Post by Tekel Brighteyes on Oct 19, 2007 0:37:32 GMT -5
There is a part of the northern section of the Godsfell Woods that people call The Forest of Neither Here Nor there. That is because it is a strange place with even stranger creatures. It has places the wizards call “wild magic zones” and “dead magic” zones within. Places where magic works with strange effects or not at all.
And right along the edge of this forest, and even partially inside, there are some ruins of what used to be a town. And at the center of this town is what’s left of a labyrinth. Once belonging to humans, now it’s run by kender and is called The Land of Somewhere. Soldiers from the nation of Lemish have tried to force them out. They even had some of the dark knights help them.
The battle was over before it even started. The official report that would later be given was they didn’t take enough supplies to feed and clothe everybody. And several soldiers misplaced their weapons, food, and armor. One had even misplaced his horse as he was riding it. At one point it rained pebbles and acorns from the sky.
Finally the guards decided they really didn’t want the town after all. It’s not like there was anything important there. So they simply left. They even left some of there less important items behind. A couple of guys and a woman decided to get back in touch with nature so they left completely naked and horseless.
While there is much more to that story than is written here, that is not the story I have to tell this day. For you see, to the north of the Land of Somewhere, somewhere along the boarders of Gaardlund and Throt, there is a place with no name. Not that a name would matter for it is too small to place on any map. While every settlement in Gaardlund is guarded, this place is not. For no one would want it.
Still, it is watched over. Part of this region is protected by a brass dragon. And it was here, in the middle of nowhere, on the border of a village too small to have a name, this Kingdom of Nowhere, that she found herself trapped.
She looked about nervously while silently cursing herself. “How could I have let this happen?” she asked herself as she looked first to one of the small figures then to the other. “I am great and powerful. My strength is unknown. My fury is unquestionable. My eyes see into the darkest nights. The thunder is my heartbeat. And my breath is death.
No mortal alive knows my name. And even the name I tell them causes fear. By all the gods I am a mighty blue dragon. Yet here I am, trapped.”
Yes, she was indeed trapped. And the most damnable thing of all was she might as well have built the trap and set it her self. And she must have set it herself for no mortal alive could have been so cunning as to make a trap which could hold her. Certainly not these… these… these kender.
She looked first to Tekel Brighteyes. He was standing there in his red shirt and pants and a blue tunic wrapped around him. His brown belt wrapped firmly around his waist holding several pouches matched his brown boots. His brown hair was tied in the traditional topknot. He just stood there, his bright green eyes gleaming up at her.
She then looked to Windy Trebleclef, her brown eye big with excitement. She was wearing green traveling pants and tunic. Both of which had light golden designs flowing through them. Her black hair in a topknot much like Tekel’s. An array of colorful pouches were hanging from her blue belt, and her blue shoes were lined with white stitches.
It all started innocently enough. Tekel Brighteyes had returned to his home land The Land of Somewhere. It was there he went missing. So she got Windy Trebleclef to help find him. When they came back from The Kingdom of Nowhere, they were both badly hurt. So they stayed here, on the outskirts of The Kingdome of Nowhere, until they were both healed.
And when they were both healed and fully recovered that was when the great beast made her mistake and as much set her own trap. Rather than saying they were going back home, she asked Tekel and Windy where they wanted to go next. Practically said she’d take them anywhere.
Cursing herself for a fool again, Juna the blue dragon, felt as helpless as a hatchling as she looked at the wicked grins on their little faces. She had no choice now but to brace herself for whatever they said and if it was too much out of the realm of possibility, which seemed likely, she would just have to tell them no.
“Well,” Tekel began. “as you know Windy and I have been taking turns going to The Kingdom of Nowhere the past few days.”
Juna actually had not known about this as they went while she was either sleeping or out hunting for them. But she decided it best not to let them know about that right now.
“Anyway,” Windy continued. “We’ve met a few people there and heard some of their stories so we decided we want to learn more about them.”
“And Windy and I just didn’t think it was right for us to go into town and have all these great adventures without our good friend to come along with us.”
