the last year. He took one step towards the wall, and then another. Without warning, he broke into a run.

He climbed the ladder to be near where the catfolk who blew the first horn was.

“Chief!” his cry of alarm was ignored as Bard looked out. A cloud of dust in the distance, coming, moving. That’s what they were looking at. Bard’s eyes picked out the bits of colors and greens of leaves and firs. More dryads and their trees. He shook his head, his hand gripping the tokens that were loud enough that Bard wasn’t left guessing.

Those three, had migrated. He’d only mentioned it to one of them, but all three had come. Elder Healer, Abundance and Pathfinder. Abundance had hostile dryads in his woods. If they came here, it must be out of desperation, unless they forsook him and he left alone. So many questions began to whirl in his mind. He looked back at the city and down at the other leaders.

“What is it?” their cries reached him, barely.

“Elders, three of them. It looks like they moved their forests,” Bard answered.

“Elder trees!” the catfolk next to him shouted in surprise. Bard smirked and pointed out in the direction.

“You can barely see the fall colors coming in, see?” he said and the catfolk looked and then his eyes grew wide. He looked at Bard in a bit of wonder. He didn’t wait to explain. They were going to be busy in the next little bit.

“Amir, Elvira,” Bard called as he climbed back down. They met him at the bottom as he jumped the last few rungs. “Abundance is coming and he may have dryads. They’ve been hostile, so I don’t know what to expect. Can you gather the guards and keep people, especially the humans inside the walls?” Bard asked. The two agreed to it and moved to get people organized. This could amount to nothing, or it could be life changing. Perhaps it was wise they had already postponed the festival. Just what challenges would they meet?