Alcingeria Chapter Twenty Six: A Day In The Forest

Seeking adventure, the boys take a walk into the forest around Riverguard. They encounter Walden and he says some things that sparks their attention.

Chapter Twenty Six A Day In The Forest

I awoke to the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. The sound of both wooden and metal pots clanging against things was also in the air. I looked over to the other bunks. Don was still sleeping, so was Stella. The rest of the bunks were empty. I got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. My footsteps were marked by a thud against the wooden floorboards. I stepped into the kitchen. The smell of vegetables and cinnamon filled the air. I saw Martha making breakfast, moving plates and platters around as she needed to. Tabatha was across the room by the door. She had a wooden broom in her hands and she was sweeping the floor. Her staff was leaning against the back of her chair at the table.

            “Good morning, Redmond.” Robert said.

I looked over to him. He was sitting at the table with Francella, Raymond, Macalister and Erin.

            “Good morning.” I said, walking over to sit down with the others.

I pulled up a chair and sat down between Robert and Erin.

            “Have Ceberus and William left yet?” I asked.

            “They left early this morning. They woke me up.” Robert said.

            “Oh, well I hope they’ll be alright.” I said.

            “I’m sure they will be. Ceberus took his musket with him. Those two are more than capable of handling themselves out there.” Martha said with absolute confidence.

I heard footsteps coming from the bunk room. In a few seconds Don emerged from the bunk area. He stretched, yawned and rubbed his eyes.

            “Good morning everyone.” He said while he was rubbing his eyes.

When he removed his hands from his eyes, he found himself looking right at Tabatha. Tabatha looked back at Don. Don eyed her broom.

            “Heading out somewhere?” He asked.

            “Ha ha, very funny.” Came Tabatha’s sarcastic remark.

            “Can you fly on a broomstick?” Macalister asked.

Tabatha glared at him.

                “Of course not! What do you take me for?” Tabatha snapped.

                “A witch.” Macalister said blankly.

Tabatha just scowled and shook her head.

                “Hey Robert, do you trust me yet?” She asked.

Robert shook his head.

                “No, not quite.” He said.

Don smirked to himself as he sat down at the table with us. Robert, Macalister and I grinned widely at Don in appreciation for his witty remark. He sat next to Francella and Raymond. We heard footsteps and soon Stella poked her head into the kitchen.

            “Oh, Martha! Something smells good!” She said excitedly.

            “We’re having cold vegetables and cinnamon buns. Although I’m going to need a few of you to run into town later today and pick up some groceries.” Martha said.

            “I can go, Martha.” Tabatha volunteered.

            “Me, too!” Stella said enthusiastically.

            “I’ll go as well.” Erin said.

Martha nodded.

            “Thank you, girls. Do any of you boys want to go in to town with them?” Martha asked.

Everyone remained silent. I would have thought that Don would volunteer to go, but then again, he probably didn’t want to get embarrassed.

            “Suit yourselves.” Martha said.

            “Well, it’s best you boys don’t come along. We’ll probably be looking at stores that wouldn’t be... Suitable for you.” Stella said with a giggle.

Tabatha and Erin were silent for a moment, but then they understood the joke and giggled as well.

            “I’m not even going to ask.” Don said.

            “Anyway, if you’re coming with us, Tabatha, you are going to need a change of clothes. That witch getup will attract witch hunters like a light attracts moths. We need to get you something you can wear in to town.” Erin said.

            “Oh! I know, she can wear one of my dresses!” Stella suggested.

            “Good idea.” Erin said.

Tabatha looked to Don with a sly smile.

            “You’d like that, wouldn’t you Don?” She asked.

I could see Don’s face begin to go red.

            “I… What? No!” Don stammered.

Tabatha giggled.

            “Just kidding.” She said as she looked away.

Don looked at me with an arched eyebrow. Robert grinned at him, Macalister chuckled and clapped Don on the shoulder. I just shrugged. Stella ran to the back of the house somewhere and disappeared. She came back momentarily with a long bright red dress. It wasn’t fancy or anything, but it sure would make Tabatha blend in when she was in town.

