Its Revolutionary

It's Revolutionary

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Dedication This book is dedicated to “DJ Sparkle” because, well duh, Mignon told me to.

Also a special dedication to the many friends of mine from the Nifty message boards including several published authors who never even get close to the 50,000 word count in November. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Preface to the NaNoWriMo edition National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly. The novel is loosely based on the Castle & Crusades role playing game system from Troll Lord Games. There are no general rules for muskets in the base system and the general world is of my own design having been stolen, for the most part, by something called the “real world.” In fact you really don’t need to know any of the rules to read this novel, but if you were wondering why some characters didn’t get attacks of opportunity or didn’t multiclass, that is your answer. I hope you have much fun reading it as I had writing it.

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Introduction: A new fantastic world It was a new world, a land of magical opportunity, a place where dreams could take place and destinies could be fulfilled. Actually, the new world was just another region of the world and it was only relatively new, having been originally discovered some two hundred years ago. The so called “Old World” was a small continent where for several thousand years the reign of man existed. Empires rose and fell and broke apart into city states and kingdoms. Magic, which can be divided into the arcane and the divine, slowly became less common and retreated into the secret societies of guild and churches. The new world was not the first new land to be discovered. Lands of spice and lands of the strange night dwelling creatures known as orcs encouraged adventurers to seek out new routes to reach potential markets faster. It was in just an adventure that the new world was discovered; a land filled with gold and elves. Many of the old world kingdoms sought to claim and explore this new fantastic world. The kingdom of Hen discovered the far north of the new world, exploring a major river that they hoped might give them a way to go across the land to the other side, once again securing a profitable route to the lands of spice. They found instead a great land where winters were harsh but where fur trading with the native elves proved most profitable. Priests of the Old Church still followed in the kingdom of Hen managed to convert some of the elves to the human faith. To the south, halfling traders established another city on an island at the mouth of a large river. The island itself was next to a larger island that extended for scores of miles, which they called the Grand Island. Originally they had hoped that the river would extend all the way to the great lakes that were the source of the river that was claimed by the kingdom of Hen, but the river ended in its own smaller lake system. Meanwhile the kingdom of Ent was growing around the halfling colony. Establishing colonies to the north and south of the small town they purchased the rights to the town and renamed it to the town of New Orc. Under the influence of the growing Ent human population the town grew into a small city and humans went into the land to harvest the resources of the land in order to provide the raw materials for the ever growing merchant and war fleets of the expanding old world kingdoms.

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Meetings and solicitations in New Orc It had been a stormy night and the effects of the late spring rainfall turned the dirt streets of New Orc into quagmires of mud that remained even after the rise of the morning sun and the start of the new day. Near the docks that overlooked the great river was the building that housed the offices of the New Ent Mining Company. As the sun rose higher into the sky several men made their way to the building for what would be for them a very important meeting. Louis de Tocqueville was the first to arrive. He brushed off the bulk of the mud from his boots before he entered the building. From there a clerk escorted him to a furnished room. Shelves lined the room partially filled with books. Several comfortable chairs were placed in the middle of the room facing a common table on which several documents including a pamphlet entitled “Poor Richard’s Almanac” was located. “The others will be arriving shortly,” the clerk told Louis before exiting the room. Louis took the opportunity to take and peruse the pamphlet. Although Louis was a native of Hen and not of Ent, he was somewhat fluent in both his native tongue and in the language of Ent. That he was also fluent in the language of the Old Empire was not something that he wanted to be public knowledge. The pamphlet had a wide variety of tables predicting phases of the moon and weather patterns with bits of wisdom disbursed in the various pages. Two people arrived together, engaged in some conversation about agriculture as the followed the clerk into the room. After they entered the clerk quickly exited the room and left the three of them alone. The two turned and looked at Louis, who was more dressed in the style of the old world kingdom of Hen than the two clearly new world natives. Louis thought it would be best to break the ice first, “Good morning sirs,” he began. Extending his hand in friendship he continued, “Louis de Tocqueville at your service.” The shorter of the two men replied, “It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Tocky … Mr. Touque … Mr. …” Louis laughed, “Just call me Louis.” “Mr. Louis then,” he continued. “My name is Adams, William Adams, and my friend is John Floyd. I hail from New Ent which is north east of here, and Mr. Floyd hails from the Grand Island which is east of the city. From your dress I assume you hail from the old world?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“You guess correctly,” Louis replied. “I have only recently come from Hen.” “I trust your journey was a good one,” John responded. “I must admit,” Louis said, “that a long sea voyage is an interesting experience that does wonders to show a person his place in the world. Given enough time one might even be able to actually get used to it. Have you ever gone on a long sea voyage?” “I regret that I have really only traveled only around the colony of New Ent, although there are a lot of places in the colony I have not seen,” William replied. “I have done some traveling to the southern colonies,” John admitted, “but I have never crossed the ocean to the old world.” While they were engaged in conversation, the clerk entered the room again escorting a single gentleman. He looked like William and John although there were variations in his outfit that indicated he might have come from a different colony in the new world. One thing was noticeable to Louis, however. While everyone had made an attempt to remove the mud from their boots some traces were always bound to remain. This gentleman’s boots however were spotlessly clean, not even dust appeared on them. “Greetings gentlemen,” the man said to the three. “My name is George Lee, from the southern colony of Purity. To whom do I have the honor of addressing?” “My name is Louis de Tocqueville,” Louis replied, “this is William Adams, and this is John Floyd. We seem to be a well diverse group, location wise. I am from Hen. Mr. Adams hails from New Ent and Mr. Floyd hails from Grand Island.” “Yes indeed,” George said, “and I suspect we have an equally diverse range of talents. I am curious as to what the New Ent Mining Company would need from such a diverse group and whether more will be joining our company.” This time a man came in without being lead by the clerk, “I’m afraid that you shall only be a quartet for this job,” he replied while looking at George. “My name is Robert Smith, and I am responsible for the iron mining operations in the colony of New Ent. I have asked you here because I need a team to investigate a problem we have experienced recently and if possible to provide a ‘solution’ to the problem. But before I begin, please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Once they sat down Robert began to explain the situation at hand. Several days journey west of the “point” a location on the Great River where a small fort was being built, the company had discovered a small deposit of iron ore among some of the mountains of the region. A small team was dispatched to set up a mining camp and to begin to mine and smelt the ore. This team was very successful at first until they were frightened by what they first claimed to be a large elf army under the guidance of an elf known only as “The Red,” because of the red fletching on his arrows. It was thought that they may have exaggerated the size of The Red’s group and were simply frightened by a few warning shots at nearby trees. A smaller and armed group was sent back to the location to continue mining operations. It was expected that during the winter the snowfall would make communication impossible but when spring came there was still no word from the camp. It was feared that they may have been attacked by a larger group or might be currently under siege by the forces of The Red. The purpose of the team, Rodger explained, was two fold. John and William were experts with the musket. Louis was familiar with Hen which it was believed that The Red could speak, although this was simply an assumption on the part of Rodger as the Hen fur traders had more extensive communications with the elves than the Ent. Finally George was to provide negotiation skills should The Red wish more to negotiate than attack. A ship would provide them transport to the Point where horses would be provided for the journey to the location of the mining camp. “Let me be honest about one thing,” Rodger concluded. “While I cannot confirm the size of The Red’s forces I know that two well armed children could have probably taken out the original mining expedition. That they were scared away and not killed outright I think says something about The Red. We don’t know that The Red was involved in this latest break in communication. In fact we don’t know anything. Your mission is just as much to find out what happened as to deal with The Red. For all we know they might just all died of a fever or they might have abandoned the site altogether. This is why I have selected a small group for this mission, to both gather information and to possibly negotiate with the mysterious elf. You will be paid well for your efforts.” It appeared that the mining company was willing to pay well for this expedition, with half of the monies being given in advance in order for the men to secure their own supplies and ammunition. They were given the rest of the day to secure all their supplies and were expected to arrive at the dock a few hours before sunrise before the next day.

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A grand ride on a great river The next morning, while the early lights of dawn were just forming on the eastern skies, Louis approached the docks. He had already been up for at least an hour, having quietly said his daily morning prayers in the tavern room. Quiet was indeed the operative word for the Ent speaking population of the new world did not look kindly upon priests of the Old Church. Technically speaking he should not be in the area at all, as per a law passed both in New Orc and New Ent decades ago which forbade priests of the Old Church and gave a penalty for hanging to any priest who preached to the native elves. William and John were the next to arrive. Their perfect timing twice in a row might have appeared at first but they explained to Louis that they had been sharing a room at the tavern to reduce expenses. Finally George arrived, but beside his side was what appeared to be a lady, with dark complexion, dark hair and what appeared to be almost small tusks on her lower jaw. As she approached Louis could also see that she was a well built woman with a large frame but there was also the appearance of youth on her somewhat barbaric face. “Greetings, Mr. Lee,” Louis replied as they approached. “Who is the lady? I don’t think we have been introduced.” “Greetings, Mr. Tocqueville,” George replied actually getting the Hen pronunciation correct. “That is no lady, she is my property and her name is Maria.” “Property,” the very word brought a shiver to Louis’ soul; that “peculiar” institution of the New World, the triangular trade that brought orc prisoners from the barbarian lands south of the Old World as slaves for the colonial population, especially those of the southern colonies. The Old Church had written several documents about the immoral nature of one person holding the rights of another person as perpetual property but like all the documents of the Old Church they were slow to propagate over the ocean. Perhaps when Louis would ever get to the Colony of Mary and address the Bishop of the New World he would bring this matter to his attention. Louis looked quickly back at William and John. They appeared as equally uncomfortable as he was. “Is she coming along with us,” inquired William. “As she is my property,” George replied, “I cannot see why she cannot. She is as important and as vital as your musket. In fact she has a number of qualities that would be considered vital to this mission. I have already cleared this with the company and they agree with my reasoning.” “But she is an orc,” William insisted. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“And a woman; a member of the fairer sex,” John added. “The term ‘fairer’ can have a relative meaning,” George replied. “She is an orc, while not as intelligent as us humans are stronger and sturdier. I am sure she could easily beat the best of us in any simple feat of strength. She can pull her weight and then some over. While she is my property she comes here willingly.” “Can she speak for herself,” Louis asked. “Yes sir,” she replied. “I can speak for myself. I have been told that generally a person should not speak unless spoken to and you don’t have to be property to follow that advice of modesty.” “Are you willing to come with us into the wilderness, away from civilization?” “Yes sir,” she replied. “I prefer the outdoors to the city life. Birds and deer don’t stare at a person not knowing whether to be repulsed or disgusted. Cities aren’t good for your health you know, that’s why so many people leave them at various times of the year when the sickness comes to them.” “Well I suppose there is no harm being a party of five,” John commented. “Shall we get on the boat before we find ourselves left behind?” A small crew was preparing the river boat for its morning voyage. After boarding the boat they proceeded to the other side of the boat for a view across the Great River to the shore on the other side. Across from the island was a rocky cliff. George pointed some small figures on the top of the cliff on the other side. They appeared at this distance to be the size of children, but they appeared to be armed with small spears and bows. “Do you see those small diminutive creatures,” George asked Louis. “They look as small as Halflings, but are slimmer and oddly shaped.” “They are called kobolds,” replied George, “small lizard like creatures that bark like small dogs and live in the caves on those cliffs. They are mostly harmless but they are hard to combat in their native environment. They live in complex cave systems which are too small to crawl through and are well trapped for any who would dare think otherwise.” “Are they dangerous? Will they attack us?” “If we went across the river at this point probably,” George replied. “However they generally do not like to swim or cross water so we should be safe for the NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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most part. Whoever becomes the governor of the colony across the river will have to deal with the kobold problem.” “And what colony is that across the river?” “New Journey,” George replied. Soon the crew was ready and the boat left the dock for a slow journey up the river. It kept to the eastern side of the river, away from the kobolds and the palisades on the western shore. Eventually it passed the end of the island where New Orc was located and slowly continued up the river. From either side the new green growth of spring covered the trees forming rolling hills to the east and decorating the bottoms of the cliffs to the west. The sun rose higher and higher in the mostly clear sky. The river widened considerably but in the distance it seemed to be returned to the same size it was when they started the journey. It was an hour after noontime when they saw some docks on the eastern side of the river. “We have come to the village called ‘Sleepy Hollow,’” commented the captain, “and we will stop at the local inn for lunch. We will be heading off shortly thereafter. This is a good thing because I have been told that the village is haunted by ghosts or spirits or something at night.” Upon entering the inn they were greeted by diminutive humans, Halflings to be precise, who fed them with a fine warm meal and good cold ale. After the meal Louis inquired about the rumors to the innkeeper who dismissed the thought with a puff of his clay pipe. “That’s a tall tale of the tall folk because they don’t trust us half folk. We have a cemetery a short distance from the village and they think we have strange powers or something.” “So do you have strange powers or something,” Louis asked. “No more than you do,” he replied and in a hushed tone added, “father.” Louis paused for a moment in thought. The power of divine magic was given to the priests of the Old Church. But even in the Old World kingdom of Hen where the Church was a part of the society such abilities were not advertised at great length. Of course Louis knew that the Halflings had their own priesthood of a sort. “I suppose that’s true,” Louis replied and also in a hushed tone added, “teacher.” “Yes,” the Halfling innkeeper said as he puffed his pipe again. “We are much alike in many ways. Good luck on your journeys and may the wind be always at your back!” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Once back on the boat the continued up the river until the lake like appearance of the river started becoming more like a great river again. The boat now made its way on the western shore. George and Louis found themselves for a moment alone at the back of the boat. “You realize that if we are to work as a team we need to be honest with one another,” George commented while looking off to the opposite shore. “What do you mean?” “I know you are a priest of the Old Church,” George replied. “I saw you bless yourself before the meal; discretely, but you blessed yourself never the less. According to the laws of New Orc you shouldn’t be here at all and I hope your not thinking of converting any more elves to the Old Church.” “Actually I was originally just passing through on my way to the northern Hen colonies,” Louis remarked. “But I am not the only one being discrete about magical potential. If I am not mistaken you are a member of that discrete order of wizards known as the Builders.” “How can you tell?” “Yesterday,” Louis explained, “we all came in from the mud soaked streets with some of that mud still on us. Your boots, I noticed were spotlessly clean, as if by magic. Such magic is common to the lowest levels of the members of the order, from what I have learned.” “Vanity of vanities,” George replied. “Thy name is wizard. Well I suppose we both need to be open if we are going to be able to trust each other.” “Traditionally the Old Church has never approved or liked the Guild of Builders and if I am not mistaken the Guild of Builders has never liked the Old Church. Since we will be traveling a long way from our superiors on either side I propose that we simply forget about our respective orders intolerance for each other’s orders and work towards a common goal. Of course the rest of the group should be informed. We don’t want them to panic should you throw some bolt of magic in the middle of the fight or if I were to heal them of a mortal wound. Does Maria know you are an arcane user of magic?” “Yes,” George replied. “Her strength and my magic complement each other in many useful ways.” “Still,” Louis commented, “the fact that she is your slave.” “I prefer to think her of as my property.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Even property,” Louis replied. “Your horse is property. Do you treat her like you would your horse?” “Of course not,” George insisted. “In the first place, a horse would be perfectly content to eat grass and live in a stable, while on the other hand; propriety demands that one should give him a proper brushing every day. Maria is not a horse; she deserves finer food and better accommodations. On the other hand, she can comb her own hair.” It was at this time that John came down to the back of the boat and began some idle conversation. “So Mr. Louis, what do you think of the New World so far?” “I must admit,” Louis replied, “that I never realized what a diverse world of races existed until I arrived in New York and even then until this single trip when I have seen so many different races in a single day; orcs, kobolds, even Halflings.” “Aren’t there Halflings in the Old World?” “There are,” Louis replied, “but for the most part they live in their own land or in small isolated communities in various cities. One hardly even notices that they are there. For the most part humans tend to see only humans.” “Well that’s sort of true for the New World as well,” John admitted. “Elves for the most part live separate from the human communities and even have their own governments. Halflings also live in isolated communities and rarely interact with humans. Kobolds generally don’t want any contact with humans, and of course there are many communities where orcs are not common at all.” “Still I suppose the whole notion of the New World is the mixing of ideas from different people that are ‘old’ to some people but appear to be ‘new’ to other people.” “Yes that is true,” John replied. “I have an old family joke. Where I live we like to joke that ‘tea’ is best served with bread and butter. Seriously, when the first tea leaves arrived in the village some 50 years ago my great grandparents thought the leaves were best served on buttered bread. They never thought to make a beverage from them. Now it’s a major beverage in Ent and in New Ent.” The boat captain then arrived announcing that they would be making port at the West Point shortly. They would be directed to a local inn for the night and then given supplies for the overland travel to the mine site. A small wooden fort appeared ahead on the river and beyond that a small village could be seen. The sun was starting to set behind the distant mountains to the west. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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The fort at the West Point One the group left the boat they went to the inn and secured rooms. They secured a four bed room for the men and a smaller single bed room for Maria. They were then greeted by John Caldwell, the representative of the mining company in the village. He had arranged a meeting at the fort after dinner with the commander of the fort to discuss the current relations with the elves. There were several guards on duty at the entrance to the fort, but in general it seemed the atmosphere was relaxed. A few campfires were seen here and there as the night air did seem a bit chilly, but most of the soldiers had went to their barracks for the night. John introduced them to the commander who at first appeared nervous about Louis, but relaxed his position when he was informed they were all on a mission for the company. The situation was, apparently, more complex than Robert Smith had originally described. A small contingent of Hen marines had arrived in the Hen colonies to the west and had began to expand their presence south of the rivers. They had been pressuring the elves to stop trading with Ent fur traders and to trade only with the Hen fur traders with mixed results. “We expect that Hen expansion will continue southward and eventually eastward towards lands currently claimed by Ent and currently occupied by the Five Nations of the elves. It is not clear if the elves would side with the Hen or with us. It is equally not clear if they may be making preemptive strikes against key locations especially mining operations in the area.” Later the commander had a chance to speak with William alone. “I realize that the company has the right to hire whomever they please,” he told him, “but I do not trust that Hen. I think he is hiding something. He might be secretly spying for the Hen. He also might be involved in secret negotiations between Hen and the elves of this area. I need you to keep an eye on him and report to me anything you feel is suspicious. The fate of our colonies may rest on your keen observation.” After the meeting they returned to the inn. They settled down for a quiet evening and enjoyed a bizarre drink called hot buttered rum. Afterwards they retired in their rooms for the night.

