Druid

Chapter 1

It had rained overnight in the Vale. Water droplets clung to the leaves of the tall trees as the first rays of light peeked through the dense forest canopy. Thin columns of smoke drifted skyward from small dwellings made of stone, roofs constructed from grass and sticks.

Inside, a forest elf slept soundly in his bed made from wooden logs. It was rough, and basic, but it kept him off the cold stone ground on the winter nights. He didn't have much of a fireplace, and in any case he wasn't much for collecting firewood because it was such hard work.

The little elf lay sleeping in his bed under a ragged quilt made by his mother. It was a quilt made for a child and his feet dangled out one end. Each foot had a different coloured sock on it. One of his feet twitched at the sound of a sudden loud noise.

Aubrey was banging on the door, knowing that on a cold and wet morning like this that he'd have to do it a second time. The door wobbled and seemed to be in danger of falling from it's hinges.

Inside, Ruddi was curled up in his bed and silently wished the old man would go away.

"Uggggghh, ooookay," Ruddi managed when Aubrey pounded on the door again, "I'm getting up now. How can you not feel the cold! Won't you let me sleep in just once?"

The old man turned the flimsy handle attached to the door and let himself in. There were no locks on any of the homes in the Vale, and it wouldn't have occurred to anyone to that such a thing existed.

"Boy, if I let you, you'd sleep all day," Aubrey gruffly offered. Ruddi thought on this for a moment. The idea of sleeping all day, perhaps under the shade of a Jacamore Tree appealed greatly to him. He knew better than to bring it up at the risk of inflaming Aubrey's grumpiness further.

"Come now, the good seats will be taken," the old man said fairly good-naturedly.

Ruddi sat on the side of his bed. He was small and thin for his age, even by forest elf standards. One eye was open and the other squinted. His hair was messy and poked in every direction.

They left together - Aubrey, tall and lanky and grey, and the boy dressed in clothes that had seen better days.

They walked along winding pathways made of cobblestones and bricks, weaving around trees and large rocks, and in one place ducking under a tree root from an enormous Warra tree that looked like the long gnarled fingers of a sleeping giant.

The forest foliage was dense in places, and leveled out as they approached the Vale.

The Vale was a small community settled by farming families. Hard-working people that spent their days tending to the needs of the forest in return for food and other useful materials used for clothing and other necessities. The forest elves had lived in the area longer than anyone could remember.

Aubrey and Ruddi approached the town common. Nearly all of the buildings had smoke billowing from their chimneys as the townsfolk stoked up their fires to get through the cold morning. The smell of wood smoke hung in the air as well as the occasional waft of something delicious.

Families were waking up and soon the sound of children could be heard. In a window, a little girl was clutching a doll that appeared to be roughly patched together from pieces of cloth. It had large disproportionately sized elf ears and a sewn-on happy smile. They waved to her and she waved back, then disappeared from the window.

Continuing on, they arrived at the town common, which was a simple setting of rough wooden seats arranged in a ring around a large central area. In the center Ruddi could see several members of the town council standing in a small group and talking in whispers. One of them glanced in Ruddi's direction and held a stare for a moment before looking away and resuming his conversation.