            “Thanks, I’ll return it when we get back.” Tabatha said.

            “Change into it now, we’ll leave shortly.” Stella said, handing her the dress.

Tabatha took it and walked to the same room that Stella went to when she got the dress.

            “Here’s some money. Don’t spend too much of it.” Martha warned as she gave the money to Erin.

            “Hey, I’m not the one you need to lecture about money.” Erin said as she shot a look to Stella.

            “What? Are you saying that I spend too much money?” Stella asked in a hurt tone.

            “Yes. Whenever we give you the money you always go out and buy an expensive dress, or expensive jewelry, or expensive anything.” Erin said.

            “But they’re nice!” Stella objected.

            “And expensive.” Erin added.

            “Whatever.” Stella told her.

Robert and Don chuckled, Macalister just stood there, giving Stella a blank stare. Who knew what he was thinking?

Tabatha then came out from the room wearing the red dress. On her head was her black with green trim witch hat and in her hands she held her witch garments. It was long and just barely avoided dragging across the ground as she walked. Tabatha shuffled uncomfortably.

            “As soon as we get back I’m changing back in to my other clothes…” Tabatha said.

            “Tabatha, the hat.” Stella said.

Tabatha reached up and took off her witch hat.

            “Right. Sorry.” Tabatha said as she laid her hat and her garments on her bunk.

            “Okay, are we ready to go?” Stella asked.

Tabatha, Stella and Erin all headed for the door. Tabatha grabbed her staff from where it leaned against her chair.

            “Okay, let’s go.” Tabatha said as she walked out the door.

            “Uh, Tabatha! The staff!” Stella called nervously.

            “The staff stays!” Tabatha said with finality over her shoulder.

Erin and Stella looked to each other, shrugged and walked out after Tabatha.

            “We’ll be back in a while!” Erin said over her shoulder.

When the three girls vanished from sight, Francella cleared his throat.

            “So, what do you all want to do?” He asked.

            “Well, we have enough crops in stock for now, so we can afford a day off of working in the fields.” Raymond suggested.

            “We can’t go to town though, it wouldn’t be cool if we followed the girls.” Don said.

            “We could go out of the city and into the forest, who knows what we might see in there?” Macalister said.

Everyone thought about that.

            “Macalister, I think that’s the first good idea you’ve had in a long time.” Robert said.

            “I think that it would be a good idea to go out into the forest. After all, vampires can’t come out until after sundown, so we’d be safe from them.” Raymond said.

            “Are there any other dangerous supernatural creatures out there that you know about?” Don asked.

            “Well, no. Of course, we have all heard stories of demons and whatnot as children, but we have never seen demons or anything of the like before. Chances are that they don’t exist.” Raymond said.

            “I don’t think any of us can say for sure what does and doesn’t exist.” Robert said with a chuckle.

            “On the off chance that we do run into trouble, Robert, Macalister, Redmond and I all have our flintlocks.” Don said.

            “Just make sure you’re all back before sundown.” Martha warned.

            “We will be, don’t worry.” Raymond said.

I started walking towards the door.

            “Be careful out there!” Martha called.

            “Stop worrying, Martha. We’ll be back before sundown with time to spare.” Francella said.

            “It’s my job to worry about you all. Ceberus and William are gone to Queen Yuka’s castle, Tabatha, Stella and Erin are all in town, and now all of you are going out into the forest.” Martha said frantically.

            “Martha, listen to me. You’re overreacting. Calm down, pour yourself a tea and don’t think about it.” Raymond said.

Martha closed her eyes and nodded.

            “Yes, I suppose I’m overeating. I’m just so worried about Ceberus and William out there. I’m stressed.” Martha admitted.

            “It’s okay. Just pour yourself a tea and try to calm down.” Raymond advised.

Martha nodded.

            “Okay. Well, you boys have fun.” She said, her voice had a little less tension in it than before.

            “You’re the best, Martha.” Francella said with a wide grin.

I walked out the door. The others all followed me.

            “Martha is going through too much stress. I feel bad for her.” Francella said.