“Ah,” Juna interrupted not because she didn’t want to listen, but because their going back and fourth was giving her a headache. “I see where this is going. Tell me who you’d like to have with you and I’ll fly back to your little hill and bring them here for you.”
“You don’t understand…” Tekel said.
“The person we want to join us…” said Windy.
“Is you.” they said in unison.
Juna was shocked. She knew they thought of her as a friend. But she never knew they thought of her as such a good friend. For a moment, she thought she might actually tear up. These little mortals, so small they wouldn’t even make a snack for her, thought of her not only as a companion, but as a friend. A good friend.
“I wish I could go with you little ones,” she said. “But as I have told you already, this area is guarded by Thunder. If I get too near there, he will since my presence. Then we’d have to fight. And while I know I can take him out with ease, the idea of battle just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.”
“That’s ok,” Windy said. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“That’s right,” Tekel replied. “We’ve met Theuprite. I mean Thunder. And he’s agreed to let you come into The Kingdom of Nowhere.”
Once again Juna was shocked. Not only had they met Thunder, they had convinced him to let her enter the little village. But even more shocking was the fact that he had told them his real name. No mortal knew Juna’s real name. And that includes the elves. As long as their lives were, she still counted them as mortals.
“I’m truly touched,” Juna said. “You went through a lot of trouble for me. And even convinced Thunder to allow me to enter his territory. Thank you so much.” Juna paused a moment seeing the looks on Windy and Tekel’s faces. “Alright you two, what’s the catch?”
“You see, it’s like this,” Windy began. “We really wanted to share everything with you.”
“Yeah.” agreed Tekel. “So when we ran into Theuprite, we told him all about you. About how you were our friend and how you did so much to help us.”
“At first he didn’t want us to bring you into town.” Windy said. “Did you know he thinks all blue dragons are evil. Honestly, where do people…”
“Or even dragons…” Tekel interrupted.
“Come up with these things. It would be like me saying Tekel is evil just because he has green eyes.”
“Or me thinking Windy was evil because she has brown eyes. So we finally convinced Theuprite you were not going to try and kill everyone in town.”
“Right after we convinced him we really did know a blue dragon.”
“But?” Juna asked seeing they were trying not to get to the point even as they were trying to get to the point.
“But you have to go in a form not dragon and not dire wolf.” Tekel replied.
“And you have to wear this,” Windy said holding up a ring.
“And what pretale does this do?” Juna asked looking directly at Windy figuring this would encourage her to finish the story instead of trading off with Tekel.
“Not much,” she said. “It just locks you in whatever form you change into.”
Juna took the ring and looked it over. It did indeed have magic to it. She could feel faint energies coming off the ring. But she was appalled. First at Thunder. How dare he ask that she, a fellow dragon, not only change into another form, but agree to be locked into it. In the old days, she would had destroyed Thunder and the entire town just for suggesting such a thing. So she was completely and totally appalled.
But what appalled her even more, was the fact that she was considering it. These little kender thought so very much of her. Thought enough of her in fact to seek out the brass dragon and try and persuade him to let her enter his territory. For some reason, she just couldn’t bare the thought of disappointing them. She knew how much it would hurt them if she turned them down.
It was the image of their sad faces that caused her to say the spell which would change her into the kender form she sometimes used. It was that image that caused her to slip the ring on her finger, locking her into her kender form. And what a beautiful kender form it was. She had long fair hair which instead of being tied in the usual kender topknot was braded. And even though her blue and white dress looked to be for traveling, it still have a fine quality to it. But what stood out the most was her blue eyes. Bluer than sapphire.
Then looking at Tekel she asked, “And how will I get this off when I need to?”
“Theuprite said he would be glad to take it off when he returned.”
“What do you mean when he returned?”
“He and many other dragons have been called to Pax Tharkas for some problems there.”
“And you couldn’t have told me this before I put the ring on?”
“Oops. Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”
Juna actually smiled when he said that. Truth be known she didn’t know weather to smile or strangle him. Smiling won out. So Tekel took one of her hands and Windy took the other and they started walking down the road towards town. Well, Juna tried to walk, but both Windy and Tekel were skipping so it wasn’t long before she was skipping to.
