A Bird's Seed

Terra is about to lose a close loved one and runs into a situation that may help her with her problem, even if it means going into the unknown.

A Bird’s Seed

Payton Smith

 

Terra sat in the shade of her family’s cabin on top of the half full water barrel, looking out onto their farm land which was empty of any people. Plants sprouted out of the ground, but most lay dried up and dead due to the sun scorching the land and the lack of the season’s rain. The absence of rain was strange for this time of year, usually this season brought the farmers a bountiful crop, but everyone in the small village suffered this year. This called for troubling times for the village, not only because their food and water sources were low, but because the King’s men would soon ride through to collect this year’s levy.

The young woman looked up from the graveyard of plants to a small hill that blocked her view of the river. Her father and two older brothers came up and round the hill, each holding two pails and an expression of distress across all of their faces. By the look of them, they were unsuccessful in gathering water. As they reached the farm plot, her eldest brother, Telt, dropped his pails, both empty, and bent over the liveliest plant then pinched a leaf to see if how dry it was. His face darkened and then he grabbed up his pails and followed after his father and brother, who walked towards Terra.

As they reached her, none said a word and all held their gloom expressions sternly. Her father gestured for her to get off the water barrel. She did so and her youngest brother, Davur, took a small cup which rested near the side of the barrel, then filled it halfway and gulped it down with two swigs. The cup got passed around until all had had a drink. Goli, Terra’s father, and the last to take a drink, set the cup down and took a seat on the ground in the shade.

“I’m so sorry, son,” Goli said while looking up at Telt, this confused Terra, but she knew he spoke of a continued conversation that the boys had had from earlier while trying to fetch water.

“It is okay, father,” Telt replied, but his gaze rested on his baby sister, “this is my burden to take on.”

“You shouldn’t have to do this,” Goli came back quickly, “I have worked so hard throughout the years so that none of you children would have to undergo this.”

Telt almost got out his words, but Terra cut in with her own, “what are you two talking about?” her voice carried a strong tone of worry with it.

“Well,” Goli said then paused a moment as if to fight back tears, “this year we won’t have enough supplies to fill the King’s asking, so your brother has offered to fill it by joining his Majesty’s service.”

Everyone went silent and Terra turned from her father to Telt, he stood with a great sense of pride, as always, but there was something strange about him this time. As if he matured quickly, just from the walk to the river and back. The news hit Terra hard causing her head to spin, and tears began to well up in her eyelids.

“You, you can’t!” Terra shouted and her tears came rushing forth, “you can’t leave, we need you here.”

“I’m sorry, Terra,” Telt said quietly, “I must though or father will be thrown into a prison for not being able to pay the King’s taxes.”

“I’ll go instead!” she proclaimed trying to save her brother, her eyes now burning red from all the tears.

“You can’t! “Telt answered sternly, “Neither you or Davur are seventeen yet, so they would not even take a second glance at you. Now, Terra, it’s only for a year, then I will return to continue my work on the farm.”

“We have two days until the King’s men arrive,” Goli said and pulled his daughter into an embracing hug. “Let us use this time to be together as a family.”

At these words Terra began crying hysterically and pushed herself from Goli’s hold. After glancing at both of her brothers, she turned and bolted towards the river, hoping she hadn’t heard. She ran over the hill and realized why the boy’s returned with empty buckets, the river bed lay completely dry, even the dirt was cracked and hard. Her tears had stopped, but the emotions ran wild within her, clouding her thoughts.

She concluded that standing still wasn’t helping her, so she ran, ran over the dried river bed and towards the forest line in the distance. It began to stabilize her thoughts as she concentrated on the placement of her feet and avoiding objects that would pull her to the ground, this kept her mind off of her brother. The forest approached fast, because Terra was a strong runner, and she took in long, deep breaths.

By the time she reached the forest, her sadness had changed to anger and frustration. Dropping to her knees, the tears continued to burst out and she sat hopelessly sobbing for minutes. From the top of the tree lines, a chirp drew Terra’s attention upwards and caused her tears to cease.

