Trouble Brewing

Bard pulled off his muddy boots and stretched his stiff shoulders. It had only been a month, but he wished winter would come faster. This on and off weather, melting and then freezing, was driving him insane. It was so much work to walk around since the streets were still mostly dirt, well mud. Sen was already home and was busy in the kitchen. Her face brightened as she saw him. Lately she had been working on her cooking skills, feeling a bit competitive with their neighbors who were quite skilled. Bard knew she was better at fighting than them, but that wasn’t good enough. She wanted his praise in other places, which he found cute.

“Welcome home!” she said over her shoulder as she moved something over the fire. The hearth in the living room was blazing and Kai was sitting in front of it, his eyes watching the licking flames. The place was so soothing compared to what he had experienced that day. He walked over into the kitchen to see what Sen was making.

“How does meat stew sound tonight. I got a few different varieties and asked the lady next door what she would do with these scraps.”

“Sounds delicious… smells good too,” Bard said, breathing in deeply. The warm and earthy smell was speckled with bits of seasonings and herby smells. In a way, it reminded him of their meals on the road, but richer.

“How was the forest today?” She asked, starting the conversation as she stirred.

Bard hummed as he leaned against a counter. He wondered where to begin. So much had happened today.

“Well… the dryads from Abundance have begun their instruction with Perspective. They’re learning the hard way what it takes to have safety and community. And Abundance is coming down hard on them. I think it’s been good, if not a bit of a shock to them,” Bard commented. “The trees are also getting arranged. Abundance knows a lot about helping things to thrive, so he’s taken the lead on organizing and integrating.”

“That’s a relief,” Sen chimed in, and Bard agreed.

“Healer’s taken root higher up in the mountains. The water is a bit more abundant, and he has a lot of insight into the herbs that are around. Some of your people are studying under him, along with a few devoted to Elvira. They want to be able to prep us for the coming winter.”

“Expecting some illness?”

“Sort of,” Bard hummed. “Pathfinder warned us. Apparently, we didn’t think of ways to dispose of the waste. There are a lot more residents in a crowded place. He’s helping us find out what we are lacking before it becomes a problem.”

“Sounds like you learned a lot today,” Sen commented with a silly grin before tasting the soup. She jerked back as it burned her tongue before blowing a few times. Bard felt his mouth water a bit. The smell was just getting better and better as they conversed.

“Here!” she said, noticing his look. Bard sipped it and felt himself melt. It was good. Much better than her other attempts. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she chuckled.

“You should. It’s really good,” he said before giving her a kiss. She stirred the soup once more before reaching for the fabrics to keep her hands safe.

“Can you get the bowls?” she asked, and Bard helped her get dinner on the table.

They chatted while they got each spoonful cool enough to swallow, relating their experiences and enjoying the company. Kai’s nose poked over, and Bard and Sen laughed.

“It’s a good thing I made him a sampling,” Sen chuckled. Leftovers were never an occurrence here. Kai was just too curious and eager. Bard stopped and watched the interactions. His eyes wandered around. Though still new, this place was becoming home.

“Bard, look!” Sen shouted, and he looked to where she was pointing. From the soft light of the sunstones, they could see snowflakes through the window.

“About time,” he chuckled. He looked at her hair. Despite having just started to turn red, it was already showing signs of white at the roots. An early winter was approaching. With so many hands, it meant more got done faster, but at the same time, there was more to prepare.

A knock at the door disrupted the atmosphere.

Bard rose with a weary sigh. He somewhat expected this, but still. As he walked to the massive door, he hesitated until he heard a second round of knocks. Cracking it open, the cold draft from outside washed in, and he poked his head out. A catfolk stood in front of him.

“The Elders request your presence, Chief,” she said. Her ear flicked at the snow that fell and Bard peered at her. It took a second but her recognized her.

“You’re Jamil’s girl, aren’t you,” he said, and she straightened.

“Yes, I’m in his company. I’ve been left behind to deliver messages and keep up to date while he went back to gather more goods from the capital,” she said with a flickering tail. Something had excited her. “Oh! My name is Hasina. I apologize that I haven’t introduced myself before,” she said as her hand went to the back of her neck, her tail twirling around her legs.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hasina. I’ll be out shortly to meet with them. Can you let them know?” Bard asked. She nodded and took off, her feet slipping on the mud as the snow fell. Bard looked up, not sure if the white fluff would stick. The ground seemed too warm. He retreated inside and saw Sen cleaning up. She grinned while he put back on his boots and cloaks.

“Stay safe,” she said, coming over. Bard leaned down as she stood in tip toe to give him a kiss.