By mid afternoon they had arrived at The Kingdom of Nowhere. To call it a kingdom was a bit of an overstatement. Farming village was a little closer to the fact. Still, they were greeted with a nod of the head and a smile. Granted this was while the villagers were covering their coin pouches, but they were still greeted friendly enough.
Juna had guessed it was because they were so near a kender village that these villagers didn’t think it strange for kender to be in town. But Tekel also explained it was because, Martan, being the kind man he was, would have no harsh words spoken against a group of people who meant no harm. He always said it wasn’t their fault if things seemed to go wrong when they were around. And this tradition carried over to his decedents.
Tekel and Windy had a lot of fun showing Juna the city their way. Ways to get in and out where bigger races, such as humans, couldn’t go. Cubby holes to wait in and watch people, in case they dropped anything interesting of course. And how to hear what people are talking about so you can be well informed and also lend any advice you may have. Juna learned more about kender on that day than she had during her entire life. She learned so much in fact that her head was still spinning when they entered The Hungry Lion Tavern.
The inn was a nice enough place. A little on the small side, but they were still able to squeeze in the three kender. Juna wondered how they were seated so quickly but Tekel and Windy explained it’s because everyone in town thought so highly of kender. They knew that kender lead busy lives so they sat them as quickly as they could and got there food out even quicker. It was their way to help the kender get in and out as quickly as possible.
They were even nice enough to have a room empty for the kender. It was a small room with a bed just barely big enough for two people. And there was a small table and one chair in the room. By most human standards it was a small room barely livable. By The Kingdom of Nowhere’s standards it was a luxurious room indeed. There was even an indoor outhouse right across the hall from it. But by kender standards, it was just right. The bed was wide enough for the three of them to lay across it with their feet sticking off a little. And long enough that they could spread out and not get in each other’s way. And that’s how the slept comfortably through the night.
Not only did they sleep comfortablely through the night, but also well into the next morning. This was an odd thing because as they would later tell Juna, usually early in the mornings someone would come by to clean the room, wake the kender up, (it was so nice of them to give the kender a wakeup call) and help them get their things out of the room.
But this time they were allowed to sleep in. At first neither Windy nor Tekel thought anything of it. It may have been rude of the inn keepers not to give them a wakeup call, but it was nice of them to let the kender sleep in. It wasn’t until they got downstairs that the three realized something was wrong.
The tavern was completely empty. Taking a quick look around the three heard a noise coming from outside. Upon opening the doors the there saw a man they would later learn was Schok standing on a stump giving some type of speech.
“My friends,” he was saying. “Long ago this land was nothing. Just a slab of dirt and grass in the middle of nowhere. Other than a few trees here and there it was just a grassy plane. Then a man decided to build his home here. Then another and another. One day they realized it wasn’t homes they were building, but lives. And that has grown into this village we live in today. My farm may not be big. And even in little towns I would be considered a poor man. But I am proud of what I have here. I will die a happy man to one day leave my poor small farm to my children. That is if I even have a farm then.”
People began to look at each other, and Schok worriedly as he continued. “Word was received today that people from Throtl, along with their hobgoblin friends, have decided they want our beautiful village for themselves. They aim to take what is rightfully ours. They calm this land was never bought and there was no deed made for it so since it’s on their border it’s theirs by right.”
Murmurs went through the crowds. This was more than their land, it was there home. No one should have the right to say otherwise. But they also had to admit, as much as they loved to tell the stories about how the village was born, no one could ever remember hearing a story about the land itself or if it was bought. And if it was, no one knew if there was a deed.
Now, it was well known Schok loved being the center of attention almost as much as he loved hearing himself talk. So after giving everyone a few moments to talk among themselves he started up again.
“My friends, I say to you we have one choice, that is to fight. From what we know, the force from Throtl will be here in three days time. That’s three days for us to ready ourselves and fight them off.”
“But we are farmers,” a man said in the crowd. “How can we stand up to trained fighters?”