From above, a little blue bird flew down and landed on the ground in front of her. Holding out her hand’s, the bird hopped into Terra’s palms, it looked up at her face and stared her in the eyes. For a moment, she believed that the bird could read her thoughts, but then she assumed that it was examining the emotions that she expressed with her face. It was unlike any bird that Terra had seen, because no other wild bird would’ve come so freely to her without offering food.

“Is there something I can help you with, my dear lady?” the bird spoke, startling Terra, which caused her to jump then throw the bird into the air, it glided back to the ground. “I can tell something bothers you for you rushed over here in tears.”

“Birds aren’t supposed to talk, Terra said, but more to herself rather than the bird. “At least not the ones I’m used to. What exactly could a small bird do for me?”

“Well, first, you must tell me what the problem is,” the bird responded gently, “Maybe you just need someone to listen to your troubles.”

“My eldest brother, Telt, has chosen to pay our families yearly payment to the King by joining his services,” she began, “all because this damned weather hasn’t broughten us any rain and its killing our crops. If there was just some way I could find something valuable enough to fill the King’s levy, I could save Telt from having to leave.”

“I don’t know of anything worth value to your people,” the bird stretched out a wing, “but I know of a cure to your situation with the weather.”

“You do?” she asked as she brought herself closer to the bird. “Please share your knowledge with me!”

“In this forest grows a plant, sweet like sugar and tall as corn,” started the bird, “this plant grows overnight and better yet its growing powers are magical. It needs no water!”

“Where?” hope grew within her, “Where do I find this magical seed?”

“It is in the hands of a goblin, Jigock, who resides in the forest,” at these words Terra’s hope started to diminish, “I will lead you to his holding where you will need to sneak past him and pluck a seed from the plant.”

“I’m not sure if I can do that,” Terra replied, her voice signaled her loss of hope.

“If you really wanted to stop your brother from leaving, you would,” the response seemed a bit aggressive.”

Terra thought for a moment. What was the worst that could happen, a goblin attacking her, surely she would be able to outrun such a small creature. She decided, but was hesitant because of the bird’s behavior, “What do you get out of this, little bird?”

“Oh, nothing, my dear,” the bird answered cheerfully once again, “It is in my nature to help other creatures such as yourself. Now, I will lead you to the goblins home of thorns. When you get the seed, which you should only take one of, rush it home and plant it immediately. Tomorrow it should be fully grown with an abundance of seeds, use those seeds to grow a fields worth and on the next day after that you will have more than enough to fill your king’s and family’s needs.”

Without any further words the blue bird flew up and into the forest, Terra quickly stood and bolted after it. The bird ducked and weaved through the overgrowth of the forest, keeping a steady pace so that Terra could follow easily as she avoided stumbling over the undergrowth. The forest was calm except for the two racing through and it held more heat than being directly out in the sunlight.

They came to a stop in front of a giant dome of thorned vines, all of which intertwined and weaved together, it looked as if it were a massive beehive. The blue bird gestured with its beak to a small opening at the base of the vines. Terra bent down, but before crawling in she quietly muttered to the bird, “thank you”.

The bird said nothing, but flew off up into the tree tops. Terra wondered if she would ever see the bird again, then proceeded through the small opening. The thorns of the vines snagged at her clothes and bit into her skin, but she stayed brave, she wanted to be as brave as Telt within his decision. The ground rubbed hard against her knees and the palm of her hands.

Clearing after a minute, Terra entered a small chamber in the thorns. At the center, a large twisted root system stretched up like a tree, its’ canopy the twisting vines and thorns. Nothing else resided in the small room, but there were two openings across from her which lead to more small rooms with the growth of vines.

Terra waited a moment before moving so that she could hear if anyone resided inside. She heard nothing. Crossing the chamber, she chose the opening on her right. It lead to another small and empty room but she only saw one other opening in this one, fire light flickered through it. She crossed the chamber and peered into the opening.