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The first day on the New Orc Trail Louis and George were the first to awaken and had gone to their sections of the common room for meditation and study. Maria was the next to awaken and soon after William and John followed. William started his day with some apple cider, which he claimed was the perfect way to break a nighttime fast. It was, he insisted a “family tradition.” Maria was the only one to eat a really hearty breakfast. “It’s going to the last good cooked meal for a while,” she explained. After breakfast they started loading the horses that would take them on the journey with the various supplies, provisions and ammunition that would be needed. William took the lead, followed by Louis. Next in the line was John followed by George and last Maria. The trail was a narrow dirt path that wound through the forest of hills and low lying mountains that stood before the larger mountains to the west. Signs of the end of spring were everywhere, buds filled the various trees and streams were flowing but all showed signs of an even greater flow when the winter snow had melted with the end of the season. The sounds of returning birds could also be heard as well in the distance. Louis was the first to break the monotony of the journey by starting a conversation. “So,” he began, “since it is most likely possible that we will be encountering an elf on this adventure and since I’ve never seen an elf in my life I’m curious as to how we will know one when we spot one. What are elves like?” “Well,” John replied, “elves are thin, fair skinned; use bows a lot and walk on snow without leaving a trace.” After a short pause of silence from the group John admitted, “I made the last part up.” “The elves in this region are vided into a series of tribes, or groupings or perhaps even nations,” Williams joined in, “and together form a larger government known as the ‘Five Nations.’ The Five Nations sends regional representatives to all the various colonial governments, including the capital of the colony of New Orc which actually is located north of here and not in New Orc City. I’ve had some discussions with the representative sent to New Ent, and he seemed a very intelligent person who made it a point to be familiar with a variety of subjects. The elves are a very agrarian people raising a variety of crops including the large local grain known as corn, in addition to apples.” “Why did I know this conversation was going to turn on apples,” John chimed in. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“It’s not my fault that other people know the value of apples,” Williams insisted. “Apple cider in the morn makes the day seems less as long.” “I’m certainly glad you’re not the one who makes the sayings for the almanac,” John insisted. “We need to find a good place to camp for the night,” George spoke out trying to change the way the conversation was going. “It needs to be in a good location. A hill would be nice, but not so hilly as to have us exposed to the elements.” Several hours later a good hill was spotted and they proceeded to make camp. Maria cleared out an area for the fire and went out to get some deadwood to burn. George, Louis, William and John each went about pitching one man tents. Finally William turned to George and asked, “What about Maria’s tent.” “Maria will use my tent,” George said as a matter of fact. William seemed shocked at such an announcement, “the two of you are going to use the same tent?” “Yes.” “Do you mean that you and Maria will be in the same tent at the same time?” “Of course not,” George replied. “We are going to need to set up night watches. Maria is an orc which means she has excellent night vision. It makes the most sense for her to take the watch during the darkest part of the night. As for myself, for reasons I will explain later after dinner, I need a good solid block of sleep, so it seems logical that I should take the watches after dusk and before dawn. So when she is sleeping I will be at watch and when I am sleeping she will be at watch. Thus we only need one tent for the two of us. “You see,” John replied, “there is a logical explanation for everything. Not everyone is a potential source of scandal.” “Still,” Williams replied making sure that Maria was not around, “I do not like the idea of a woman being in this party. It is bad luck for a woman to be on a sailing ship you know.” “This is not a sailing ship,” John retorted. After Maria returned with the dry wood, a fire was set up and with some local water tea was prepared which was consumed along with the dry rations that were prepared for the expedition. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Before we get into some interesting situations,” George began, “I think some basic understandings are in order. Each one of us possesses some unique features and abilities which we can use in the course of various situations. I suppose I should begin with myself. I am a member of a society dedicated to the study and the application of the arcane science. In short I am what you would call a wizard.” “Don’t they burn wizards,” Williams asked. “No they burn witches,” John replied. “That’s right they burn … on second thought let’s not talk about burning,” George replied. “Magic is the direct application of the arcane science in the real world. I am a wizard of the second degree able to memorize and cast spells of the first and second degrees, along with simple cantrips of minor power.” “I suppose it is my turn now,” Louis chimed in. “I generally don’t make a big deal of this, given the general circumstances, but technically I am a priest of the Old Church.” “The church of superstition and heresy,” Williams asked. “Not according to the Old Church of course,” Louis rebutted. “I’m more than willing to explain the faith later on, even though technically I don’t think I’m allowed to do that in New Ent.” “Well I think you can just not do that to an elf,” John joked. “Of course you aren’t supposed to be here in the first place, but that’s a technical point of the law.” “The point is that I am empowered by God with certain powers, sometimes known as the ‘divine’ spells, that can cure, harm and at times protection.” “Is there a reason for the sudden revelation by the two of you,” John asked. “Well the point is that if you see a bolt of magic out of the blue,” George replied. “Or a weapon attacking someone without anyone wielding it,” Louis chimed in. “You can do that,” George asked. “Spiritual weapon,” Louis replied. “In those cases don’t panic.” “Agreed,” John replied. “We won’t panic.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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And they all agreed not to panic A complex arrangement was made to determine the watches for the 12 hours of nighttime. George would take the first and last two hours and would sleep for the middle eight hours. Louis would take the last eight hours. John would take the first six hours. This left all the watches with two people on at all times but it also left William out of the watches as a result. Because of this they agreed that William had to break down the camp at the start of the day. William suggested that he should rotate that duty every other day with John who agreed. George and John started the first watch, which seemed more like watching the evening fire die down than anything else. A new moon had resulted in a very dark night, even from the start, and a clear sky meant a display of brilliant stars in the sky. “So George,” John mentioned somewhere after an hour into the first watch, “now that we have set up these complex watches I only have one question. How do we know when the four hours are up? I don’t think the sundials work at night and I’ve forgotten the old grandfather clock.” “I brought an hour glass.” “But what if you forget to turn it?” “Someone gets extra sleep at my expense.” Fortunately George did not forget to turn it and passed the glass to John as he went to wake up Maria. Four hours later John passed the glass to Louis after waking him up and four hours later Maria woke up George again. The fire had died down by that time but George was able to magically bring the embers to emit light without actually being on fire for over a half hour while he studied carefully his arcane tomes for the next day. “That’s a mighty interesting spell you have there,” Louis commented offhandedly. “Really, in what way,” George asked. “I just did the almost exact same thing four hours ago when I started to recite my morning prayers.” “The similarity between the arcane and the divine is a fascinating concept,” George replied, “only hindered due to our groups general tendencies not to get along well together. Through complex study I am able to memorize the key NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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elements of structure necessary to invoke the complex powers of the universe while you simply ask a higher power and you get what it took me a long time and effort to accomplish.” “It’s not that easy,” Louis remarked. “Actually divine magic must be achieved through spiritual meditation in complex and difficult exercises. In the end perhaps it is not the means that is important but in the confidence those means provide us, me with my ‘faith’ in God, and you in your ‘faith’ in logic and science that allows us to invoke the magic of the universe.” Morning followed and the rest of the party awoke to greet the new day slightly bored that nothing really exciting had happened the previous night. Williams opened one of his bottles of cider and had what he considered a “proper” breakfast. He then proceeded to break down the camp while the rest prepared for the day’s journey. George for his part took some time to brush his horse. After breaking the camp they proceeded down the trail to the mine. The second day of travel was as uneventful as the first. After they set up the camp for the night and lit the campfire William made the comment, “I had the distinct feeling that we were being followed.” “Nonsense,” George insisted. “Who would follow us?” “Elves perhaps,” John suggested. “Perhaps they were silent, invisible elves.” “Perhaps they were monsters,” Maria replied, “who will attack us when we are sleeping?” “Perhaps they were lions, or wolves, or bears,” Louis commented. “Oh my,” George replied. “I think we are getting silly.” The second evening went as smoothly as the first with William replacing John on the first watch. William spent his watch convinced that something was going to attack them from the darkness but nothing did. When the sound of an owl made William jump Maria decided enough was enough. “You realize that if there was someone out there all it might take would be a single arrow and you would never know what hit you.” “Nonsense,” William replied. “I am too skilled to fall to a single arrow.” “What if it were shot by the arm of a skilled assassin,” Maria asked, “and what if it was poisoned? What if it was a magical arrow of human slaying?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Now you are getting silly.” “I might be,” Maria admitted, “but I do have a point. If you are really worried I would suggest looking in that direction over there. That is most likely where any attack would come from.” “Why would it be that direction and not some other direction?” “Because,” Maria replied. “There is a light wind blowing. That direction is upwind of us, so any sent of the enemy would not be noticed. The direction to our right would is where the horses are. The direction to the left is somewhat steep.” “You mean you can smell the enemy?” “My orc heritage does give me a very good sense of smell,” Maria replied. “So what does an elf smell like?” “I have no idea,” Maria replied. “I have never met one. I hope they smell better than humans.” “Are you saying that humans smell?” “Yes,” Maria replied, “but when you are around them long enough you get used to it.” “And I suppose orcs on the other hand don’t smell.” “Of course we smell,” Maria replied. “That’s why I take frequent baths.” “Baths aren’t healthy for you.” “For humans I suppose,” Maria replied, “but orcs are made of stronger stuff.” Maria was quite glad when Louis took over the watch. Still she appreciated the conversation she had with William. He treated her as an equal, almost as a human and not as property. Actually George also tended not to really treat her as “property” although he often called her such, but she was still afraid to admit that. She remembered her youth on the plantation. The work was hard, and she saw her parents and friends sent off every night to perform various labors. But somehow she had gotten the favor of the humans and was assigned the duties within the household, cleaning up the rooms, as well as the chamber pots of course. It was then she met the “young” George, who was still several years his senior took a liking to her and made her his personal servant. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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While she had been the “property” of George for several years now, there were many things about him he knew nothing about. He went off for several years for training in his secret society of Builders where he studied that strange science he called the arcane arts. She had seen that magic firsthand and it still filled her with fear and wonder. Then again muskets also filled her with fear and wonder, but they made a louder noise, billowed smoke and totally stank. While William was a very talkative person, Louis for his part during the watch seemed very reflective. While it looked like he was avoiding looking at her he did not seem as repulsed as other humans did when he did glance in her direction. In fact it almost seemed that he was to some extent shy in front of her for some reason. Whether that reason was that he was embarrassed that she was “property” or just because she was a woman she could not tell. After Louis’ half hour of prayers, when his magical illumination faded away, Maria turned to him. “That was very lovely, those prayers you were saying, even if I didn’t understand a single word. What language was that you were using? Is that the language they speak in Hen?” “My prayers are written in the ancient language of the Old Empire,” Louis replied, “which is the language which the Old Church evolved from. While different nations started to speak different regional tongues, the church kept the common tongue of the empire for its liturgies.” “When George takes me to the services of the Church of Ent, they tend to speak Ent,” Maria replied. “Why don’t they speak Old Empire instead of Ent?” “Many years ago,” Louis replied, “some people for a variety of different reasons complained about the church and claimed that the church was evil for a variety of reasons. So they broke away from the church and formed their own churches. They then wanted to get the support of the people by being closer to the people, so they started using the language of the people. But by being closer to the people they moved father from the faith of the church and from God.” “That sounds so sad.” “Which is sadder, the thought that they moved from the church or that the church never moved to them? For centuries the church kept the power of divine magic like a beautiful treasure; the signs and wonders kept in a locked box to be admired but never used. ‘Don’t put the Lord to the test,’ was a common expression. Perhaps we had forgotten that we were also commanded to heal the sick and cure the lame. People had forgotten the power of the church because we failed to use it on their behalf. So when people convinced them that it was all magic words they believed in them.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Are the words magic,” Maria asked. “George always talks about the proper verbal components to magic.” “The words are not magic,” Louis replied. “The magic is in the words, the acts, the motions, the deeds, and even the faith of the person who invokes them. In one sense the magic is within all of us, we have only to bring it out and then great things happen. Speaking of which I do believe it is time to wake George and for you to get some rest. The closer we get to the camp the more likely we will encounter the elves. We may have combat, although I hope we can avoid it.”