“There is an old saying, ‘a peasant can do more by faith than a king by proclamation.’ I say to you, I have the faith to fight for my land. My home. I say To the abyss with those who dare try and take it from me.”
A few cheered but most could not be swayed so easily. On such woman spoke up. “If we fight against trained guards we will die. Why don’t we just send for help from a nearby town?”
“We are too close to the Throt border. They would not care about us. And without proof to say the land is ours they would not even try to help. Besides, by the time help arrived it would be too late. I say let us fight!”
But another shouted, “We must flee!”
Windy, Juna, and Tekel were starting to get worried. Schok had worked these people up. He was doing what he thought was right, he just wanted to fight for his home, but the people were scared and angry and were on the verge of rioting on themselves.
“If only I had never put on the ring,” Juna said, “I could put an end to this all. I would fly out and stop those humans and hobgoblins.” Both Windy and Tekel noticed Juna said hobgoblins with a sneer. She always hated them but neither Windy nor Tekel knew why. And it was the one area neither dared to ask her about.
Just as reason was about to give way to panic, someone said something very smart. “Let’s ask Mayor Franklin.” What had turned into a shouting match, was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop on the grassy ground.
All eyes turned to the mayor who had been standing in the crowds and was now making his way to the stump Schok had been standing on. Franklin Brom had the honor of being descended from Martan Brom, the founder of The Kingdom of Nowhere. Since before anyone could remember, a Brom had always been mayor of the village.
Mayor was an honorary title more than anything else. A village this small didn’t need a mayor. When anyone had a problem they would go to the mayor out of respect. His answer was usually to see the person who knew more about the situation than he did. Nothing more was ever expected of the mayor. Not until now. Yes, Franklin had the honor of being a Brom, but now it was also a curse.
Mayor Franklin made his way to the stump thinking over his words carefully. He knew whatever he said the people would do. Mostly because they wanted someone to lead them. They wanted someone to be in control. In any other situation he simply would have said go see so and so about the problem. But there was no one this time. This time what he said would matter. There would be people who would hate him for his words. There would be people who would live and die by his words.
“My friends,” he said with a cracking voice from the dryness. “This is going to be a hard decision and not one to be made lightly. I will think over this tonight and will address you here tomorrow morning. That will give us two days in which to fight or flee. Until then, stay calm and pray to the gods to grant me wisdom, and maybe a little divine intervention.” He chuckled slightly showing this last was meant to be a joke but his laugh fell flat as even he realized that only divine intervention would be their best, and maybe only hope.
As the crowd dwindled out, they were too worried about their current problem to notice the three small figures making there way to the town square. Together they sat on the tree swing talking.
“Well Tekel,” Juna said. “You know more about the people in this town than anyone else here. Do you know what they will do?”
“It’s hard to say. Mayor Franklin is a wise man, but he is not prepared for something like this. The worst thing he’s had to deal with so far was when a kid fell down the well. All he did then was have a small teenager climb down with a rope and have everyone pull them up.”
“Or,” Windy said, “more recently when Larance, the stable keeper turned up missing. He decided that since none of Larance’s things were missing he was probably just hiding from someone he cheated. Mayor Franklin said he did that from time to time until everyone had a chance to cool down.”
“But,” Tekel continued, “other than that the mayor hasn’t faced any real problems. I’d hate to be in his shoes right now.”
Juna looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Tekel and said, “I know you kender have little tricks and things you do when your land is being invaded. Do you think you could tell Mayor Franklin about them? It may be just what he needs.”
Juna knew she had said the wrong thing as Tekel and Windy looked at each other excitedly. They both knew they would have important jobs to do if the mayor decided to stay and fight. Now they knew what it was.
They began talking quickly as they bounced ideas off of one another. Juna looked back and fourth between the two, barley able to keep up with what they were saying. Their “insane schemes” as she called them just kept coming, each more insane than the last.
Windy and Tekel started walking as they talked and Juna followed along, wondering where their plans would end. Or if they even would. So intent on listening to them that it gave Juna a start when they suddenly stopped walking and talking. They were standing in front of a large white house surrounded by a wooden fence. And on the porch was a very large brown dog.