Inside was a much larger chamber than the first two, the root system, three or four times bigger. It stretched up high and Terra concluded that it was the heart of the vined structure. A fire burnt mildly near the roots, its smoke travelling up through a hole in the thorn canopy, charred black around the rim from many previous fires.

Terra caught a glimpse of small cages. Within the cages were birds, small blue birds like the one that brought her here and told her of the plant. Is this how the bird knew of the plant and its exact location, she questioned herself. Sadly, she realized that none of the caged birds moved with life. She was surprised when she noticed movement and shocked that he wasn’t the first thing she saw.

Jigock stood with his back facing Terra, his attention on a small wood table placed against the wall of vines. The tint of his skin a dark emerald, down the spine of his back, spiky bones protruded out, and all that he wore was a pair of tattered and torn pants made out of woven reeds. He only stood about half the height of Terra and had a curved hunch in his posture. Noise of grinding came from in front of him and by the motion of his arms, Terra assumed that he used a mortar and pestle on the table.

Terror quickly flooded into her mind as she felt her confidence slip away, her hands began to shake. Taking in a deep breath, she took her eyes off Jigock and continued to scan the room. She laid eyes on what she came for. The plant grew tall, taller than herself, and its leaves were broad. At the top sat a strange corn like husk, seeds sprouting out, and the plant held a light blue tint. It gave her hope and a small amount of courage welled up in her.

Crawling through the opening, she slowly scooted across the floor, keeping her eyes on Jigock and making sure not to make any loud sound. She inched closer and closer to the plant, while the goblin continued to work at the table, unknowing of her presence. Finally, when she reached the plant, she rose and quickly plucked a single seed from the top. Returning to her hands and knees, after placing the seed into a pocket, she made her way towards the exit.

As she came to the first opening, she let her attention fall off Jigock, who still worked without noticing her, and crawled under the thorny vines. She felt a tug on one of her legs and assuming a thorn snagged her clothing, she turned. Jigock held her leg and she let out a loud scream, his breath horrid and rotten.

Terra kicked with her free leg and hit the goblin square in the nose, he let go and squealed. With this opportunity, she scurried forward and jolted for the next opening. Jigock, irritated and eyes watery with tears, bolted after her and lunged, his jagged teeth sank into the muscle of her right arm. His weight brought them both to the ground and Terra struggled to wrench the creature’s jaw free.

No luck came from her squirming, so she began to punch him a top the skull with her free hand, Jigock’s skull was hard and her blows caused more harm to her than to him and, except caused him to sink his teeth deeper into her arm. Panicking, Terra looked around her, to find something, anything, that would save her. She found a rock and grabbed it with her left hand, it fit perfectly in her palm. With all her might, she smashed the rock into the side of Jigock’s head, and he fell off her arm and rolled over, unconscious.

Her arm felt warm from the running blood, but it was numb of pain. She poked Jigock, he didn’t move, so she went through the opening in the vines, then out the exit. Back in the forest, she sprinted her way out into the open meadow, across the dried up river, and back onto her family’s field. Neither her father nor her brothers were out, she presumed they resided inside, preparing for dinner because smoke rose from the chimney.

Looking down at her feet, she found a dried up plant. It pull out of the ground easily, its roots only grown a hand’s length into the ground and every part of it crumbled under little pressure. Terra planted the seed from her pocket in the hole from the dead plant. With all her hope residing in the single seed, she walked to the cabin.

Inside she found her father and brothers, Telt leaned over a cauldron placed in the hearth wih a small flame below it. Her father looked up at her with a smile on his face, but that expression quickly changed when he noticed the wound on Terra’s arm. He rushed over after grabbing a bottle of alcohol and led her to a seat, her brothers huddled around her.

“What happened?” Goli asked her as he slowly poured the alcohol onto her bite mark, she winced from the burning sensation.

As Davur grabbed a bandage and began to wrap her arm, she told them everything. The talking bird, Jigock, the magical plant, and how all of this would lead to Telt getting to stay home. The three listeners held the look of disbelief upon their faces. They returned to finishing dinner without responding to her tale and almost seemed angry with her, but after sometime, Davur spoke up.