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The Elf who apparently is known as “The Red” Morning came and the camp was broke down. William had his usual apple cider and George brushed his horse. “You would think he was a knight or a paladin by the way he keeps constantly brushing that horse,” John joked to Louis. The third day of travels was slower than the first. This was in part because the terrain became steeper, going both up and down larger and larger hills, with small mountains on either side. A larger mountain loomed ahead, the site of the iron mine no doubt. Suddenly William brought his horse to a stop. He pointed forward towards a tree ahead. Embedded in the tree was an arrow with bright red fletching. “Somebody just shot an arrow into that tree.” Louis turned back and sent the message back. “We have company,” he told John, “An arrow with red fletching was just shot into a tree ahead of us. I think someone wants to talk.” “How can you say that?” “Because otherwise that arrow would have been at the backside of Maria, not in a tree clearly in front of us,” replied Louis. William was, on the other hand, not one to let the normal pace of communication get in his way, spoke out before the word was completely passed down. “Hail, oh mysterious shooter of the Arrow, I am William. Who are you,” he asked in a rather loud tone of voice. “Ah,” George commented hearing William before John could turn around, “we have company.” There was a moment of silence, and Louis took the time to repeat the message in Hen, with the only difference being the use of his own name. “Ah,” said a voice from the woods. It was slightly elevated and Louis realized that the person was standing in a very large tree some distance away. “Someone decided to bring a human who could speak Hen. I am known as ‘The Red’ and I welcome you to my little corner of the woods.” Having said that, it became apparent that they were suddenly surrounded by a score of elf archers, all dressed in green. George seemed for a moment lost in NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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thought. Louis dismounted his horse and proceeded towards The Red. William, John and Maria brought their horses closer together. “I believe muskets would not be effective at this time,” John replied, “as there appears to be two of us with muskets and twenty of them. We would be dead before we could reload.” “I have my great axe,” Maria replied. I don’t need to reload that. As Louis approached The Red, George got off his horse and started following Louis. “Greetings Mr. Red. We are representatives of the Ent Mining Company. My name is Louis de Tocqueville. The person who is following me is George Lee. Over there trying not to be targets but failing miserably is John Floyd and William Adams, and the lady’s name is Maria.” “Good day to you Mr. de Tocqueville. I am glad that they decided to send someone who could speak Hen. You humans speak so many different languages; I can’t see how you ever get along with each other. It is nice to be able to talk to people. When I first encountered your miners I didn’t know what to do. They seemed very frightened and the lack of a common language didn’t help any.” “Yes,” Louis replied only knowing a little of what had happened to the first group based on the brief conversation in New Orc. “But we are interested in knowing what happened to the second group that came to the mining camp. We have not heard of them since the winter and we are very concerned.” “As to your second group,” The Red replied, “I am afraid I have some very bad news.” “Why am I not surprised,” George whispered in Ent. Louis shot him a quick glance. “Ah a low level wizard,” The Red replied. “I am glad he can understand if not actually speak. As I was saying, after the unfortunate encounter with the first group of men I went to the Five Nations to take my case with them. I was hoping for an expert in the Ent language or better yet a wizard with the ability to cast tongues so he could be understood and understand the humans. Unfortunately my complaints did fell on deaf ears. Instead I was given a low level wizard with the ability to comprehend language. ‘Great’ I thought, now I can understand them but they won’t be able to understand me. By this time the snowfall of winter fell and as it tends to snow more heavily where the Five Nations was currently residing I was stuck there for the duration of the winter.” “You were stuck,” Louis replied. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Yes,” The Red responded. “When the cold winds blow over the warm great lakes the snow can grow as high as a standing elf’s eye.” “I thought elves danced on the top of the snow without ever leaving a trace,” Louis replied. “I’ve never seen us elves do that,” The Red responded. “Well except when the snow partially melts and then freezes again, but then it has become a layer of ice so that doesn’t count. In any event once the snow started melting I started heading back here to see what you humans had done in my absence. That was when I found them or rather I should say what remained of them.” “That doesn’t sound good,” George whispered to Louis. “I’m not sure what you just said but yes here comes the bad news,” The Red replied. “I found a small group of men partially decomposed in the mining camp cabin. It took me a while to scout around for the potential cause of their demise. They had all apparently been burned and suffocated by a highly corrosive vapor.” “Fascinating,” George whispered. “George said, ‘Fascinating,’” Louis replied. “Do go on.” “The tracks were already faint by the time I arrived, but they were clear. It was relatively young and small, although for their type they tend to be small to begin with; probably about the size of a small horse or tall pony, if you ignore the wings.” “The wings,” Louis asked in wonder. “Yes wings. It was clearly a dragon, of the green variety” “Don’t’ dragons breathe fire? You mentioned vapors.” “Not all dragons breathe fire,” The Red replied. “Some spit acid, some throw bolts of lightning and the ones who are green breathe sticky acid vapors.” “And they all died from the vapors?” “In their sleep,” The Red replied. “Save I assume for one, based on counting the number of beds and supplies who was probably on watch. We never found his body. I can only assume he was on watch. Either he ran away never to be seen again and is probably somewhere far away to the south by now, or he was NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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frightened away by the dragon and later caught and made into a tasty snack for the dragon.” “So,” Louis asked, “why did the dragon attack in the first place?” “Indirectly, for the same reason why I didn’t like the mining camp in the first place. In order to mine ore you have to heat the ore to melt the metal. Unfortunately you humans think that to make this heat you have to chop down the entire forest and burn it. The first effect is that the sky is darkened so badly by the smoke that the day turns into night. But the second effect is also as nasty; the lack of trees means that when the snow melts it can often take out huge areas of land forming mudslides that can change the course of rivers. I suspect that the dragon lived near one of those lakes and had his lair flooded by the effects of the spring thaws on the barren hillsides. He probably thought you were mining for gold, after all isn’t that what all intelligent creatures want?” “I suppose then he was sadly disappointed,” Louis replied. “What happened to the victims?” “Well although I am not a believer of your human religions I did learn enough to be aware of your ceremonies and customs. We had them buried in the manner proper to humans near the camp.” “I will need to inform the others of these events as well as personally inspect the site.” “We will escort you to the camp,” The Red replied, “and from there we can meet again to discuss where we go from there. Understand that I have no hatred of humans; I only strongly dislike anyone cutting down whole forests and fouling the air with large amounts of black smoke. But we can discuss that at a later time. First I think you need to reassure your panicked friends that we are not going to kill them and eat them for lunch. In fact when you get to the camp I’ll serve you some good elf soup.” It was only an hour’s journey to the actual camp, a large log cabin near the mountain. The Red showed them where the dragon had landed (or so he claimed because any tracks had been obliterated by later spring storms) and how the dragon was able to get to the windows of the rooms where the men were sleeping. Inside, the place was somewhat cleaned up, although there was a clear pattern of damage to the wood and the beds that seemed to come from the direction of the windows and radiated outwards, the only real evidence to support the claims of The Red.

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“The actual location where they cleared the forest is on the other side of the mountain,” The Red explained. He claimed that he had not seen the dragon since they arrived in the spring. “The cabin should be safe,” he speculated. Louis explained this all to the others who were not all of one accord with regards to the safety of the cabin, especially in the light of the deaths of the previous occupants. Still George really wanted a nice bed instead of the hard ground under the tent and managed to convince them that they could try it for a few days without doing anything to indicate that the place was occupied, such as lighting the fireplace. In one sense they didn’t need to because the elves provided them with plenty of nice warm soup. Louis could tell that there were fillets of fish in it, probably fresh water varieties from the local rivers. William on the other hand was as nervous as the moment that he first saw the arrow with the red fletching. He was concerned about the words of the commander and wondered how reliable Louis was. He could understand none of the conversation between the elf and Louis, and George’s spell only allowed him to understand the original encounter. Every conversation between the elf the Louis could be some diabolical plot. Still it seemed odd that if they were going to do something sinister to them they would feed them well beforehand. He was even more concerned about the idea of not having watches. “They have plenty of men,” Louis replied, “and they can rotate their watch duties over the course of days. We deserve a good night’s sleep. Let them watch.” “But who will watch them,” William asked. “I trust them,” John replied, “if only for the fact that they could have killed us when they first encountered us.” There were two common rooms in the log cabin for sleeping, along with a larger common room for eating. Maria was given one of the rooms and the rest went into the other.

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Conversations with The Red Morning came to find that nothing exciting had happened. George, Louis, and Maria all woke early. George went to study his arcane studies, Louis his morning prayers and Maria went outside for a while. “So now that we know what the problem is,” George said after he saw Louis ending his prayers, “we need to figure out the solution.” “I don’t think diplomacy will work on a dragon,” Louis replied, “so I think the only solution would be to eliminate the dragon. I have arranged a meeting with the Red. We will discuss exactly what this dragon is and whether we have the ability to defeat it.” “It killed the mining party.” “It killed them in their sleep; although it probably killed at least one frightened member; who probably ran in fear into the dark and without a light. Hardly a indication of great power. That doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. I will find out when I discuss it with him.” Louis went to the meeting he had arranged with The Red. He was told to meet him in the morning at the base of a waterfall which came from the river that was used by the miners in the processing of the ore. The river was easy to find and it was an easy walk to the waterfall. As he approached he thought he saw a form within the waterfall, somewhat dark, somewhat shapely. It was Maria, her back towards him, standing naked as the falling water went over her head hair and shoulders. “Good morning,” she said. “You shouldn’t stand there like that,” Louis replied. “Nonsense,” Maria insisted. “I could hear you coming from way back. I am totally aware of my surroundings. Besides I have my battle axe right beside me.” “That’s not what I meant. I was talking about being in the water.” “More nonsense,” Maria replied. “I love taking a bath and I love falling water even more. It’s been days since I have had a good bath. My hair was getting oily and I was starting to get sweaty.”

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“You know you can catch a cold from a bath,” Louis replied. “Too many baths aren’t good for you.” “I’m an orc,” she replied. “I am made of stronger stuff than you humans. We orcs don’t catch colds as easily.” Maria then turned to face Louis. Louis for his part looked at the ground avoiding to directly look at her in her naked condition. “What’s the matter,” she asked. “You have never seen a naked female orc before?” “Well actually,” Louis replied, “since I have taken a vow of celibacy I have never seen a naked female before; human or otherwise.” Louis paused before he continued. “You really should get dressed now.” “Are you really that afraid to look at me this way? You know that story of Adam and Eve; I think they were naked in that one weren’t they?” Louis raised his head at that argument. Modesty having been fulfilled discretion would have suggested he yield to honesty. “That was before they discovered William’s apple cider,” he replied. “Actually I did not come here to find you taking a bath. I came here because I was going to meet The Elf so I could have a talk with him without having to translate every word he said to the others or have to translate every word they said to him. From our first encounter I suspect that he is a ranger, so he may be hiding here among the trees as we speak.” Louis honesty was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. It was true that he had never seen a naked female before and seeing her in this way aroused feelings in him that he had avoided for a very long time. Seeing her without her general flowing garments he realized how “large” she was in so many ways. Not only her height, which was actually slightly taller than the men in the group, but in the breadth of her shoulders, the strength of her arms, the curves of her hips and her other features; especially those other features. Fortunately this moment was a brief one as she turned to the side to gather her clothing. Once fully clothed, Louis heard a noise to his side and he saw The Red stepping from one of the trees. “I am assuming you told her about our meeting. I didn’t want to disturb her time in the water; ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness,’ according to you humans. Personally I prefer using magic over water to be clean and refreshed. “I suppose I should be leaving now,” Maria replied. “Although one of these days I would like to learn a little Hen so I can speak with this nice elf.” Maria bowed and headed off to the camp.

