Beautiful People

The Talminor were tri-racial constructs that worked as servants in King Elleazar's palace. But when the Talminor woman Mew starts to die, the Orc lady Lysa is determined to save her.

Talminor

 

By Eddie Davis

© 2014

 

1.

Beautiful People

 

It was late spring in Westmark and the snow had given way to warm showers.    Throughout the late afternoon they began arriving, all dressed in ball gowns and fine velvets and silks.    Out of the carriages they came, hurriedly escorted into the ducal keep to keep their best clothing from being dampened by rain.

As they proudly mounted the wide staircase to the grand ballroom, most were taken back for a few moments by the handful of servants working feverishly to mop up the mud and water deposited by the last group that had arrived.  

The creatures wore the purple of the King’s servants and respectfully kept their distance, with their eyes downcast, but though they all seemed rather shy, their gruesomeness was evident to all.

They seemed to be living puzzles, made up of bits and pieces of different races.   One might have a head that looked like it belonged to a wolf, yet another one had a feline head, but with a human body.    The patchwork patterns of their appearances were quite alarming, so most of them wore hooded cloaks to keep from upsetting those arriving for Queen Aurei’s Grand Spring Ball.

“Mongrel men” several of the guests murmured to each other, having heard of the strange and ugly arcane race that had settled in Westmark after fleeing Helios’ valley.

 

It had been an insane wizard that had tried breeding new races from incompatible species.    When that had failed, he had assembled his ideas using magic to combine them.    Most that had left Helios’ valley were descendants of the small number that could reproduce.  

After a while, breeding slowly brought conformity and uniformity to new generations.    The majority of the Talminor that had come to Westmark were of these later generations.   They were rather ugly to downright hideous, but their forms were symmetrical and for the most part, their coloring was uniform. 

 But those laboring humbly in the King’s palace as servants were a small number of the original creatures that had been suspended along with Helios’ living chess pieces, within his castle.

“’Tri-racial Constructs’,” Helios had labeled them in his writings, for they each were ‘constructed’ of parts of three separate races, magically combined (and kept together) by spells that were known by none alive today.

Seven of them had been brought into King Eleazar’s service, to protect them from the stares and rude remarks by those who would see them.    But by the melting of the first of the winter snow only five of the ‘Elder Talminor’ (as they referred to themselves) remained alive.   For there was something happening to these original monsters that was killing them.

 

Wulf-wuf heard the whispered ridicule of some of the pretty Elven and human ladies as their party quickly passed by them (careful to take the very edge of the stairs so they would not get too close).    He bowed his large wolf head as they passed and averted his gaze respectfully.    They didn’t say anything as they passed, but at the top of the stairs he would always hear snickers or quickly whispered snide remarks.

Wulf-wuf would do nothing -- they were the ‘Beautiful People’, the nobles and rich of Marksylvania.    He knew they had every right to be disgusted by their freakishness.   For they were not of Yesh’s blessed races.

They were the accursed people; abominations to all the fairer races.  So Wulf-wuf kept his yellow eyes focused on the never-ending tracks on the floor and concentrated on his mopping.

Outside, the rain began falling in sheets and Grunt looked over at him, snorting out his question.

“Woof…woof.”   Wulf-wuf responded, and Grunt nodded, hurrying to empty a dirty pail, then off to get fresh water.

Halfway up the stairs, Mew was visibly trembling as she tried to mop and conceal herself with her cloak.

The wolf-headed Talminor called to her with a soft, dog-like whine and she gave a sound like a kitten in return.    But it did nothing to ease his anxiety.

He had just taken a step up the stairs to check on her, when once again the doors opened and another richly dressed group arrived.

Wulf-wuf pulled his cowl down and retreated to the edge of the stairs, holding his mop respectfully with his head bowed as the group passed.

“My Lord… they are so… UGLY.”   One woman whispered to others in her group as they passed.   Had he only possessed human hearing, he would not have understood a single word that she had said.   But he had been given a wolf’s head, complete with a dog’s heightened hearing.    So there were few comments that he would miss.

Wulf-wuf hoped that Mew did not hear the woman, but he had to wait until they had entered the ballroom before he could go to check on her.

 

***

The rain was keeping Lysa from grooming the horses, so the young Orc woman wrapped her cloak around her and made a run for the back entrance of the ducal keep.  

As she quickly crossed across the courtyard, she glanced through the heavy rain at the Marksylvania palace, which was beginning to be constructed to the west of the ducal keep.    Only the foundations had been laid, but it would be a wondrous building and she was excited to think about what it would one day look like.

She went through the servant’s entrance, at the rear of the keep and cautiously peeked inside before entering.    She didn’t want to interrupt any of the nobles during their ball.   No-one wanted to see a soggy Orc as they prepared to enjoy a fine dance.

Fortunately, nobody was in the kitchen area and she wondered who would be feeding all the important people at the party.   Perhaps they were again utilizing the Muddy Boot for the meal.

 

Lysa listened at the kitchen door and did not hear any of the gentry in the grand entrance hall, so she glanced outside.  