In a village like The Kingdom of Nowhere, nothing is large. In truth the house was rather small. It would
And right along the edge of this forest, and even partially inside, there are some ruins of what used to be a town. And at the center of this town is what’s left of a labyrinth. Once belonging to humans, now it’s run by kender and is called The Land of Somewhere. Soldiers from the nation of Lemish have tried to force them out. They even had some of the dark knights help them.
The battle was over before it even started. The official report that would later be given was they didn’t take enough supplies to feed and clothe everybody. And several soldiers misplaced their weapons, food, and armor. One had even misplaced his horse as he was riding it. At one point it rained pebbles and acorns from the sky.
Finally the guards decided they really didn’t want the town after all. It’s not like there was anything important there. So they simply left. They even left some of there less important items behind. A couple of guys and a woman decided to get back in touch with nature so they left completely naked and horseless.
While there is much more to that story than is written here, that is not the story I have to tell this day. For you see, to the north of the Land of Somewhere, somewhere along the boarders of Gaardlund and Throt, there is a place with no name. Not that a name would matter for it is too small to place on any map. While every settlement in Gaardlund is guarded, this place is not. For no one would want it.
Still, it is watched over. Part of this region is protected by a brass dragon. And it was here, in the middle of nowhere, on the border of a village too small to have a name, this Kingdom of Nowhere, that she found herself trapped.
She looked about nervously while silently cursing herself. “How could I have let this happen?” she asked herself as she looked first to one of the small figures then to the other. “I am great and powerful. My strength is unknown. My fury is unquestionable. My eyes see into the darkest nights. The thunder is my heartbeat. And my breath is death.
No mortal alive knows my name. And even the name I tell them causes fear. By all the gods I am a mighty blue dragon. Yet here I am, trapped.”
Yes, she was indeed trapped. And the most damnable thing of all was she might as well have built the trap and set it her self. And she must have set it herself for no mortal alive could have been so cunning as to make a trap which could hold her. Certainly not these… these… these kender.
She looked first to Tekel Brighteyes. He was standing there in his red shirt and pants and a blue tunic wrapped around him. His brown belt wrapped firmly around his waist holding several pouches matched his brown boots. His brown hair was tied in the traditional topknot. He just stood there, his bright green eyes gleaming up at her.
She then looked to Windy Trebleclef, her brown eye big with excitement. She was wearing green traveling pants and tunic. Both of which had light golden designs flowing through them. Her black hair in a topknot much like Tekel’s. An array of colorful pouches were hanging from her blue belt, and her blue shoes were lined with white stitches.
It all started innocently enough. Tekel Brighteyes had returned to his home land The Land of Somewhere. It was there he went missing. So she got Windy Trebleclef to help find him. When they came back from The Kingdom of Nowhere, they were both badly hurt. So they stayed here, on the outskirts of The Kingdome of Nowhere, until they were both healed.
And when they were both healed and fully recovered that was when the great beast made her mistake and as much set her own trap. Rather than saying they were going back home, she asked Tekel and Windy where they wanted to go next. Practically said she’d take them anywhere.
Cursing herself for a fool again, Juna the blue dragon, felt as helpless as a hatchling as she looked at the wicked grins on their little faces. She had no choice now but to brace herself for whatever they said and if it was too much out of the realm of possibility, which seemed likely, she would just have to tell them no.
“Well,” Tekel began. “as you know Windy and I have been taking turns going to The Kingdom of Nowhere the past few days.”
Juna actually had not known about this as they went while she was either sleeping or out hunting for them. But she decided it best not to let them know about that right now.
“Anyway,” Windy continued. “We’ve met a few people there and heard some of their stories so we decided we want to learn more about them.”
“And Windy and I just didn’t think it was right for us to go into town and have all these great adventures without our good friend to come along with us.”
“Ah,” Juna interrupted not because she didn’t want to listen, but because their going back and fourth was giving her a headache. “I see where this is going. Tell me who you’d like to have with you and I’ll fly back to your little hill and bring them here for you.”