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“She is a rather interesting woman,” The Red replied as Maria was leaving. “I never realized how much … hair she had in addition to the hair on top of her head. Are humans that hair filled as well? The only hairs we elves have are on the tops of our heads, and the small amount above our eyes.” “Well I’ve taken a vow of celibacy so I can’t really comment on the general amounts of hair on human females. I do know that some men can have small amounts of hair all over. Of course I think we have more important things to discuss than the question of body hair.” “Indeed,” The Red replied. “There is the question of the green dragon. Judging from the tracks I saw of the dragon I believe this is a very young dragon, a fledgling, perhaps around ten years of age. Still don’t let that give you the impression that it is weak by any means. Dragons are powerful and even the least powerful dragons at a young and tender age can be extremely powerful foes.” “So,” Louis asked. “Do you think my group can take on this dragon?” “I don’t know,” The Red replied, “but I think it might be able to take on your group.” “Do you think your group and my group can take out the dragon?” “It might be difficult, but possible. I think the bigger question is why should my group help your group to take out the dragon?” “Because we both know that this dragon kills people. If it kills humans it might just as well kill elves if it wanted to. And I’m assuming that it will only get more powerful and more evil as it gets older.” “Yes, but short term I need more reasons to help you,” The Red replied. “Your mining company caused this problem in the first place, chopping down whole sections of the forest, burning enough wood to darken the sky for days at a time.” “How would you propose we process the ore,” Louis asked. “Clearly we need the ore in order to settle this new land, forge weapons, nails for buildings, even horse shoes for that matter.” “Well,” The Red replied. “There are more ways to make heat than to burn wood. In the mountains to the west of here there are gnomes who know the secret of the ‘rock that burns.’ It produces a heat greater than wood so you need less and it darkens the sky less.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Then the company would have to pay the gnomes for this rock.” “Which would probably be cheaper than the cost to pay, feed, and house laborers to chop down the forest,” The Red insisted. “That is a good point. So if we agree to seek out these gnomes to arrange for the rock that burns will you help us with the dragon?” “Eventually,” The Red replied. “First I need to see how your group works together as a team and then I can see whether we need more experience by taking on other easier tasks first or whether we can come up with a plan to take out the dragon. Any plan must be successful; otherwise we only end up with an angry dragon who knows our strengths and weaknesses.” “Works together as a team?” “Yes. Taking on a dragon is no easy task. I have already buried humans that it killed; I would not like to do the same thing again. I know a simple test that is only two days south from here that can test the group as a team so we can determine the best way to approach and defeat the dragon.” “I will have to discuss this with the group,” Louis reminded The Red. “Yes, that is important. I also request one favor of you as well.” “And what favor is that,” Louis asked. “Assuming that all goes well,” The Red replied, “we will have a lot of time traveling to the gnomes. I was wondering if you could teach me some of the other language of the humans; the Ent language.” “Under the condition that you teach me some of the language of the elves,” Louis replied. “That, my good Mr. de Tocqueville is a most equitable and agreeable deal.”

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Presenting the idea to the team Louis returned to the camp to find George, Williams and John in a detailed conversation. “I have informed them of your detailed discussion with The Red,” George told Louis. “I hope you have some good news to share with the group.” Louis related to them the conversation he had with the Red, how he would agree to help kill the dragon in exchange for making a deal with gnomes in the west who possessed the rock that burned. He also mentioned how The Red wanted to test the group to see how they acted as a group before working on a plan to directly attack the dragon. “You know,” William replied. “Aside from the damage inside the building, which could have either been from a breathing dragon or from a magical act of a wizard, we only have The Red’s word that such a dragon exists at all. Now he wants us to do some sort of testing quest. I think this is a way of him to get us to do some dirty work for free.” “The Red did seem quite intent on us not chopping down the woods,” Louis replied. Since we are supposed to kill the green dragon before we journey to the land of the gnomes I strongly doubt that he is leading us on a wild goose chase.” “Hopefully not,” John replied. “On the other hand a wild turkey chase might prove fun. Those birds are good eating.” Maria, who had been previously in the side rooms cleaning, came into the main room. George turned to her and said, “Maria, since you will be one of the one who will have to directly face the dragon in melee, what do you think of The Red.” “I trust him,” she replied. “And he has a point. We really have not faced anything in combat yet. If we work with his men we will have problems in communication. I hope that The Red is good with a good weapon because our group is currently a little heavy on the musket, with William and John, and neither you nor Louis strike me as the kind of person to charge into battle with sword or axe. I suspect that dragons tend to fly swiftly, unlike armies who march slowly.” “If we can effectively attack him,” George replied, “then I think we can easily solve the flying problem. He will have a harder time flying when physically weaker and covered in webs.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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The day continued on to the evening. Once again the elves brought in some traditional elf cooking because they did not want to have the fireplace started in the log cabin. Maria did notice that Louis had been looking at her more often now than he had in the past. Eventually she managed to get a moment alone with him. “I noticed you have been paying more attention to me of late.” Louis paused for a moment, embarrassed not only in the attention he was giving her but in the fact that she caught him doing it. “I’m sorry,” he replied. “It’s just … well they seem to be much smaller when they are covered.” Maria laughed. Not a simple feminine laugh, but a throw your head back and belch out the laughter sort of laugh. He waited her to finish her laughter. “I hope you’re not going to abandon your celibacy because of this.” “No,” Louis replied. “I just have a better appreciation for the female form.” Maria chuckled at that thought. “By the way,” she said. “What did The Red say about me?” “Not much,” Louis replied, “although he did mention your hair.” “My hair,” she asked. “Down there,” he replied. Apparently elves don’t have any hair except on their heads. “Not even under their arms?” “Apparently not, although I only have his word for that,” he replied. “They only have hair on their heads and a little over their eyes.” “Well I don’t suppose I will ever catch him bathing, so it’s not really an issue,” Maria replied. “Well I suppose I should call it a night. Hopefully tomorrow we will find out what mysterious ‘test’ The Red has for us. I’m sort of looking forward to throwing my battle axe into something.” Louis returned to the room where the others were getting ready to call it a night. William was the first to speak, “So Louis, you’re really from Hen right?” “Yes,” Louis replied. “So I suppose you should know these things,” William replied, “from what I have heard of course.” “What things,” Louis asked. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“What do you think of the food,” William replied. “I mean we have two nights of pretty tasty food from these elves. How does it compare to the cuisine of Hen?” “To be honest,” Louis said. “It’s not bad. Mind you I’ve never eaten the quality of the food they serve to the kings and nobles. I’ve mostly had the common peasant stick to your ribs comfort food of Hen. But I think I could really like their cooking.” “So what do you think about the food of the New World in general?” “Well,” Louis replied. “I am disappointed the lack of quality wine in New Orc. The food was on the bland side although I suppose suitable with the quality of the ales that are served. Good food, you understand, should not make one appreciate iron rations.” “The food in the Southern Colonies,” George replied, “is somewhat better than the food they served in the city of New Orc. On the other hand, it’s not as good as the food the elves have been serving, and probably isn’t as good as what the elves serve in their own homes.” “Besides,” John replied, “the real good food comes in the oyster season. They are so good you can eat them raw. They also taste good fried.”

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We’re going bear hunting – sort of The next day the whole group got together for a meeting with The Red. George was able to understand what The Red was saying but for the most part Louis had to translate between the group and The Red. Louis waited patently for each statement from The Red. After a pause he translated the statement into Ent. Then he waited for any comments from the group and translated those comments into Hen. George who could understand Hen because of the magic would nod whenever Louis or The Red spoke. “The purpose of the exercise is to test the ability of the two groups to work together as a team,” Louis slowly explained. “It is several days away, mostly because I don’t want to have us shooting muskets within the earshot of this dragon. He might want to ‘investigate.’” Again Louis had to pause to get The Red’s next statement. “The target of the exercise is a bear.” The team’s response was unanimous. Even George winced before Louis translated the statement. The Red refined his statement and Louis translated it. “A bear with feathers but a bear never the less.” This still elected confusion on the group but George raised his hand to offer up an explanation. “In the annals of arcane science,” George explained, “there are chapters best left alone. There are those parts of history where one really wonders what they were thinking at the time. One such chapter is the legend of the magical combination of a bear and an owl. There are many legends of how this magical monstrosity was first created but none seem to explain how they managed to actually mate and start breeding on their own. Owl bears were once common in the Old World Kingdom of Helm until they were killed to extinction. The idea that there are owl bears in the New World is fascinating as it implies that some of the old stories may have been a cover up, or else it might be wizards have been in the New World before the New World was officially discovered.” “Still,” William replied, “bears with feathers! antlers?”

What is next; rabbits with

“You’ve never seen a jackalope,” John joked. “I’ve never seen then either.” “Now I’ve heard of them,” Louis replied, “and they are also claimed to come from Helm; must be the wizards there.” “Yes,” George replied, “Always blame a wizard.”

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Suddenly The Red made a comment and Louis responded in Hen. “We must argue slower,” Louis replied, “so I can translate this all as we speak.” Louis tried to summarize the discussion, but George kept saying, “No that’s not what he said,” and he had to start all over again. After that was over The Red asked everyone to give each other of their general abilities in combat. John was generally proficient in the musket and not all too comfortable with the idea of going into melee. William was also generally proficient with the musket but also was a kind of marksman who could do good damage if the opponent was not aware of him. (The Red remarked, “Ah a rogue,” at the description but Louis didn’t translate that back to the group.) Maria was familiar with the two handed battle axe and would be the best person to engage in direct melee. She also pointed out that the angrier she got the harder she hit her opponents. The Red, for his part, suggested that he was good with both bow and with long sword. Given that he already had a band of archers and that the group needed melee fighters, he would attack along the side of Maria. George suggested that he had a ray of enfeeblement that would be effective on both large owl bears and on dragons. In addition when facing the dragon he could form a strong web that would entangle the dragon’s wings. He inquired whether the owl bear could fly and was told that he could not. Louis for his part could wield a holy weapon from a distance and be ready should either Maria or The Red needed healing. With the general plan of attack firmly in hand, and with the archers of The Red as backup, The Red then described the general location of where the owl bear was known to be located and how he will scout the location for it and then bring the group into a position to attack it. He suggested that they start early the next day. This left the rest of the day mostly available. The Red suggested that as long as they stayed away from the clearing where the dragon’s lair was located they should be relatively safe if they wanted to explore the area around the camp. “You never know what you might find in the space right before your very eyes,” he replied. “That saying sounds better in elf,” he admitted. Louis for his part went to the place where The Red had buried the workers who had lost their lives to the dragon. George had wanted to have Louis speak with the dead, but Louis was generally opposed to digging up the bodies and anyway he argued that they probably all died in their sleep from the acid damage. The Red, while not a convert to the Old Church, had learned enough of the ways of the faith to have at least given them a proper burial. He recited a few prayers and consecrated the ground to ensure that the men would always rest in peace.

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The lady of the lake, actually more of a pond William decided to explore the river, first following it upstream to the waterfall, and then downstream past the area where the ore was refined. Some ways downstream he noticed that there was a fork in the river and another stream was feeding the river at that point. He then followed the stream until he reached a pond. Feeling insecure about being alone in the woods he moved quietly. This apparently was a good thing because he quickly observed a lady standing by the pond. Quietly he moved forward careful of trying to remain hidden. The lady was, from what he could tell human, blond hair, blue eyes, barefoot and wearing an exceptionally shirt tunic like dress that went over another somewhat short blouse. What was this creature, he wondered to himself. Was this a trap? Curiosity it was said killed the cat, but he was no cat, even though he was often called as crafty as one. Coming close to the lady he called out a greeting “Hello there lovely lady. My name is William Adams. Who are you and what are you doing here?” William had somewhat expected the lady to turn into a monster and attack. He had his musket ready but now that she was aware of him the element of surprise was no longer in his favor. To his surprise she seemed genuinely frightened by the announcement. She turned as though to flee. “No please don’t leave,” he said, “I only want to talk.” “Are you alone,” she asked. “Yes,” he said and immediately regretted having said that. “Oh,” she replied. “Well at least I can keep my eyes on you, but if you do anything the least bit suspect, I’m out of here faster than you can say ‘zing.’ Can you say ‘zing’?” William obliged and repeated the word for her. “Yea,” she replied, “I’d be gone that fast, vanished, poof, just like that. You know what, you’re cute. Not the type of drop down dead cute, but still the kind of cute that causes a girl to give you a second look if you know what I mean.” To be honest, William had no clue what she meant. Yes there was that girl in the tavern in her home town a few years ago. But she married the guy who lived three houses from where he lived. In any event he had a few questions he wanted. “If you don’t mind me asking you, are you alone and what brings you to the middle of this forest?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Like, you know, I live here,” she replied. “I live alone, although I’ve only moved here about a year ago. I used to live near a dryad. All she did was talk about men. She constantly kept talking and talking about what she would do to a man, any man who she happened to find. Of course, the fact that she was in the middle of nowhere, hello, sort of indicated that she was going to be lonely for a long time. She was sort of tied to her tree, if you know what I mean and well I wasn’t so I was so out of there.” “So I wandered about and what did I see? Men! Unfortunately they were rather plain and were more concerned with chopping down trees digging the earth and making the sky black in the middle of the day. Still, there was always a chance some drop down dead gorgeous guy would probably one day come to the camp right? But they never did. And then they died; killed by a dragon. He even chased one down and ate him. It was totally gruesome!” “So,” William asked, “what do you think of the elves?” “Well they are cute,” she replied, “but they are elves, not really my cup of tea, if you know what I mean. I much prefer humans!” “You mean you’re not human?” “Me,” she asked in slight shock. “No! I’m a fey, what others call a nymph to be precise, a creature with a god given talent of being drop dead gorgeous. You know if you had a few more points of charisma I’d show you just how drop dead gorgeous I could be and believe me it’s a real shock and awe moment. Sometimes I can’t help myself; I was born that way. But enough about me, what about you Are you here to chop down more trees and make more smoke and dig more dirt? Or are you here to avenge the death of those somewhat plain men and kill the dragon? Or perhaps you’re here for both; with your small band of merry men and perhaps the elf with the red feathered arrows?” “Well actually,” William replied, “we’re going to do a little of all the choices. First we are going off to test ourselves by killing this feathered bear. Then we are going to kill the dragon. Then we are going off to negotiate with the gnomes for some rock that burns.” “You mean those coal mining gnomes to the west,” she interrupted. “The ones who constantly sing ‘high ho’ as they go to work?” “Yes, so hopefully the forest won’t be destroyed and the skies won’t be so dark.” “Like, you know, that is so cool and environmentally friendly. I would love to help you with that, because otherwise some other dudes will come here and NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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darken the skies again.” Pausing a second she continued, “Hey I have just the thing. You’re like this cool stealthy dude, because, like, I didn’t see you coming. At first I thought I was having a ‘blond’ moment but then I realized you had some skill and talent in that area. I have just the thing, bee are bee.” Now William had no clue what a “bee are bee” was. In fact he had no clue about most of what she was saying. Words seemed to flow from her like a babbling brook. It was only then he realized that she was gone. Was she only a figment of her imagination? “Got it,” said a voice from behind him. Turning around he saw her with a bottle in her hands. “It’s a potion of blur. Wish I had a vorpal blade or sylvan sword but hey I’m a cheep date.” She handed her the bottle. “Thanks, he replied. By the way do you have a name?” “You know,” she replied. “In all my years I never needed one. I’ll tell you what; if you want you can call me Mignon.” “What does that mean?” “I heard a Hen fur trader call me that once. I think it is hen for cute, or something like that. He was generally plain. You know if you just a tad cuter, but I’ve said that already. Tell you what. If you ever find this cute knight on a white horse and he’s this drop dead gorgeous and single, well have him come around and I’ll show him how drop dead gorgeous I can be when I want to be. I can’t help it. Nature has endowed me with secret beauty and I am a child of nature. Well I’ve got to run. Oh what the hell, you’re cute enough!” Suddenly without a warning on her part she leaped forward and planted her mouth against his lips. Before he even realized it she pushed herself away from him and then literally vanished from his eyes. William waited for almost an hour, stared at the bottle that was in his hands and returned to the camp.

