i'm working on this story, but here's a little taster for if anyone stumbles across it. I hope I'll get it done soon : )
For once, I had a place to be. I had a goal;
I had received a letter from the other side of this ancient land letting me know my mother had passed away. Who was I to refuse to honour her memory?
Staring at the last few inches of mead in my tankard below me, I didn't notice a slight man approach until he set his own heavily in front of me, jogging the table. It seemed I had company. Around us, the tavern was loud, men either drunk or close to it were laughing and shouting and singing, the entire scene tinted a cozy orange from the fire and the torches that lit the large bar.
"I heard you telling Reiner that you were leaving." I looked up at Jack, taking in his high pitched, clear voice. He was tilting his head to the mentioned bartender, eyebrow raised in a question. "Something about a letter?" He took a sip of his mead, flicking his eyes down to look at the tankard as he drank. "You've only been here for a week."
It was true, and usually I wouldn't feel guilty about it, since usually I wouldn't get to know people the way I had this time, but for once I had decided to settle down some where; I had learned their names, I had discovered their hobbies, I had made friends. And now I would, yet again, leave it all behind.
"I'm sorry, Jack." I tried to say it in the most sincere way possible, but after years of only the most brief human interaction I wasn't exactly the best at apologies. He laughed it away.
"It's fine, Liath. My father's friend is a finder mage, like the one that found you so they could send that letter. We'll know where you are every step of the way." I smiled, still worried. As soon as I had stepped foot in this village, I had known it was the place for me; rolling mountains, a terme close by, fresh green trees. I wasn't sure I would ever come back though.
Looking out of the window, my mind drifted to the journey I was about to take. Would I really be able to face my brother? My family? They'd be expectant, their wanting for an explanation not hidden at all, if they were as I'd remembered. Not that I blamed them; of course you'd want to know what happened if your son was fine one day, gone the next.
The view was beautiful; fir trees scrambled over crashing hills, the sun posed high in the sky scrutinising her verdant kingdom with her intense light. Ribbons of glinting blue trickled down the green and cows grazed in a field quite close by. The wilderness had become my home, but this place? It was picturesque.
A slam on the table, I was yanked back into the humorous atmosphere of the tavern, a trio of men all pulling up chairs and sitting at my table.
"You're leaving?" sputtered one man, "Already?" As weird as it was, they had gotten quite attached to me over that one week; travellers rarely settled down so when there was a newcomer it was quite exciting. Also, this particular village is quite welcoming. Another man shook his head.
"Liath, buddy. Please don't go!" He said over dramatically, red faced and laughing. I smiled to myself at these men's drunken... farewell?
"We'll miss you."
"Just promise you'll come back one day."
"It was good knowing you."
The voices faded into a blur as I went through the motions of saying goodbye, my mind transported to my journey ahead as I left the tavern feeling numb and unfocused until I stood outside on the hills of Treverita wondering how I'd gotten there, physically and mentally.
Setting off from Treverita wasn't a challenge at all; I had walked so much in my time and I knew that this would all be a blur to me in a couple months time. I tried to isolate that village in my mind, made oaths to myself and imagined versions of all the friends I'd made that I'd someday come back. Oaths that might be forgotten.