            “I know. Her husband and his best friend are heading to Queen Yuka’s castle, where they need to keep their cover as her loyal servants or they will be decapitated. If I were her I’d be pretty worried, too.” Raymond told him.

We began walking down the path that crossed through the fields and towards town. When we reached the area where the field ends and the town begins, we heard two people shouting at each other. We all walked towards the sound. When I peered around the corner, I saw two men. One of them was wearing the uniform that all of Queen Yuka’s guards and law enforcers wear. It was a light leather tunic that was black in color with red letters stitched onto the chest: Vulrock Law Enforcement. The uniform was all too familiar to any criminal. That included us, The Scorpions. The other man was even younger than me. He couldn’t have been older than fifteen. The law enforcement officer had a tight grip on him and he was struggling to get free.

            “I only stole a loaf of bread! My family is starving! Please, just let me go and I promise I won’t commit another crime!” The man pleaded.

            “Plead all you want, kid. A crime is a crime, no matter the condition or the motives. You broke the law, now you must face your trial.” The law enforcement officer said as he strained to get the kid under control.

            “Have mercy! Please!” The kid yelled.

            “No! You broke the law, and now you need to face justice!” The law enforcement officer said.

The law enforcement officer finally got the kid under control and dragged him down the street before anyone could do anything. Civilians gathered in a mass and watched with horror as the scene unfolded before them. As the kid was being dragged away, he kept shouting his pleas at the guard. Unfortunately, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

            “What do you make of that?” I asked everyone.

            “It seems that Queen Yuka has really cracked down on crime. I mean, the kid stole a loaf of bread for his starving family! That isn’t grounds for him to face a trial!” Francella said.

            “There isn’t anything we can do about it. Come on, let’s go.” Robert said as he began walking towards the gate of Riverguard.

The others and I followed him. We walked down a stone pathway until we reached the town square with the fountain. As usual there was a large crowd. The sound of chatter filled the air. We weaved our way around the people and made it to the gate. A guard stopped us.

            “What business do you have on the outside?” He asked.

It was the same guard who stopped Ceberus and I when we went hunting.

            “We’re just going out into the forest for a walk.” Francella said.

The guard nodded.

            “Very well. Stay safe and be back here before dark.” The guard said.

            “We will.” Robert assured him.

The guard looked to his friends and nodded. The gate began opening and when it was fully opened, we stepped through. We walked through the narrow stone corridor and came to the forest. The chatter of the crowd in Riverguard’s town square was quieter now and birds could be heard chirping along with the insects. The smell of dead wood and rotting vegetation filled my nostrils. The sun cast its beams down upon the thick forest canopy. Most parts were too thick for sunlight to penetrate it, but in some areas that were thinner sunlight came down in broad shafts, illuminating the forest.

            “What are you all waiting for? Let’s go!” Francella said as he began running off into the forest.

            “Wait up!” Don shouted as he ran after him.

            “You snooze, you lose Don!” Robert said, running right behind him.

The rest of us ran after them as well. I was pretty excited. After all, we could find a fairy or who knows what else? As we have already found out, the world is not as it seems. Our boots crunched against the twigs and leaves that littered the forest floor. The wind whipped at our hair as we ran through the forest. Francella’s deep brown hair swayed wildly behind him. He was obviously the fastest of anyone here and he was at least twenty feet ahead of everyone else. I can see how he earned his alias ‘sprint’. Just then, I caught a flicker of movement to my right.

            “Oi! Where’s the fire boys?” I heard a familiar voice call.

I turned around and found Walden. His wings were beating repeatedly and he was floating a foot off of the ground. Everyone else stopped running and looked to Walden.

            “Hey, I remember you. Redmond, right? You were hunting with Ceberus a while ago. Good to see ya again.” Walden said.

            “Thanks, Walden. Same here.” I said.

“Where y’off to, fellas?” Walden asked.

“Is that a… fairy?” Macalister asked.

            “Nah pal, I’m a vampire.” Walden said sarcastically.

            “You’re a small vampire.” Macalister said, squinting at him.

Walden shoved his hand into his forehead and closed his eyes in frustration. After a moment, he looked to me.

            “He aint bright, is he?” He asked.