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Explaining the lady Now it should be that discretion is the better part of valor, but it is a true fact that people love to tell others bizarre tales and William was no exception. After he returned to the camp he immediately told the rest of the group about the bizarre thing that happened to him. “So there was this lady,” John asked. “Well she was actually a nymph, although I didn’t know it at the time.” “And she was barefoot,” Louis asked. “And the reason that was important is?” “Well, don’t you think it is important? How many ladies do you know who walk through the forest barefoot?” “And she like vanished,” Maria asked. “Not once but several times!” “Actually I think I can explain that,” George replied. “It sounds like a natural at will dimension door ability. A short range teleport to a location some score feet away from the spot. She would appear to disappear from one spot and then reappear in another, although technically it’s just a collapse of the space inbetween in so short of a time that you can’t notice it.” “Did I mention she kissed me?” “Several times,” John replied. “Eight,” Maria replied. “Yes I was counting.” “Did you count that one just then,” George asked. “Well that was a question, but I guess I should, so it’s nine.” “I’ll make a wizard of you yet,” George replied. “Observe, deduce and verify.” “So do you know what a nymph is,” William asked. “Haven’t a clue,” George replied. “You said she was ‘fey’ which is probably related to the elves. Perhaps we can ask The Red.”

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The journey to the owl bear It was early in the morning when The Red knocked on the cabin door. “Louis,” William replied. “What is that elf saying?” “He is saying it is time to get up because it is morning and we have to be on our way.” George was already outside, brushing his horse. The others joined him and packed their belongings. There they could count the exact number of elves in The Red’s band which was more like a dozen than the twenty they had originally thought. They spoke to themselves in their native elf, probably assuming that none of the humans could understand, although George had already cast a spell to understand it; at least for a while. William went with Louis and tried to explain the whole encounter with the Nymph to The Red through Louis. The Red seemed surprised at first that he had now known there was a nymph in the area, and William tried to explain that she seemed to have dismissed the elves. The Red was upset at being compared to a hot infusion but he made a comment that fey are well in short just plain odd. If there was a trail, none of the humans could notice one. The woods seemed relatively thick and the group rode slowly and silently through the forest. The new growth had not completely blotted out the sun. Here and there light shone through openings in the branches. The sounds of birds returning from winter migrations were everywhere. After a while the elves broke the silence to sing a variety of songs along the way, the meaning of which was lost on the humans, even George, whose spell of understanding had long since passed. Finally they stopped and The Red stated that this was a good place to make camp for the night. They did so and the elves broke out their rations while they broke out theirs. The Red looked at the dried meats of the group with shock. “You are not going to eat that,” he told Louis. “Of course,” Louis replied. “But that’s,” he exclaimed. “Can I just try a sample, I want to make sure.” Louis gave him a bit of the dried meat. “Just as I thought, it’s loaded with salt!” “Of course,” Louis replied. “Salt is a great preservative. Meats are preserved, milk turned to butter, all through the power of that great rock you can eat.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“It also raises your pressure, and can result in heart failure,” The Red insisted. “If you continue to eat that stuff you won’t live past 120!” “If I live past 80 I’ll be happy.” “I’ll never understand you humans,” The Red replied. “You live such short lives.” “You call four score years short?” “I was still a kid when I was 80 years old.” “You’re kidding,” Louis exclaimed. “How old are you anyway?” “I am about 250 years old or a little bit older actually. Still somewhat young for an elf and probably I have another hundred years to go before I get to be middle aged.” “If that is true then you were born,” Louis started to say. “Before you humans came to this region. Before you humans came to what you call the ‘New World.’ I saw the first fur traders come from the west after having followed the rivers in the north. I saw them preach about the human faith, but I remained true to the old elf ways. Still I did learn their language which I later found out was only one of the languages of humans. I studied their ways, learned some of their customs, and welcomed these newcomers into the land. As with all beings, some were good and some were evil.” The Red paused before going on, “In any event, once we kill the dragon I will be coming with you to negotiate with the gnomes. I don’t think I will need my men with me for that, they can stay to ensure that the next group of humans that comes to the camp doesn’t have any other problems with monsters. But we really have to do something about the food problem.” “Well,” Louis admitted, “I do have the ability to create food and water. Normally I would reserve this for liturgical functions, but in this case I think we can all use some holy food on our journeys.” Evening came and morning followed. The second day’s journey went without incident. Louis provided the group with a heavenly meal of magic and The Red considered it very good indeed. “Just good old Hen cooking,” Louis replied, “courtesy of God.”

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Close encounters of the amorous kind Years had passed to decades. It might have been a century or more for all she knew. The sun rose in splendor and she didn’t notice. The birds sang and she didn’t care. Then she spotted him; a human! A male human even more. Did he see him? It didn’t’ look like it. What was he doing? She had to take a closer look? He was plain, not exceptionally handsome but never the less reasonable. Perhaps she could seduce him? Then she noticed what he was doing and decided to be more direct. Morning came and as the group gathered for the final length of the trip to the owl bear someone was missing. “Where is the one called John,” The Red asked Louis. Louis replied that he was last seen going off for his daily “constitutional.” The Red seemed rather shocked, “Alone?” Gathering up the group he began to track the trail that John had left. The Red was the first to spot them, and pointed them out to the others. There he was lying down with a woman in a very obvious intimate embrace. She seemed surprised by their appearance while John appeared to be in a dazed trance. Suddenly she jumped up and started to make a dash. “It’s a dryad,” The Red exclaimed, “Don’t let her get to a tree!” Unfortunately only Louis could understand what he said and even then it was too late. She reached a tree and literally disappeared into it. John was left lying on his back, naked and still extremely dazed. “He looks like he is under the effects of a charm,” George said. “Can you dispel it,” Louis asked. “Well I wasn’t expecting to dispel magic today so I never memorized it. Fortunately I have a scroll which can be used for emergencies like this.” George pulled out a scroll from a case he had on his belt and began to read it. Chanting the words he found on the scroll he pointed to John and the magic flowed from George to John. “I think I found some clothing,” Maria exclaimed, “both John’s and that woman.” “Dryad,” Louis replied. Meanwhile John was returning to his senses and began to realize that he was lying naked on his back. “I’m naked,” he exclaimed. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Do you know why,” William asked, half questioning and half scolding. “No,” John replied. “I was going out for my daily constitutional. There was this nice spot. Then I must have somehow fallen asleep because the next thing I know I was dreaming.” “That was no dream,” George replied. “You fell under the effects of a charm spell.” “But I had no control; it was like there was this other will that was always very willing to what was being said.” “That is the effect of the charm spell,” George replied. Maria came forward, “I’ve got your clothes.” John was definitely shocked, “She is with you?” Maria covered her eyes with one arm while handing out the clothing in the other, “I won’t look.” “But you did look!” “I won’t look much then,” she replied. John grabbed the clothing and started getting dressed. “It was a dream, right?” “Nope,” George said. “You were under a charm spell.” “But I dreamed I was,” John replied. “I really wasn’t … well was I?” “Yes you were,” Maria replied. “But we scared her and she ran into a tree.” “We should probably try to find her. Her oak tree must be close by; she can’t be more than nine hundred feet from it at any time.” “She probably would want her dress back,” Maria replied. “You know this feels extremely soft.” “It’s probably magical,” Louis replied. Meanwhile The Red was signaling that he had found something. Louis began to translate the words of The Red. “I think this is her oak,” Louis told them. “It’s the largest one in the area.” “Do you think she will come out,” William asked. “You know I wonder if this is the dryad that Mignon mentioned.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Mignon,” asked John. “The Nymph I mentioned a few days ago. She said that there was this dryad who constantly talked about what she would do if she found a man.” Maria walked up to the tree, “Are you in there? I really can’t believe I’m talking to a tree. I’ll give you three to come out.” The Red mentioned something and Louis translated, “Dryads are somewhat shy.” “I’m not,” Maria replied. Then taking her axe she gave a swift chop into the large oak. The Red was clearly shouting something but the axe stuck fast into the wood. From a nearby tree a woman staggered backwards, clearly in pain and bleeding from a wound on her side. “Maria,” Louis shouted. “Put the axe down.” Turning to the wounded dryad he shouted, “We don’t want to hurt you, we just want to talk!” Suddenly he started feeling a pulling sensation on his legs. Vines and plants around his feet started tugging at him. “We only want to talk,” he repeated. It was then she looked at Louis with an expression of fear and hope. “She is trying to charm you Louis,” George shouted. “You must resist.” Louis felt himself falling asleep, as though he was entering a dream. He fought it; tried to stay awake. Finally he felt the urge to dream go away. The dryad realizing that she was no match for this group backed into the tree again.” “She’s gone,” Louis exclaimed. The vines were no longer tugging at them. The Red turned to Louis and gave him a word of reassurance. Then he turned to the tree and started talking. He was talking elf so even Louis could not translate what he said. Then she came out of the large oak, still wounded. “You wouldn’t! It’s not fair! I haven’t seen a man in a hundred years.” “That’s no excuse,” Louis snapped back. “But you don’t understand,” she replied. “I’m like anyone else. I am filled with an ever growing desire; plant a new tree, have a child. But I can’t because there are no men, years and years without men! Then I saw him! It’s not my fault.” The Red sapped something back at her in elf. “Yes,” she replied, “I probably would have otherwise seduced him, and probably all the other males. Or I might not, if there were cuter men around NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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that could better serve me. Besides, what’s an orc doing with an elf? Aren’t orcs supposed to attack elves on sight?” The Red made another remark in elf. “What do you mean ‘no one told her’? Everyone knows the old stories!” “You look hurt,” Louis replied trying to change the conversation to a less confrontational one. “Of course I’m hurt,” the dryad replied. “That orc tried to shove a large piece of metal into my tree. While I was in it at the time I might add!” “I can heal you,” Louis replied, “if you let me.” She at first seemed hesitant but then she nodded acceptance. Louis approached her and began to chant something quietly. Then he touched her and the wound closed by magic. “You resisted my charms,” she said. “It wasn’t easy,” Louis admitted. “So,” George replied, “now that we have John back I think we can probably best leave you and get back to our business. You got something and we got John back. I think that’s even.” “That’s no fair,” she protested. “I never got any.” “I was watching the two of you,” Maria replied. “I think you got plenty.” “You interrupted me,” she insisted. “He never finished. I never got any.” “Ah,” George replied. “I think I understand now. You weren’t interested in the act, but the end result, which we interrupted.” “You mean,” Louis replied, “she wanted to get …” “Apparently,” George replied before he could finish the thought. “But how,” Louis asked. “Who knows,” George replied. “She’s a dryad; a fey creature. She literally lives inside a tree. John is a human. I haven’t got a clue. Let’s say ‘it’s magic’ and leave it at that.” “And all you wanted was a child,” John asked. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Another dryad,” she replied, “free to plant her tree somewhere closer to the company of human men. Is this not the desire of all creatures? I have been filled with this desire for scores of years and no way to bring it to completion. Now I will remain no closer to completion for more scores of years.” “When you put it this way,” John replied. “I would hate to leave a lady, even a fey lady, like you in such an empty condition. I would be more than happy to …” “No,” the others cried in unison. When Louis whispered a translation to The Red he said something in what everyone thought was elf. George made a note that the word probably was elf for “no.” “But why,” John asked. “Well,” George replied. “In the first place she forced you against your will …” “She was only desperate.” “In the second place,” George insisted. “We do have things we need to do. I don’t think we should waste more time here while you have fun …” “While I do a duty to help a lady, even if she is fey,” John replied. “Then there is the moral dimension,” Louis insisted. “Of course there is the moral dimension,” John replied. “She’s been waiting for years for someone. Walking out on her is not the moral thing to do here!” “The answer is still no,” George replied. The dryad turned to George. A look that combined desperation and pity came across her and she pleaded with him, “please?” “Resist it, George,” Louis replied. “If I could, I probably would,” she insisted, “because I am a desperate dryad. But I can only charm but two people at most a day. I long, I need, I beg, I plead, I will be nice.” “Perhaps when John has a chance to think of this well out of the effects of your charm we will consider this and come back to you,” George said. “But until then you need some time to realize that you can’t always take what you want even if you think you are in desperate need.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Turning to John she asked, “Will you come back?” “Some day I will,” he replied. Maria, meanwhile, turned to the dryad holding out her first outfit. “I think this is yours,” she said. “This is so silky soft, is this magical?” “Well it is partly made from the silk of a phase spider,” the dryad replied, “but other than exotic it is not otherwise magical.” “I’m sorry I attacked your tree,” Maria said. “I just wanted to get your attention and make you come out so we could talk. I didn’t want to hurt you. Well not seriously that is.” “I have heard legends of orcs passed down from one dryad to the next,” she replied. “You have singlehandedly dispelled all of them. Your heart was in the right pace, even if your axe, on the other hand, really hurt. I will wait for you.” With that Maria handed the dryad her outfit and they returned to the camp. The Red began a lecture and Louis tried as best as he could to keep up in translations. “I hope,” Louis translated, “this serves as a lesson to everyone in this group. The woods are a dangerous place to go out alone. You need to go out at least in groups of two, so one is always on watch at any one point in time.” When we eventually go out without my other men we will have three groups of two. John and William can form one group, Louis and I can for the second because it will be important for members to understand each other in a common language. That leaves Maria and George and I’m not sure that is a good idea, but I’m not sure who to pair the lady with.” “I am George’s property,” Maria replied, “so it makes sense I should guard him and he guard me.” “Even when you are doing your daily constitutional,” William replied. “Or when you go off and take a bath,” Louis remarked. “A bath,” William exclaimed. “You can catch your death of cold from a bath!” “So, apparently, all you humans have been telling me,” Maria insisted. “So I guess I team up with my ‘property’ then,” George replied. “It sounds a lot nicer sounding than teaming up with a lady to do our daily constitutionals together.”