“You don’t understand…” Tekel said.
“The person we want to join us…” said Windy.
“Is you.” they said in unison.
Juna was shocked. She knew they thought of her as a friend. But she never knew they thought of her as such a good friend. For a moment, she thought she might actually tear up. These little mortals, so small they wouldn’t even make a snack for her, thought of her not only as a companion, but as a friend. A good friend.
“I wish I could go with you little ones,” she said. “But as I have told you already, this area is guarded by Thunder. If I get too near there, he will since my presence. Then we’d have to fight. And while I know I can take him out with ease, the idea of battle just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.”
“That’s ok,” Windy said. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“That’s right,” Tekel replied. “We’ve met Theuprite. I mean Thunder. And he’s agreed to let you come into The Kingdom of Nowhere.”
Once again Juna was shocked. Not only had they met Thunder, they had convinced him to let her enter the little village. But even more shocking was the fact that he had told them his real name. No mortal knew Juna’s real name. And that includes the elves. As long as their lives were, she still counted them as mortals.
“I’m truly touched,” Juna said. “You went through a lot of trouble for me. And even convinced Thunder to allow me to enter his territory. Thank you so much.” Juna paused a moment seeing the looks on Windy and Tekel’s faces. “Alright you two, what’s the catch?”
“You see, it’s like this,” Windy began. “We really wanted to share everything with you.”
“Yeah.” agreed Tekel. “So when we ran into Theuprite, we told him all about you. About how you were our friend and how you did so much to help us.”
“At first he didn’t want us to bring you into town.” Windy said. “Did you know he thinks all blue dragons are evil. Honestly, where do people…”
“Or even dragons…” Tekel interrupted.
“Come up with these things. It would be like me saying Tekel is evil just because he has green eyes.”
“Or me thinking Windy was evil because she has brown eyes. So we finally convinced Theuprite you were not going to try and kill everyone in town.”
“Right after we convinced him we really did know a blue dragon.”
“But?” Juna asked seeing they were trying not to get to the point even as they were trying to get to the point.
“But you have to go in a form not dragon and not dire wolf.” Tekel replied.
“And you have to wear this,” Windy said holding up a ring.
“And what pretale does this do?” Juna asked looking directly at Windy figuring this would encourage her to finish the story instead of trading off with Tekel.
“Not much,” she said. “It just locks you in whatever form you change into.”
Juna took the ring and looked it over. It did indeed have magic to it. She could feel faint energies coming off the ring. But she was appalled. First at Thunder. How dare he ask that she, a fellow dragon, not only change into another form, but agree to be locked into it. In the old days, she would had destroyed Thunder and the entire town just for suggesting such a thing. So she was completely and totally appalled.
But what appalled her even more, was the fact that she was considering it. These little kender thought so very much of her. Thought enough of her in fact to seek out the brass dragon and try and persuade him to let her enter his territory. For some reason, she just couldn’t bare the thought of disappointing them. She knew how much it would hurt them if she turned them down.
It was the image of their sad faces that caused her to say the spell which would change her into the kender form she sometimes used. It was that image that caused her to slip the ring on her finger, locking her into her kender form. And what a beautiful kender form it was. She had long fair hair which instead of being tied in the usual kender topknot was braded. And even though her blue and white dress looked to be for traveling, it still have a fine quality to it. But what stood out the most was her blue eyes. Bluer than sapphire.
Then looking at Tekel she asked, “And how will I get this off when I need to?”
“Theuprite said he would be glad to take it off when he returned.”
“What do you mean when he returned?”
“He and many other dragons have been called to Pax Tharkas for some problems there.”
“And you couldn’t have told me this before I put the ring on?”
“Oops. Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”
Juna actually smiled when he said that. Truth be known she didn’t know weather to smile or strangle him. Smiling won out. So Tekel took one of her hands and Windy took the other and they started walking down the road towards town. Well, Juna tried to walk, but both Windy and Tekel were skipping so it wasn’t long before she was skipping to.