I shook my head. Robert chuckled.

            “Anyway, where ya’ll off to?” Walden repeated his question.

            “We have enough crops in stock back at the bunkhouse so we don’t need to work the fields today, so we’re just out here, taking a walk, looking for a little fun.” Francella said.

            “Ah, I see. Well, if you’re looking for a little fun, then continue prancing around the forest like a bunch of kids. However, if you desire some adventure I may just be able to help you out.” Walden said temptingly.

That sparked my attention.

            “Adventure?” Don asked, intrigued.

            “I’m up for an adventure.” Robert added.

            “Yeah buddy. See, there are these ruins of old villages and castles throughout the forest, all old and forgotten. The castles and villages used to stand tall, but wars and such knocked them all down. The village ruins are nothing special, but the castle ruins have underground areas to them, like dungeons and other underground stuff you’d find in a castle. Although people don’t go anywhere near ‘em ‘cause vampires and other evil creatures of the night take up residence there. They either capture or kill anyone who goes there, but you just might be able to find some cool stuff at the ruins.” Walden said.

            “Walden, is this another one of your tall tales?” Francella asked, annoyed.

            “Heck no, buddy! These ruins are real. Been to ‘em myself, I have. Here, I’ll even show you what I found in one of the old castle dungeons.” Walden said.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gold ring that was encrusted with rubies. My eyes widened. That thing could be worth a fortune! If that was just one thing he found in the ruins, my mind jumped to anything else we could find.

            “Yeah, it looks pricey, eh?” Walden said as he put the ring back into his pocket.

            “No kidding.” Robert said.

            “That is all I managed to grab before a vampire chased me outta there.” Walden said.

            “That ring is pretty cool.” Macalister said.

            “Yup. The price aint even the best part, get this; I can feel some kinda magical energy comin’ from that ring. It’s enchanted. I don’t know what the enchantment is. I intend to take it to a witch, but they’re all being hunted. Haven’t seen any witches since Queen Yuka ordered their captures.” Walden said.

Francella looked to us with a grin. I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about taking the ring to show Tabatha.

            “Walden, I’ll make you a deal.” Francella said.

Walden looked at him, interest was all over his face.

            “A deal? I’m all ears.” He said.

            “We have a witch with us. We can take your ring to her on one condition.” Francella said.

            “There’s a condition? Well, let’s hear it.” Walden said somewhat reluctantly.

            “See, if we’re going into those ruins, there is a chance that we’ll find a vampire or some other creature that’ll want to kill us, right?” Francella asked.

            “Yeah.” Walden said.

            “Well, I know that you’re more than a little handy with magic, so we will take your ring to our witch if you accompany us into the ruins and help us fight any monsters we may find.” Francella said.

Walden raised his little hand to scratch his chin. Walden may have only been about fifteen centimeters tall, but if Francella said he was good with magic, then I had no doubt that he was. After all, he turned Ceberus invisible to hide him from Queen Yuka’s men.

            “You got a deal, buddy.” Walden exclaimed.

            “Which way are the ruins?” I asked.

Walden looked up at the sun, turned a little to the left and flew off in that direction.

            “Follow me fellas, adventure awaits!” He called over his shoulder.

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think!

Reviews

[KeithKVH]

This is another really good setup. It does feel like they're off on another "side quest" but that's not bad at all as this does seem very interesting, and honestly it could very easily link up with some kind of new progression for the whole of the story.

Walden is back, and he's better than ever. Honestly the interaction between him and Macalister just made me go "YES". -Walden: "He aint bright, is he?" xD

My eyebrows really raised in confusion over something though. Is that ring of his for fairies? He's 15 centimeters tall and he can fit a normal ring in his back pocket? @_@

The enchanted ring and all of the forest ruins and denizens of the dark inhabiting them though really are interesting. So far I've done a mix of fantasy with other things, but I really like fantasy and would like to do a full fantasy story myself at some point. This is a really good fantasy story so far, good work.

I'll mail you my suggestions, there were a few missing keystrokes.

[Ryan Henderson]

Thanks for the review! I will review Angelorum lux very soon!