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The Red then briefed the group on the plans for the owl bear and Louis translated. “There is a small clearing where the owl bear is known to pass by; his tracks there are quite obvious. I have arranged with Louis to create a magical food that will be quite attractive to the owl bear. We will bait the trap, as it were and wait patiently for the owl bear to cross the path and be lured by the food. Once it is on the trap we can spring forward and attack it.” “There are certain things you will need to do before this plan can work effectively. I have some concentrated sent of pine which must be applied to your outfits so that any sent of human might be properly masked. Then some degree of camouflage must be in order. Finally, and this is the most important, we need patience. This might work on the first day, but it might take several days.” The Red and Louis went ahead to prepare and bait the “trap” (which was actually just placing the food under some logs which the owl bear could easily remove but not any other smaller animal) while the others applied the sent on their outfits. “That elf has a good point,” Maria replied as they were applying the scents. “You humans, frankly, reek of human smells. As an orc I can smell these things, just like many animals. I have a harder time smelling the elves because I think they are trying to use this stuff.” “And I suppose orcs don’t reek of orc smell,” William replied in an attempt to rebuff. “I suppose orcs have their own smells as well,” Maria replied. “But then again I take frequent baths, no fewer than once a month and if I can once a week. It’s more than just an odor that humans might find offensive, my hair is exceptionally oily, I tend to sweat more than a proper person ought to and I just like being clean.” “So that bath thing was true,” William asked. “And you’re not worried about colds?” “No,” she replied. “I am made of stronger stuff.” “So I see,” William replied. “So I see.”

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Waiting with the bait Once all the preparations had been made, The Red escorted the various members to their assigned locations to wait for the owl bear, taking into consideration the tracks of the owl bear and the prevailing winds of the day. Then everyone sat and waited. And they waited, hour and hour of silent vigil followed. The sun started to fall below the level of the trees. Finally they saw it, a large creature with the shape of a bear but with the face of a huge yet somehow most bizarre owl. Some parts were covered in feathers while other parts were covered in fur. It headed towards the trap, clearly smelling the food therein. It swatted the logs aside and went for the meal of fat and meat. William carefully studied the creature while aiming his musket. John readied his own musket. Maria was the first to charge with her battle axe, surprising the creature. The owl bear then stood erect to challenge the potential rival. This was all the opportunity John needed and fired a pinpoint shot into the side of the beast. The beast turned towards William’s direction and howled a cry of pain. Maria then reached the owl bear that had been distracted by the musket of William. The Red was following close behind. Maria’s axe went into the other side of the monster, and this was followed quickly by John’s musket shot into the creature’s back. The creature turned to Maria and tore into her side with one of its claws. The other claw missed and she was also able to dodge its pointed beak. The Red arrived and started attacking it with a long but thin sword. A magical bolt also hit the beast from the hands of George. Finally a mysterious sword appeared floating in the air and began to attack the owl bear as well. Pain flowed into Maria’s mind. She remembered that pain and lead to anger and that anger can lead to power. She concentrated on the pain and through her wild discipline gathered up even more strength as a result. John and William were reloading their muskets when the elves launched their bow attacks, aiming for the owl bear while at the same time trying to avoid Maria and The Red. Although severely damaged, the creature launched itself with abandonment at Maria. The owl bear managed to get both claws on her this time. More pain followed but with that there was more strength. Now the owl bear had managed to grab Maria and a test of strength followed. Unfortunately it seemed as though the owl bear was getting the upper hand and Maria winced as the owl bear closed its death grip on her, taking a large bite out of her shoulder. The swords of The Red and Louis’s magical heavenly sword NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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found their marks, as did the arrows of the other elves. Then suddenly the owl bear wavered for a moment as George’s spell of enfeeblement took effect. Maria once again tried to break the owl bear’s grip of death. This time she was stronger and it was weaker so she was able to break free. Louis ran up and gave her some divine healing. The Red’s sword found its mark, as did the muskets of William and John. Another magical bolt of energy flew from the fingers of George. The owl bear turned its attention to The Red and managed to get one claw into his side and managed to get his beak to take a bite out of the elf as well. Then it was Maria’s turn to come back into the combat which she did with gusto. She drove her axe into the back of the owl bear and now it was the once that was wincing in pain. Amid the flows of bow fire, The Red pushed his sword through the mighty beast’s heart and the creature collapsed on the spot. The battle was over. Maria still needed more healing, because the owl bear had seriously injured her. The Red needed healing as well. The red was apparently very excited. Louis had to translate. “And now,” Louis replied, “we need to track this creature to what must have been its lair. Creatures that kill as much as these things do might have some of the treasure from the previous victims that it killed for food.” “Would there be other such creatures like this where its lair is,” William asked. Louis translated and received a response. “I hope not,” Louis translated. The Red was able to track the creature’s trail to its lair. There they saw a collection of stuff from past victims that it had found and killed, probably from various trappers who had passed through the area. Various coins were found as well as several items. George separated the items and discovered that two of them were magic, a large axe and a helm. “I will identify them on our way back to the camp,” George explained. Night had fallen when they returned to the camp. The Red expressed his excitement at how well the group was able to defeat the owl bear. Then he pointed out how the dragon is going to be tougher than the owl bear was. “Not that I am complaining or anything,” Maria commented, “but it seemed that only me and the Red were ever in any physical danger. I don’t want to point this out but words cannot describe the feeling of claws tearing through your sides apart.”

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After hearing the translation from Louis, The Red made a reply which in turn was translated by Louis. “Yes we were the only ones within the claws of the beast, but without those muskets we would have never survived. Without the spell of enfeeblement you would not have broken free. That reminds me, next time enfeeble first and missile second. Finally without the healing of Louis I’m pretty sure that the next person to go down would have been me. So in that sense they were vital to the success of the mission. The point is that we acted as a team and we worked together to achieve victory!” “So,” John replied after he realized no one was commenting on The Red’s comments. “Are we going back to the camp tomorrow?” “Yes,” George replied and the rest nodded in agreement. “What about the dryad?” “What about the dryad,” Louis asked. “She charmed you and made you do …” “She was desperate,” John replied. “She would have made you her ‘love slave,’” William replied. “She would have made us all her personal slaves, blindly following her every whim and desire.” “So,” John replied. “If she is so vile and evil, why didn’t we kill her like we did the owl bear?” “She is not evil,” Louis replied. “Just desperate,” John asked. “We really don’t have any proof that she would have enslaved us all.” “She charmed you and she tried to charm Louis,” Maria exclaimed. “She would have tried to charm George but she ran out of them.” Maria paused and laughed. “She ran out of charm, that’s so funny.” “So we leave here there until she traps someone else,” John replied. “Well,” Maria asked. “What do you want to do?” “I think we all know what he wants to do,” William replied. “Like you didn’t want to do the same thing when that nymph kissed you,” John shot back.

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“I wasn’t cute enough for her,” William responded. “I don’t think this has anything to do with jealously. I mean we have been traveling with a lady all this time.” “Oh so I’m not cute enough for you,” Maria replied. “I think you’re pretty cute,” Louis blurted out and immediately regretted it. The Red made a comment but Louis refused to translate it. “She just wants to have a baby dryad,” John replied. “She has wanted this for longer than I’ve been alive. All I am thinking of is her.” The Red made a few more comments and Louis translated it. “If John wants to do this, then we have to take a lot of precautions. There is nothing to prevent her from using her charms again. It’s in her nature to do so.” “What do you recommend,” John asked. “We should have Maria approach her and do the negotiating,” The Red replied through Louis. “We need to have her insist on not using any charms or else we will leave and I’ll have my group make signs where she can’t reach them warning all people about her so she will never see a human again. Then we need to ensure that there are at least three of us at any one time so that she can’t rethink her promise.” “So who would you suggest to see me have sex with the dryad,” John asked. “Logic would insist that it would be Maria and I,” The Red replied through Louis. “Are you magically resistant to her lucky charms,” John asked. “I am resistant to charms,” The Red replied, “because I am an elf. But the real reason is she needs human males, and I’m an elf. Maria is not only, not a human she’s not a male.” “Still,” John replied, “the thought of an elf and an orc watching me having sex with a …” “Dryad,” Maria interrupted. “You’re a virgin aren’t you?” “What,” John asked. “Let me put it this way, I’m unmarried. What do you think my answer should be? I might as well as if you are a virgin.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“You don’t have to answer that Maria,” George replied. “I think I should point that I’ve already seen you have ‘sex’ with the dryad,” Maria replied. “I was charmed,” John retorted. “Well obviously,” Maria replied, “if you thought you were dreaming you don’t do so well in your dreams. Trust me when I say I’m not going to be taking any notes.” “Why don’t we just say that what goes on with the dryad stays with the dryad,” George insisted. Maria and John both agreed. With the discussion pretty much over, the group returned to their tents for the night. The elves agreed to keep the night watches. Since George and Maria had only one tent between the two of them, it was agreed that Maria would get one of the spare tents of the elves for the night.

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Doing the thing with the dryad The next day the committee of three, met with the dryad. She was nervous at first and it was Maria who was doing most of the negotiations. Maria had a tendency to be rather blunt in her diplomacy. The dryad reluctantly agreed not to use any charms whatsoever. They returned in the afternoon and refused to speak of what happened except they hoped that when they returned next year the dryad should have a little dryad with her. Whether or not she had learned her lesson was questionable. Meanwhile, George was able to report that he had identified the two magical items in the owl bear’s lair. The first was a helm of comprehending languages. It was agreed that The Red should use this because that way Louis would not need to constantly translate everything they say to him. Louis would still be needed to translate what he said but they agreed that the sooner Louis teaches Ent to The Red the better. The second item was a large magical battleaxe. It was agreed that it should be given to Maria since not only does she normally use those types of axes she was the most hurt by the owl bear. They packed up and started heading back to the camp. William was constantly asking questions about what had happened but neither John nor Maria would comment. William definitely he could ask The Red about the events, but Louis would have none of it. The helm allowed William to talk to The Red but not allow The Red to talk to William. With that line of questioning, William started to ask George about magic. “Is there any way to magically improve ones, strength, or intelligence or even ones cuteness?” “I believe there is,” George replied. “It is relatively low level. I’ve never studied it and it is not in any of my personal books. Why do you ask?” “Well, Mignon the nymph said if I were any cuter she would do something.” “Why does everyone constantly think about sex with non humans,” George sighed. “Don’t you have an orc for your ‘property’?”

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“Never mind,” George sighed again. “I might revise it to why do everyone constantly think about sex with non humans who are weaker than they are but it’s not worth the effort.” William turned to George and say, “wait a minute, you’re not thinking what I think you are thinking are you?” “I didn’t say a thing,” George replied. “But if we met a nunnery of virgin ogres I have the feeling that we are not going to get any volunteers from any of the four human males in this group.” Louis then approached the two, “So are you talking about anything other than sex?” “Well,” William said. “We were talking about looking for a nunnery of virgin ogres.” “I hope you are kidding,” Louis replied. “Well actually,” George said. “On second thought why did you hope we were kidding?” “I used to say that the nuns that taught me when I was a child were ogres,” Louis replied. “I had forgotten that there are still places in the world where there are nuns.” “So let’s leave the virgin ogre nuns alone,” Louis replied. “Is that a deal?” “A deal,” George replied. “Our next topic for discussion on ladies who are bigger than we are will be trolls. I hear they heal their own wounds.” Louis decided that it would be probably better to talk to someone else at this point. Maria seemed like a good person to talk to. “So what were they talking about,” Maria asked. “Ogres and trolls,” Louis replied, “they were talking about ogres and trolls!” And with that The Red found a good place for them to set up camp for the night.