By mid afternoon they had arrived at The Kingdom of Nowhere. To call it a kingdom was a bit of an overstatement. Farming village was a little closer to the fact. Still, they were greeted with a nod of the head and a smile. Granted this was while the villagers were covering their coin pouches, but they were still greeted friendly enough.
Juna had guessed it was because they were so near a kender village that these villagers didn’t think it strange for kender to be in town. But Tekel also explained it was because, Martan, being the kind man he was, would have no harsh words spoken against a group of people who meant no harm. He always said it wasn’t their fault if things seemed to go wrong when they were around. And this tradition carried over to his decedents.
Tekel and Windy had a lot of fun showing Juna the city their way. Ways to get in and out where bigger races, such as humans, couldn’t go. Cubby holes to wait in and watch people, in case they dropped anything interesting of course. And how to hear what people are talking about so you can be well informed and also lend any advice you may have. Juna learned more about kender on that day than she had during her entire life. She learned so much in fact that her head was still spinning when they entered The Hungry Lion Tavern.
The inn was a nice enough place. A little on the small side, but they were still able to squeeze in the three kender. Juna wondered how they were seated so quickly but Tekel and Windy explained it’s because everyone in town thought so highly of kender. They knew that kender lead busy lives so they sat them as quickly as they could and got there food out even quicker. It was their way to help the kender get in and out as quickly as possible.
They were even nice enough to have a room empty for the kender. It was a small room with a bed just barely big enough for two people. And there was a small table and one chair in the room. By most human standards it was a small room barely livable. By The Kingdom of Nowhere’s standards it was a luxurious room indeed. There was even an indoor outhouse right across the hall from it. But by kender standards, it was just right. The bed was wide enough for the three of them to lay across it with their feet sticking off a little. And long enough that they could spread out and not get in each other’s way. And that’s how the slept comfortably through the night.
Not only did they sleep comfortablely through the night, but also well into the next morning. This was an odd thing because as they would later tell Juna, usually early in the mornings someone would come by to clean the room, wake the kender up, (it was so nice of them to give the kender a wakeup call) and help them get their things out of the room.
But this time they were allowed to sleep in. At first neither Windy nor Tekel thought anything of it. It may have been rude of the inn keepers not to give them a wakeup call, but it was nice of them to let the kender sleep in. It wasn’t until they got downstairs that the three realized something was wrong.
The tavern was completely empty. Taking a quick look around the three heard a noise coming from outside. Upon opening the doors the there saw a man they would later learn was Schok standing on a stump giving some type of speech.
“My friends,” he was saying. “Long ago this land was nothing. Just a slab of dirt and grass in the middle of nowhere. Other than a few trees here and there it was just a grassy plane. Then a man decided to build his home here. Then another and another. One day they realized it wasn’t homes they were building, but lives. And that has grown into this village we live in today. My farm may not be big. And even in little towns I would be considered a poor man. But I am proud of what I have here. I will die a happy man to one day leave my poor small farm to my children. That is if I even have a farm then.”
People began to look at each other, and Schok worriedly as he continued. “Word was received today that people from Throtl, along with their hobgoblin friends, have decided they want our beautiful village for themselves. They aim to take what is rightfully ours. They calm this land was never bought and there was no deed made for it so since it’s on their border it’s theirs by right.”
Murmurs went through the crowds. This was more than their land, it was there home. No one should have the right to say otherwise. But they also had to admit, as much as they loved to tell the stories about how the village was born, no one could ever remember hearing a story about the land itself or if it was bought. And if it was, no one knew if there was a deed.
Now, it was well known Schok loved being the center of attention almost as much as he loved hearing himself talk. So after giving everyone a few moments to talk among themselves he started up again.
“My friends, I say to you we have one choice, that is to fight. From what we know, the force from Throtl will be here in three days time. That’s three days for us to ready ourselves and fight them off.”
“But we are farmers,” a man said in the crowd. “How can we stand up to trained fighters?”
“There is an old saying, ‘a peasant can do more by faith than a king by proclamation.’ I say to you, I have the faith to fight for my land. My home. I say To the abyss with those who dare try and take it from me.”