To her surprise, she found two figures at the bottom of the stairs.   It was Wulf-wuf and Mew.   The tiny Talminor woman was lying on the bottom-most step and Wulf-wuf was kneeling over her, with a fearful look in his yellow wolf’s eyes.  

Immediately the Orc lady ran into the room.

“Wulf-wuf, what happened?!” she called, rushing over to him.    Already Grunt and Hiz were running down the stairs to see what had befallen one of their own.

Wulf-wuf looked up at the Orc lady as she joined them.

“Woof woof!   Woof!” He barked, desperately trying to convey something urgent.   But Lysa already thought that she knew what had happened.    Mew was coming apart ‘at the seams’, just as Ahwol and Erra had, earlier that month.  

Lysa took up little Mew’s head in her lap.   She was a mixture of what looked like a Halfling, an Elf or some faerie being, and some sort of small cat.    She had the graceful form of a small fae woman, but with a black cat’s head and tail.

“Woof woof!”   Wulf-wuf touched Lysa’s arm and the Orc lady looked over, horrified to see him holding Mew’s bloody tail in his hands.

“Yesh, have mercy, did she just loose her tail?!”  

“Woof!”   Wulf-wuf nodded, gesturing at the little Talminor.

“She’s coming apart?”   Lysa asked, though it was obvious that she was.

Wulf-wuf made a pitiful whining sound.

Lysa closed her eyes and put her hand on Mew’s feverish forehead, “In the name of Yesh, be healed.”

Blue light flowed out of the Orc’s hands, covering the Talminor woman.   Lysa looked at her hopefully, but as the light faded, Mew seemed only minutely improved.

Wulf-wuf touched her hand and she looked over at him.    He sadly shook his head and she knew that once again her laying of hands would not do much.

“Let me go find Aaron and Allea!”   She gently placed Mew’s head down on the marble floor, but as she was getting to her feet, Wulf-wuf stopped her, shaking his head and then pointing to the top of the stairs.

“I don’t care, this is more important than any stupid dance!”   Lysa told him and she rushed past him and ran up the stairwell.

“Keep her still - don’t move her until I get back.”   She told Grunt and Hiz as she ran past them and they made sounds in reply.

 

***

 

Lysa knew what she had to do - she had to risk the wrath of the party-goers to try to locate Aaron and Allea in the crowded ballroom.

Aaron was now her Lord as he had taken her as his squire to better train her as a Paladin and she knew she had to report to him if there was any trouble.   He had been dating Allea for a few months and she knew he would be here with her.    Allea had a spell that enabled one of the Talminor to communicate by common speech, for a short time, and she had to find out what they could do.

Lysa had befriended the seven Talminor that worked in the palace as servants and found somewhat of a kindred spirit with them.   

She certainly knew how they felt about themselves.

 

With a deep sigh, she pulled open the ornate doors and found a sea of dancing couples waltzing around to beautiful music.   Everyone was so elegant and lovely in their attire and many turned as she hurried inside, wrinkling their noses at her.   She was used to the reaction, for it took a while for people to get used to seeing an Orc in such grand settings.  

She certainly didn’t belong here, and wouldn’t belong here even if she had been dressed for such an occasion.   So she moved forward very nervously, bowing respectfully at any noble who looked her way.    It was her worst nightmare- interrupting a fancy dance in muddy and wet armor.

But Lysa was determined to try to help the little Talminor woman and so swallowing her nerves, she pushed through the dancers with as much grace as she could, praying that she would pass her master and lady Allea before everyone in the room saw her.

 

After what seemed like hours of glares and looks of disapproval, she finally reached the far side of the room.    In a quiet corner she found them, dancing closely in what she guessed was a romantic moment for them.    It was going to be her fault that the moment would end.    Lysa hesitated, wondering if there was another way she could get help, but as she was frozen in indecision, Aaron glanced over and saw her.

Drowning in embarrassment, she now had no choice but to proceed, so she meekly approached them.   Allea did not seem too pleased to see her.

“Lysa, what’s the matter?”   Aaron asked politely, to her relief.

“My Lord, I am extremely sorry to interrupt you and Lady Allea, but there is an emergency, sir.”

“Emergency?!”

“Yes, My Lord.    It’s the Talminor woman - Mew- she collapsed on the stairs and Wulf-wuf is trying desperately to tell me something.    She has lost her tail and is feverish, sir.    I’m afraid she is dying.”

Allea sighed in unconcealed frustration, but said, “Alright, Lysa, we’ll see if we can help.    There is nothing much we can do, really.   I’m not trying to sound crass, but so far magic has not been able to stop any of the seven from dying.”

“Yes, ma’am, I’m sure you are probably right, but I feel that Yesh expects me to try.”   She had not meant to rebuke the Half-Drow, but her words chastised the young sorceress and Allea nodded, feeling shame for her response.

 

“You are quite right in coming to find us.”  Aaron told her with a reassuring smile that was so wonderful to see, “Take us to them.”

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"When that had failed, he has assembled his ideas..." You'll want to change "he has" to "he had" so that the tenses will match.
"...found somewhat of a kindled spirit with them." I think you were wanting "kindred," here?

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Elina, for taking time to read this tale and for all of your wonderful edits.

[Elina]

You are most welcome! It is truly my pleasure.