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And they went off two by two Evening came and went without incident. As morning came, Louis and George were off studying their respective books. William went to see what John was doing. “Well John,” William said while finishing his daily ration of apple cider, “I suppose it is time for us to go, two by two, like animals from the ark, to do our daily constitutional. Not at the same time of course since we have to be guarding each other, but more or less to each accomplish our task before we return!” “Do you always talk like that in the morning,” John asked in tired response. “You know, if you had some cider in the morning, you would be fit as a fiddle as well,” William replied. “Let’s be off.” Going into the woods a short distance they flipped a coin. John won and William walked a short way and turned his back. It was then he heard a noise in the brush ahead. “Did you hear that,” William asked. “Didn’t hear a thing,” John replied. “I’m busy, thinking.” “I’m going to check it out,” William insisted. Slowly and silently he moved towards the noise, readying his musket. Then in front of the brush he saw a small creature with scales sitting, no squatting in a most uncomfortable position. The creature turned and yelled out a bizarre cry which so frightened William that he too let out a cry of his own. “What’s happening,” John cried as he quickly finished his business. Suddenly the small creature turned to William, “Wait, you’re Ent,” he asked in Ent. “Yes,” John replied. “You scared me half to death,” the small creature replied. “I’m T’kt, Y’t’kt, currently chosen as the ambassador representative from the Ent Colony of New Journey, heading to the capital of New Orc in Albany.” “I’m William Adams,” William replied. Turning around he gave a shout to John, “It’s only a kobold.” Then turning back to T’kt he asked, “you are a kobold right? I’m sorry I shocked you like that.” “I was taking a,” T’kt replied. “I guess I shouldn’t expect decency from a human.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Hey you are short,” William replied, “easily overlooked if you are not careful. You know you really shouldn’t do that.” “Why not,” T’kt asked. “Bears do it. I’m sure you do it.” “But you shouldn’t do it alone,” William replied. “You should have someone stand watch in case someone comes along, like humans.” John was arriving as William finished his sentence. “Have you been talking to elves, taking a dump two by two is something only an elf would do. If you don’t mind I have to do a little personal kobold hygiene.” “Who is this little friend you found,” John asked. “His name is,” William replied. “Well I’ll let him repeat it as I can’t really pronounce it. He is from New Journey and is heading to Albany as an ambassador.” “Don’t kobolds normally attack humans on sight,” John asked. “Only when you come charging up our hillsides wanting gold and technology,” T’kt replied. “My name is T’kt, I don’t see what’s so hard about that. Your friend surprised me while I was doing what bears and every else does in this woods.” “Yes,” John replied, “I was also doing that as well. My name is John Floyd.” “Anyway my small band is a short distance away. We were settling down for the day after a night’s travel.” “You travel by night,” William asked. “Sure, doesn’t everyone?” “We travel by day,” John replied. “No wonder we never see humans traveling when we do. I’m always asking ‘how do those humans travel?’ I never figured you be daft enough to travel during the day. So what brings you in this part of the woods?” “It’s a long story. Perhaps our groups can meet together and talk about it,” John asked. “Common William, we have to tell the others.” “Wait one moment,” William replied. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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John paused. He didn’t recall any protocol that they had discussed if they were to find friendly strangers outside of the camp. William decided to hurry up the process of memory, “It’s my turn. I’ve still got to go you know.” “I thought I scared the … right out of you,” T’kt replied. “Very funny,” William replied, “I’ll be right back.” “You know,” T’kt said to John, “this has got to be the oddest of things. I’m sure that if something were to happen this event would never make the history books. You just don’t write about these things in the history books. You don’t write about these things in any books for that matter. I suppose people just assume that no one ever does these things.” “Does this constitute ‘small talk,’ among kobolds,” John asked. “Is that a reference to my koboldish small stature,” T’kt replied. “No,” John replied feeling embarrassed. “It’s a human expression among humans.” Then he raised his voice, “Are you finished yet,” he yelled to William. “One moment,” William replied, “I’m still … ah I think I’m done.” William quickly returned. “Well I think we can go to our camp and meet the group.” “One moment,” T’kt replied. “I think I better first go back to my group and let them know. Otherwise they might think I’ve been kidnapped.” “Probably a good idea,” John replied. They went together until they saw the sight of a small camp being set up. “I’ll be right back,” T’kt said and went into the camp. “Do you think that is the wise idea, letting him talk to the other kobolds,” William asked. “If you see more than one start to come, then run,” John replied. Fortunately only T’kt came back, “I’ve told them about you and how I’m going to have a talk with your group.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Did you tell them how we met,” William asked. “The details of politics are never important,” T’kt replied. Meanwhile, at the camp, the group was getting nervous. “Do you think they got attacked by a monster,” Louis asked nervously. “You mean John gets caught with his pants down twice in a row,” George asked. What would be the odds of that? “Quiet,” Maria said, “I think I smell something.” The Red was obviously confused by that remark. Then he said something and Louis translated, “I think I hear them coming.” It was then that William and John arrived. “We’re glad you’re back,” George said. “Some of us were worried that you might have found someone with your pants down.” “Well technically my pants were down at the time,” John replied, “but William found him instead. I would like you to meet Ta Kit, I mean Tea Ka Tit. Oh well, let him pronounce his own name.” “T’kt is the correct pronunciation,” the kobold replied stepping forward, “at your service.” “A kobold,” George replied. “You brought back a kobold?” “I’m in group traveling up to Albany to represent the Colony of New Journey,” T’kt replied. “I’m sure Governor Clinton will be pleased,” George replied. “We brought gifts,” T’kt replied. “My wife insisted on it.” “Your wife,” Louis remarked. “You’re married?” “Yes,” T’kt replied. “Are you familiar with the ways of kobolds?” “Actually no,” Louis replied. “I was just surprised that kobolds marry.” “Yes they do,” T’kt responded. “Life is not an easy thing for us Kobolds, and with the rarity of females in our general population; roughly one in ten kobolds NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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is born female, they get the ability to choose their mates. Fortunately they get to select multiple males as their husbands. I say fortunate because actually I am the number two husband of H’pt.” “How many husbands does she have,” Louis asked. “Well,” T’kt replied. “She has five other husbands, six when you include me. Then we have three other males who have not been chosen by a female.” “Six husbands,” Louis exclaimed. “How does she manage all of them?” “Well,” T’kt replied. “She does lay eggs every other month, six times a year, so we get to rotate.” “Oh so she has six children a year,” Louis asked. “Oh no,” T’kt replied. “She lays ten eggs at a time, so that is sixty children each year with six of them being female.” “So a given population has 10% females,” George quietly speculated, “but each female will produce 60 offspring so that means that each year the kobold population will multiply by a factor of 6?” “Well,” T’kt replied, “we do have a high mortality rate.” “I don’t want to sound callous,” John remarked, “but I would hope so, otherwise the whole land would be wall to wall packed with kobolds.” “We are not that uncivilized,” T’kt replied. “When there is plenty and the population is sufficient, the women abstain from fertilization most times of the year.” T’kt paused, “So now that I have explained the mission of my group may I ask what the mission of your group is?” “You may,” George replied. “But I have one question first. If women are so rare then they must have a lot of power.” “Yes they do.” “You claimed to be the ‘ambassador.’ Yet you also claimed you were her number two.” “This is correct,” T’kt replied. “She is the leader of the group. Her number one is a shaman. I, her number two am an ‘ambassador’ because I can speak NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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and understand Ent. I see you have an elf and an orc in your group. Before I ask your groups mission I have a question for the orc. I’m afraid I don’t know his name.” “Her name is Maria,” Louis replied. “She is a she.” “I’m sorry,” T’kt replied. “It’s hard to tell the males from the females.” “Isn’t it obvious,” George replied. “Not really,” T’kt replied. “You all have the same colorations to me.” “Ah,” George replied. “Now I see, anyway I’m George, and this is Louis and you already met the other two humans. The elf is named The Red.” “So what was your question,” Maria asked. “From what I have heard of orcs,” T’kt replied, “you are like us kobolds, creatures of the night and the underground. I’ve been told you have been traveling during the day. How can you stand traveling in the harsh glare of the bright burning sun?” “It’s not easy,” Maria replied. somewhat.”

“But I have special goggles that help me

“Well now I suppose we need to answer the question you have been waiting to ask,” Louis replied. “You see we …” Louis was, at that point, interrupted by The Red and they discussed something for a few minutes. “Does the elf always do things like that,” T’kt asked George. “All the time,” replied George. Eventually the conversation between Louis and The Red ended. “I’m sorry, but my friend was worried you might be offended. You see we are currently working for a company that has an iron mine north of here.” “That doesn’t sound anything that would offend me,” T’kt replied. “Early this spring, the workers were all killed, most in their sleep and one was probably eaten, by a small young dragon, most likely a green one,” Louis replied. “Now The Red reminded me that it is said you claim to have dragon blood in your veins so you might feel a kindred with dragons, but this young NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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dragon has killed humans and he might do so again. We mean to kill this dragon.” “Yes it is true that we claim the blood of dragons flows in our veins,” T’kt replied. “Yet we also know about mortality and we believe that only the fit deserve to live. You have every right of self defense, and he who wishes to take another life should be certain that the other life won’t in turn take his. We can offer no support in your endeavor, but we would in turn cause no hindrance. Now, if you will permit me, I really must return. It is getting bright out and I’m really tired from a hard night travelling.” “And we must get going now,” George replied. “Give my best regards to Governor Clinton.” “I will,” T’kt said and headed off. “Sixty kobolds a year,” George commented as T’kt was out of sight. “Albany will be awash with kobolds in no time.” “Can you imagine that,” John replied. “Who knows what might happen? There might even be actual work done up there.” “In any event,” Louis reminded them, “I believe we must get going.”

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Back at the camp again The travel was uneventful and eventually they caught sight of the camp. “Ah the beautiful log cabin,” William replied. “And the delightful outhouse,” John proclaimed. “The seat’s a bit small though,” Maria remarked. “And a bit rough in spots,” Louis replied. “But there is no place like home,” George sighed. “Even though there is still a dragon out there somewhere who could rain down acid death at any moment.” “Spoilsport,” proclaimed William. “I wonder if Mignon is around. I would love to tell her what happened.” “Can you leave out the dryad part,” John suggested. “But that’s the important part,” William insisted. I’m sure we encountered the same one she mentioned.” “Well can you skip over the part where …” “I’ll leave that detail vague, I promise,” William insisted. Louis, George and The Red began in earnest to make plans for the attacking of the dragon. Unlike the case of the owl bear the entrance to the lair of the dragon was relatively known, the only problem was that a direct assault into the lair would be the quick death of everyone as everyone would be in the path of the dragon’s breath weapon. On the other hand the dragon was not a dumb beast that would be easily distracted by the lure of a quick meal. Nor was it the type who would fight to the death. More than likely if things went in the favor of the party it would try to flee, and do so through the air. John came in and suggested that they just start business as usual and perhaps the dragon might come back to the camp expecting another tasty snack. They could not directly use the log cabin, but would camp outside it. When the dragon struck they would close the trap. George thought it was a terrible idea. Louis didn’t much care for it himself. He was therefore surprised when The Red began to comment favorably on it. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“What did he say,” John asked. “Well he said, and I quote, ‘An intelligent human, who would have thought?’” “Then it’s agreed.” John asked again. “We need to vote on this,” George replied. “And how do we do that,” Louis remarked. “This democracy thing is new to me.” “One man and one vote,” George insisted. “No vote for Maria,” Louis asked in amazement. comment.

Even The Red had a

“What did he say,” George asked. “He was very confused about the idea of men voting,” Louis replied. “Under the constitution of the Five Nations, the men run for office and the women vote. He says it’s a separation of powers or something like that.” William then entered into the room and thus the conversation. He wanted to talk about Mignon and how she wanted to formally meet the group, but no one wanted to talk about that. Instead they descried the plan and asked him his opinion on whether or not there should be a vote. “If there is a vote,” William insisted, “it must be unanimous. This is our plan, as a team, we must all agree to it if we are to act as a team.” “What about Maria,” Louis asked. “She doesn’t count,” George replied. “Of course she counts,” Louis insisted, “more than us because she is the one facing the dragon with an axe, right in front of its breath. She must agree or the plan has no teeth!” “In that case,” George replied, “let us ask her.” A few minutes later Maria entered the room. “We have come to a decision,” George told her. “That figures,” Maria replied. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“We want to come to a unanimous decision about how we are going to kill the dragon.” “But,” Maria replied, “what if I don’t want a unanimous decision?” “Well in that case,” William replied. “I suppose, no I think, no …” “I’m only kidding William,” Maria said laughing. “What’s the plan?” George discussed the plan as to how they were going to kill the dragon. He discussed how they were going to set the trap where the dragon would think that the cabin was once again filled with humans to kill. Then once the dragon arrived at the camp they would then ambush the dragon in a manner similar manner to the owl bear. Maria paused and listened intently. “If I understand everything,” Maria replied. “I’m going to be the first one the dragon is going to see. Then John and William fire their muskets and George will use the spell of enfeeblement as his first action, not his second or third but his first. Since I’m the only one in front of him at the time he hopefully won’t breathe on me at this time, but what if he does?” “Dodge,” George replied. “It’s a good thing against claws and jaws as well.” “Then and only then will The Red come in and join me in the battle?” “Yes,” Louis replied. “This gives us the advantage of holding our cards. The goal is to never have the two of you in the same line of the dragon’s breath.” Hopefully the elves will start launching arrows at this time as well.” “The dragon will start to get nervous at this time,” George replied. “I don’t think he’s ever had anyone attack him in large groups. I’ll be throwing missiles at him unless I see he is going to flee and then I’ll throw the web. It’s outdoors so it will collapse on him immediately, but it will collapse on his wings which would be the best thing to keep him from flying away.” “And Louis, I hope, will be healing me all this time?” “Yes,” Louis replied. “It sounds like a plan,” Maria said. “I am in, but I have one request first.” “What is it,” Louis asked.

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“Before we go into battle, I am going to take a bath,” Maria replied. “A lady doesn’t die dirty, if you know what I mean.” George stared for a moment. So did John and William. Even The Red was a little confused. “No I don’t think we know what you mean,” Louis replied. “You know,” Maria replied, “wounds, dirt, infections that sort of thing.” “Yes but you said die,” Louis replied. “You know you can die from an infection,” Maria replied. “It’s a common cause of death on a battlefield; unless you can cure disease with divine magic.” “Not yet,” Louis replied. “So I’m going to take a bath,” Maria insisted. “And of course The Red will insist that I have a proper escort.” “Yes, I will escort you,” George replied. “So, is this all settled,” William asked. “Yes,” Maria agreed. “Then can I introduce Mignon to the group,” William asked. “Can you do that after dinner,” George asked. “Yes,” John replied, “I’d rather meet a nymph on a full stomach.” “I guess so,” William replied. “I’ll go off and let her know.” The rest of the day was spent setting up the future ambush. John set up various spots where he and William could use their muskets with a good deal of cover. Maria prepared the fireplace to give the indication that the building was again occupied. George went to the mine to see how he could make it look like they were working there again.