A few cheered but most could not be swayed so easily. On such woman spoke up. “If we fight against trained guards we will die. Why don’t we just send for help from a nearby town?”
“We are too close to the Throt border. They would not care about us. And without proof to say the land is ours they would not even try to help. Besides, by the time help arrived it would be too late. I say let us fight!”
But another shouted, “We must flee!”
Windy, Juna, and Tekel were starting to get worried. Schok had worked these people up. He was doing what he thought was right, he just wanted to fight for his home, but the people were scared and angry and were on the verge of rioting on themselves.
“If only I had never put on the ring,” Juna said, “I could put an end to this all. I would fly out and stop those humans and hobgoblins.” Both Windy and Tekel noticed Juna said hobgoblins with a sneer. She always hated them but neither Windy nor Tekel knew why. And it was the one area neither dared to ask her about.
Just as reason was about to give way to panic, someone said something very smart. “Let’s ask Mayor Franklin.” What had turned into a shouting match, was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop on the grassy ground.
All eyes turned to the mayor who had been standing in the crowds and was now making his way to the stump Schok had been standing on. Franklin Brom had the honor of being descended from Martan Brom, the founder of The Kingdom of Nowhere. Since before anyone could remember, a Brom had always been mayor of the village.
Mayor was an honorary title more than anything else. A village this small didn’t need a mayor. When anyone had a problem they would go to the mayor out of respect. His answer was usually to see the person who knew more about the situation than he did. Nothing more was ever expected of the mayor. Not until now. Yes, Franklin had the honor of being a Brom, but now it was also a curse.
Mayor Franklin made his way to the stump thinking over his words carefully. He knew whatever he said the people would do. Mostly because they wanted someone to lead them. They wanted someone to be in control. In any other situation he simply would have said go see so and so about the problem. But there was no one this time. This time what he said would matter. There would be people who would hate him for his words. There would be people who would live and die by his words.
“My friends,” he said with a cracking voice from the dryness. “This is going to be a hard decision and not one to be made lightly. I will think over this tonight and will address you here tomorrow morning. That will give us two days in which to fight or flee. Until then, stay calm and pray to the gods to grant me wisdom, and maybe a little divine intervention.” He chuckled slightly showing this last was meant to be a joke but his laugh fell flat as even he realized that only divine intervention would be their best, and maybe only hope.
As the crowd dwindled out, they were too worried about their current problem to notice the three small figures making there way to the town square. Together they sat on the tree swing talking.
“Well Tekel,” Juna said. “You know more about the people in this town than anyone else here. Do you know what they will do?”
“It’s hard to say. Mayor Franklin is a wise man, but he is not prepared for something like this. The worst thing he’s had to deal with so far was when a kid fell down the well. All he did then was have a small teenager climb down with a rope and have everyone pull them up.”
“Or,” Windy said, “more recently when Larance, the stable keeper turned up missing. He decided that since none of Larance’s things were missing he was probably just hiding from someone he cheated. Mayor Franklin said he did that from time to time until everyone had a chance to cool down.”
“But,” Tekel continued, “other than that the mayor hasn’t faced any real problems. I’d hate to be in his shoes right now.”
Juna looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Tekel and said, “I know you kender have little tricks and things you do when your land is being invaded. Do you think you could tell Mayor Franklin about them? It may be just what he needs.”
Juna knew she had said the wrong thing as Tekel and Windy looked at each other excitedly. They both knew they would have important jobs to do if the mayor decided to stay and fight. Now they knew what it was.
They began talking quickly as they bounced ideas off of one another. Juna looked back and fourth between the two, barley able to keep up with what they were saying. Their “insane schemes” as she called them just kept coming, each more insane than the last.
Windy and Tekel started walking as they talked and Juna followed along, wondering where their plans would end. Or if they even would. So intent on listening to them that it gave Juna a start when they suddenly stopped walking and talking. They were standing in front of a large white house surrounded by a wooden fence. And on the porch was a very large brown dog.
In a village like The Kingdom of Nowhere, nothing is large. In truth the house was rather small. It would