“I will,” he grinned as he broke away. She puckered her lips into a frown, and he shook his head, amused, before properly hugging her and giving her a satisfying kiss. This time as he broke away, she wanly smiled, and he left out into the cold, hearing her tiny shriek at the change in temperature before closing the door behind him.

With a steely determination, he slugged through the mud, slipping and feeling the weight increase as it caked to his shoes. As he entered the forest, the mud slipped off and onto the plants, but the ground still gave way, occasionally causing him to tumble. He followed along as the ground changed texture and no longer caked, but shifted like sands. The gravely texture made it tricky sometimes, but it was better than mud.

The ground changed several times as he made his way to the heart of the forest. There, the elders waited for him at the grove. All eight had managed to sing harmoniously, though it wasn’t perfect, speaking to their uniqueness and the forced situation. Bard’s eyes grew wide as he spotted Elder Healer and Perspective, who normally preferred being up on the mountain. Elwood stood in the midst of them all, an anomaly that also caught his attention. A few flakes of snow began to peek through the canopy, and the few sunstones glowed faintly. He would need to place them in stronger sunlight soon.

The feeling was somber, but calm. Bard took on a serious tone as he walked into the grove. The fact that they hadn’t greeted him meant something was about to happen. But he didn’t know what. He glanced briefly to the right and noticed Hasina standing by one of the elders. He expected her to be here for a bit, but he didn’t know for how long.

“Hello Bardon Jaystrum,” Pathfinder greeted. His trees all were behind him.

“Greetings, Pathfinder. Elders,” Bard bowed. “Elwood?” his gaze turned up as the Dryad took a few steps towards him.

“Bard, my Chief and high Elder,” Elwood greeted. Feeling the formality of the situation, Bard kept a more serious tone as he rose.

“Why was I summoned?” Bard asked.

Elwood stepped forwards and held out his tokens. Among them were a few black ones, instantly alerting Bard to the nature of the meeting. He reached for his and was relieved that only the two were black.

“I’m glad,” Elwood breathed a sigh of relief.

“So who were they?” Bard asked.

“One was near Healer’s domain. Elder Peace was his name. And this one was to the west, past Elder Craft’s river. She was Elder Attention,” Elwood answered.

“They are growing in number, getting more bold. We heeded the call to gather, but how long this place will last…” Healer said, and Bard looked down at his tokens. Only eight of his Elders were present. He worried about Father Tree, Paradise and the others. However, even the catfolk were finding it hard to make the journey, and they had the most sunstones. The threats on the road were growing, and they needed to keep those close.

“Now, now,” Abundance spoke up. “Bard, in times like this, be grateful you heeded Preparation’s instruction and gathered all together that you have. This place is becoming a type of paradise. We wanted you to know that we will do all we can to keep this place safe. That said, we need to figure out about these storm shades.”

“Counters for them?” Bard clarified and the Elders agreed.

“Getting light to them is a challenge, and even our songs can’t reach them if they get too high.”

“Steadfast,” Bard muttered.

“Her?” Abundance asked.

“Her valley often fights the storm shades. Well, the weather through them,” Bard clarified. He explained how she did it and Defender and Protection had different reactions.

“Always stubborn, that one.”

“That’s hardly a defense.”

“It’s a start,” Bard rebutted, and to that the Elders agreed.

Long went the talks about the growing dangers, and Bard asked how many patrols they could spare and how to keep them all in the loop. If they had more than one patrol out, then if storm shades approached, they would need to gather everyone together. Being caught out in the desert or on the mountains would spell certain death.

“There is another thing,” Perspective said, interjecting into the conference for the first time.

“It seems the shades are taking over the region to the south of here. That is contested territory by many humans and dryads. As they are driven north, they will undoubtedly seek to take root here and drive us out. Six hundred years and they are still aggressive in their war efforts.”

“I can attest to that,” Elwood grunted, arms folding over his chest. “The only reason we remained fairly untouched was because of our movements. It was hard for them to hunt us down and eliminate us.”

“But with this many, and the way humans live, that won’t be an option. Besides, we need more defenses against the shades and there is more danger so that strategy wouldn’t work,” Defender said.

“Bah,” Protection spat. “We need some offensive strategies here. Otherwise, we will be overrun.”

“But that will put our people at risk,” Defender countered. Bard slunk back from that growing argument. Elwood moved closer to Bard as the two spat venomous accusations and counters to one another.

This lasted a while before Elwood elbowed Bard.

“You should return to Sen. I know that you have a lot to do tomorrow,” he said softly. “Don’t worry, they won’t notice. We’ve talked over most of the problems for now. And make sure you let Amir know before you get back. It is the big day after all,” he winked. Bard nodded, feeling grateful. After one month of panning and preparing, he would finally be able to give Sen the anniversary gift. He only hoped nothing untoward would happen so he could execute his plans.