“I believe you, sister,” he said, “I am not so sure of the bird or the plant, but I have heard rumors that a few goblins reside in the forest, so maybe the other two are true as well.”

Goli and Telt said nothing, but they passed out dinner and ate quickly, then afterwards they went straight to bed. This upset Terra, dropping her hopes, but if it were true, then the proof would be there tomorrow and if not, then at least she could say she had survived a goblin encounter. Davur gave his sister a hug then said, “good night” with a smirk, and with that the two of them retired to their bed cots.

In the morning, Terra was the first to awake. She changed her clothes with haste, then ran outside to the field. The second she laid eyes on it, she began to tear up from joy. The plant stood tall and fully grown. Running back into the house, she shouted for everyone to wake up and follow her outside, they responded quickly.

Once out on the field, they all stood in awe, and when the shock wore off, the four of them began inspecting the plant.

“I’m very impressed, Terra,” her father said as he observed the leaves and seeds, “but there is one thing that concerns me.”

“What is that, Father?” she asked as she began plucking the seeds out of the top.

“How do we know it isn’t poisonous?” his question concerned her as well, because she had not thought of that possibility, she looked down at the pile of blue seeds she held in her hand.

“I know what to do,” Telt cut in and with that he whistled loudly, “Rigley, the farmer across from us has an old dog he keeps unleashed. We feed it to him and if her is alive tomorrow, we will know it is safe.”

At the end of his words, a golden dog rounded the corner of the cabin and ran up to him. Telt scratched the dog on the head, then plucked the rest of the seeds from the plant and gave them to Terra and Davur. Pulling the large husk from the plant, Telt opened it to reveal a bright blue vegetable. It smelt sweet and had a glossy shine to it. Before he fed it to the dog, Terra stopped him.

“I don’t feel right about this,” she said as she looked upon the dog, “if it is poisonous then we’d be intentionally killing this poor animal.”

“I know it seems wrong, Terra, but this dog is very old, he limps and is always showing his ribs,” Telt explained, “he won’t make it to the end of the summer, we’d be putting him out of his misery and I will find a way to get Rigley a new dog.”

Terra nodded in approval, she knew it was wrong, almost evil, but she’d come so far. Telt fed the vegetable and he ate it happily, for he looked starved. Without any more words said, the dog ran off and the four began planting the seeds. The day passed quickly with little words spoken, they were worried it would end up poisonous or that they wouldn’t be able to harvest enough before the king’s men arrived. After eating dinner, they went to bed early so that they could start the harvest early.

Before the sun rose, the four had woken and returned to the field, which was now full of blue plants. Terra’s heart raged as Telt whistled for the dog, their proof for the plants being safe. After a moment the dog came around the corner, looking happier and healthier than the day before. They gathered up a few scythes and a small hand wagon.

Terra had done it, she saved her brother from having to leave, it was all so overwhelming to her, but was happy. As she rose her scythe she noticed something coming from the forest line. It looked like a giant black cloud, and it came towards them. Her, her father, and her brothers stopped what they were doing and watched the cloud approach their house, confused and worried.

After a moment, Terra realized what the cloud was, a massive flock of birds. The flock descended upon the field and swarmed the plants. Everyone stood in shock, but Terra took action and began to slash with her scythe. She missed every swing. The birds were small and blue, exactly like the ones she saw dead in Jigock’s captivity and the one which told her of the plant.

They pecked and peeled at the plants, eating every part of it. They ate them all, leaving only a small stem behind, and flew off towards the forest in a large group, leaving no seeds behind. Terra fell to her knees and began to sob frantically, Telt came and lifted her to her feet.

“I can go steal more from the goblin,” she said hysterically, but after speaking a horn sounded in the distance. The king’s men had arrived.

She cried harder and Telt embraced her in a hug, and then whispered to her, “Thank you, Terra. You’ve shown me that we are a strong family. I will protect you and others, as you tried to protect me.”

Author's Note

So I wasn't going to put this up on this site, but the more I thought of it as a part of my writing as a whole, this is a much better spot than I originally had for it.