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Mignon pays a visit It is said that whatever the elves cook, even when out on the trail, it is a hundred times better than what you can get in New Orc and a thousand times better than iron rations. Perhaps it is the fresh ingredients or the lack of preservatives. Or it might be the elf magic. Whatever the cause, after dinner, William left to bring back Mignon. Because they had lit the fireplace, they decided that the cabin was no longer safe to be in. They had set up tents outside the camp and it was here that William brought Mignon to see the group. While the night air was not cold it was slightly brisk and the lack of a fire kept a light chill in the air. Above the canopy of the trees the cloudless sky was brimming with stars. Mignon followed William into the camp. She was short, taller than a hobbit of course, but about the size of William who was the smallest member of the party. On her exceptionally slim frame was a short one piece tunic which partially covered a short white short sleeved blouse. Her small bare feet, considering that she had presumably been walking through the forest, seemed almost unnaturally clean. William introduced Mignon to the group. “I’m really pleased to meet you,” she said when her name was mentioned by William. “You’re so much cuter than the humans who used to live here. Not that any one of you are drop dead cute, and you’re not really cuter than William here, but hey we can’t have everyone being drop dead cute.” One by one she was introduced to the group starting with John. “I’m so pleased to meet you,” she replied. “William has been telling me all about you. I had some friends who came from Grand Island, from the far end to the south of the island. I think there was a tribe of elves there as well. I hear you met a former forest-mate of mine, a dryad with a one track mind, if you know what I mean.” Next she was introduced to Louis. “You’re from Hen aren’t you,” she asked. “How did you know,” Louis replied. “Your chin,” she said. “You’ve got a Hen chin.” Louis paused for a moment. No one ever commented about his chin before. Sure enough it did look slightly different from the other chins in the group, but only slightly. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Next was the introduction to George. “I am so pleased to meet you,” she told George. Then The Red was introduced. “Oh you’re an elf,” she said and immediately turned to Maria. William quickly introduced Maria. “Oh you’re like an orc aren’t you,” Mignon asked. “I am an orc,” she replied. “A really tall, big and …” Mignon replied. “Well for an orc I suppose you are kind of almost cute.” “Considering that I have been called worse,” Maria replied. “I’ll consider that a compliment.” “So, like do you mind if I ask you question,” Mignon asked. “Well you just asked me a question and I didn’t mind it, Maria replied, “So ask another.” “Well, I was wondering,” Mignon began. “It’s probably an old wives tale but you never know if they are true or not and I always wonder about those things. Those things you got. They’re very large and I was wondering; are they sensitive?” Maria was confused. Was she really asking what she thought she was asking? “My what,” she asked in reply. “Your, well those tusks of yours,” Mignon responded. Looking at Maria’s face it was clear that she had two tusks rising from her lower jaw that went in front of her upper lips. “Oh my tusks,” Maria replied laughing. “I thought you meant something else.” “Well they stick out like that and I’m wondering if they ever get dry. I was told by someone that an orc’s tusks can get quite sensitive.” “Well they can get dry,” Maria replied, “but that is why I have a tongue to keep them moist. I think the men let their tusks get dry but we ladies like to keep them moist.” “So anyway,” Mignon replied, “William told me you were going to kill the dragon. That sounds so heroic and dangerous. I would hate to see William come to any harm so I was wondering if I could help.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“No,” The Red said. It was the first word in Ent he ever said. Unfortunately it was the only word in Ent he understood so Louis had to translate the rest of his reasoning. “You are a nymph,” Louis translated as The Red spoke emphatically in Hen. “You are not an adventurer and you don’t have the ability to stand toe to toe with a dragon, even a small one. The dragon could literally sneeze on you and you would be dead.” “But can’t I help from behind the lines,” Mignon asked. “I do have the ability to cast druid spells and some of them can be quite powerful.” “I can summon a swarm of bats to annoy it.” “No,” The Red said. “I can cast a spell to snare the dragon when it lands. I can just set it and forget it. I don’t even have to be near.” “No,” The Red said. “I can scry on the dragon to see if he might be awake.” “Don’t say, ‘no’ Red,” George replied. “Look I don’t want you in harms way. The swarm probably isn’t a good idea, but the snare and the ability to scry might be useful. If you stay behind the elf archers you should be safe.” “I’m so happy I can help,” Mignon replied. “So now that we have that settled, tell me all about yourselves. I love hearing about different people.” One by one each started talking about each other, starting with William. He talked about his life in New Ent, about the farmland, the nearby port town that was growing into a city, his experience at a local college of higher learning, and his experience in law. Next was John who talked about his home in the village by the Wading River. Most of his family lived south of the village in the town of the Brook. He had a younger cousin who was thinking of going into politics. Louis talked for some time about his life in Hen, and then his life going through the seminary of the Old Church to his ordination and how he wanted to see the New World. George talked about his life in the Southern Colony of Purity and that of being on a very large farm with a lot of orc servants who worked the fields at night with their superior vision. He talked about how he had known Maria since they were young adults, and how she was given to him as his personal servant. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Maria, for her part kept the discussion of her life short. It was clear that there were some details about her life she didn’t want to bring up in front of George. She described how it was like being an orc in various human locations where such races were not too kindly looked on. Then she talked about how well she was treated by everyone in the group and how she was treated almost as an equal. After everyone but The Red had a chance to explain their background, George wanted to expand his knowledge about the fey by asking Mignon a few questions. “If you don’t mind answering a few questions,” George began, “I have a few questions about your own kind. I know so little of nymphs so excuse me if these questions seem strange.” “You can ask,” Mignon replied. “Like, if I know the answer I’ll tell you.” “Well,” George began, “you’re a nymph.” “Well duh,” Mignon replied. “I’m fey and I’m a nymph.” “And you’re female,” George replied. “Well duh,” Mignon replied. “I just said I’m a nymph.” “So all nymphs are female,” George replied. “So how are little nymphs …” “Hello,” Mignon replied. “It’s biology. When a fey does it with a fey a fey is born. You know when a human does it with a human a human is born.” George seemed confused so Mignon continued, “So, like, suppose I decide to do it with a satyr. Well I’m going to give birth to either a baby nymph or a satyr.” “You don’t’ give birth to a half nymph?” “Well duh, of course not,” Mignon exclaimed. “If a human female does it with a human male, will she give birth to a half female?” “No.” “Because ones gender can’t be divided,” Mignon replied. “One is either one or the other. My race is fey, my gender is nymph. You have your female genders, like me, and your male genders like satyrs, and then you have the nixies that can either be male or female but really they are just two different genders that look a whole lot alike. So I can do it with either a satyr or a male nixie and I have, like, a 50 / 50 chance of giving birth to a baby nymph.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“But what about dryads,” John asked. “They mate with humans, right? And they give birth to dryads, not half dryads.” “Yes but they are the odd fey,” Mignon replied. “They bind with trees and everything. If a dryad doesn’t bind to an oak at puberty she dies.” “So what would happen if you mated with a human,” William asked. “What happens if a human mated with an elf, you get a half elf. If I mated with a human I would get a half fey, because my race is fey. The half fey would either have a ‘male’ gender or a ‘nymph’ gender.” “This is fascinating,” George replied. “Do you mind if I ask you one more question? You seem to be avoiding The Red. Why is that? You barely make eye contact with him.” “Well, hello,” Mignon replied. “He’s an elf. Isn’t that obvious?” “I’m a human,” George replied, “and it’s not obvious.” “Elves and fey are like,” Mignon replied, “well like oil and water. You can shake us up and we will be side by side but we will quickly separate. Elves are immune to most charms and they can’t even appreciate my divine beauty given to me by nature. Like I could show them my fullness of beauty and they wouldn’t even notice it. Like, hello, I’m shining in nature’s radiant beauty and you’re not seeing it? Humans appreciate it. Even gnomes, Halflings and dwarves appreciate it. So elves are like weird, don’t you think?” “So can you show us that divine beauty of yours,” George asked. “Well, hello,” Mignon replied. “I told you, already. You’re cute but not that cute. You can’t expect me to just show off my divine beauty to just anyone at a moment’s notice. I have to be in the mood with a really drop dead gorgeous hunk. Besides my divine beauty is a personal experience, I can’t show it to a group, only to a special someone. Anyone else looking on would only see my regular beauty, which isn’t all that shabby because I am a child of nature and nature is just naturally beautiful.” “Well, we need to set up watches and call it a night,” Louis insisted. “Well, while you do that,” Mignon replied. “I’ll see if I can scry on the dragon.” She then sat down on the ground with her legs crossed and pulled out a gem. After about ten minutes of sitting and going “ohm” she finally looked up. “I’m afraid he’s sleeping. Unless, he is a she, in which case she’s sleeping.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Bath time for Maria After calling it a night they set up watches and waited for the morning. While the cabin was considered “unsafe” because of the active fireplace, the outhouse was generally considered safe, although the idea of going two by two was still considered important in case the dragon should arrive during the early hours of the morning. Maria went over to George and waited until he was finished studying his arcane lore. “We have to go now,” she said. “It’s time for my bath.” “Must you really take a bath,” George said as he got up to put his books away. “Must you always brush your horse,” Maria replied. “My horse likes getting brushed,” George replied. “I like taking a bath,” Maria replied. “I can even do it all by myself. Blame The Red for having us to always go two by two.” “Why not have Mignon go with you,” George asked. “That little nymph,” Maria asked. “I haven’t seen her in combat. I have seen you in combat.” “I thought you could take care of yourself.” “I can. I just like the thought of seeing you at my side, the monster jumping at me from the bush. You watching me kill it in my naked rage. I mean it’s not like you have never seen me naked.” Maria turned and started heading towards the stream. “I mean it’s not like they haven’t seen me naked either.” George turned and started catching up to her, “Who has seen you naked?” Maria quickened her pace. “A lady never says.” George kept asking different questions but could get no real answer from Maria. Finally she arrived at the waterfall, and started taking off her garments. “Watch my back please,” she asked politely. “I’d rather not,” George replied. “I’m supposed to keep guard; it’s hard to keep guard when you are staring at a person’s back.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Maria stepped into the falling water. “Isn’t that water cold,” George asked. “One gets used to it,” Maria replied. George kept looking around for signs of troubles. He quickly turned when he heard Maria sigh to see strange bubbles all over her hair. “What is that,” George exclaimed. Maria turned around. “Elf shampoo,” Maria replied. “It is a special formula for oily hair.” Maria massaged her hair some more than leaned back to wash the shampoo from her hair. “It tingles!” George wanted to turn away but something seemed odd. He couldn’t place his finger on it though. She continued to apply he shampoo to various parts her body. “It tingles everywhere,” she laughed. She stepped back again to complete rinse off and then stepped out of the water. “This orc is clean,” she proclaimed. George simply stared. “What are you staring at,” she asked. “I know you’ve seen me naked.” “There is something odd,” George replied. “Do you mind if I check something out?” George proceeded to cast some sort of spell and continued to stare. “Yes, there is a definite lingering magical aura. I believe that shampoo was magical. It probably increased your charisma.” “Are you saying I’m …” “You’re always ‘cute’ to me,” George replied. “Get dressed. This stream has given me an idea.”

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We know why, there’s a cloud up in the sky George got the group together again, to discuss his new idea. Everyone was paying more attention to Maria than normal. “You look different,” Louis finally commented. “Did you do something to your hair?” For his part George whispered to The Red, “whatever you do, don’t tell William about it. That magical charisma enhancing shampoo would give him ideas if you know what I mean.” The Red, for his part laughed and nodded his head in agreement. “We know the dragon is sleeping,” George replied. “For how long we can’t say but we do know that the mine was in operation long before the dragon awoke and killed everyone so we might as well assume we have a long wait. According to what The Red told us, the dragon awoke when a mudslide was formed as a result of the deforestation and the spring rains.” The Red nodded in agreement. “So, it stands to reason we can get him both awake and annoyed with another mud slide. The trees haven’t grown back in these few months so all we need is a lot of rain.” “So how are we going to get a lot of rain,” Louis asked. “Well, we need the help of nature, perhaps a druid. Do you know anyone with druidic spell casting ability?” George paused a second because his question was rhetorical. “Of course we do Mignon!” “Can she raise a storm,” Louis asked. “I don’t know,” George replied. “Let’s ask her and find out.” William went to find Mignon and a few minutes later the two returned. “I’m afraid that the ability to control weather is way beyond my meager ability,” she replied to the group. Everyone, especially George seemed very disappointed in the news. “On the other hand, I do know a little of the spell. It is available for both divine and arcane casters,” Mignon continued. “Thus, it may be possible to be able to acquire the spell in the form of a scroll. It might be difficult for you to cast because it is a high level but the arcane version I believe is slightly lower than the divine.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“So,” George replied. “Where can we get a scroll?” The Red said something and Louis quickly translated. “We can get them from the gnomes.” “Well,” John replied. “This is something. We were planning on killing the dragon and seeing the gnomes. It looks like we may have to do this in reverse order.” “It sounds like a plan,” Louis said, translating the words of The Red. “Of course this may mean that we might not be able to kill the dragon until the early summer.” “Will the dragon fall for the idea of a mudslide in the early summer,” John asked. “If your house gets filled with mud do you care what the season is,” George replied. The Red made a final comment, which Louis translated. “Well this does indeed sound like a plan. I will tell my men that we will be leaving. They will stay behind to monitor the progress of the sleeping dragon.” With that The Red turned to leave to go to his group. Mignon turned to Maria, “So what did you do to your hair? marvelous!”

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Later that day William managed to locate The Red. “So,” William asked the elf, “what did you give to Maria to make her so beautiful? It had to be magic right? Was it something to improve your charisma? If I were to use it would I ‘cute’ enough so that Mignon might show me her divine beauty?” The Red was silent. “Can’t I have some,” William asked. “Please?” “No,” The Red said and then became silent again. “I never get any fun,” William said and stormed away. Later The Red went and had a conversation with Louis. “I know what George said, but that William seems to have a one track mind. I mean he just wants to see the nymph’s divine beauty. I can’t see anything wrong with that. At least we won’t be hearing about it day in and day out on the journey to the gnomes.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“I suppose you have a point,” Louis said. “Give me the potion and the instructions. I’ll check with George and John.” The Red gave the bottle with the magic shampoo as well as the instructions, “wet hair, then lather, rinse and repeat once.” Louis went and pleaded the case before George and John. “Well I suppose,” John replied. “He has done favors for me and I suppose we should return him the favor as well.” George smiled, “Still I think we could have a little fun at his expense. If he really wants to be exposed to the nymph’s divine beauty he should be exposed as well, if you know what I mean.” Then he outlined his clever plan. Louis then went and gave William the bottle. “I managed to talk to The Red and convinced him of your honesty. This is a bottle of charisma enhancing shampoo. You apply it while taking a bath, probably at the waterfall by the end of the stream. After wetting your hair, you apply the shampoo, lather it in, and then rinse. You need to do this twice in a row. Then once you step out you will have a greatly increased charisma, hair with volume and no split ends, and no problems with oily hair for at least eight hours.” “Wait,” William asked. “I have to take a what?” “A bath,” replied Louis. “In the cold river water,” William asked. “In the very cold, you could get a cold this way, river water,” Louis replied. “Very well then,” William replied. “I’ll do it!” Louis then gave the bottle to William. William started heading towards the steam. “I’d better do it now before it gets dark.” Louis smiled. He had fallen into George’s trap.

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The naked truth about divine beauty William went down the stream with the bottle in his hand and approached the waterfall. Damn it, he thought to himself, what was he thinking? Everyone knew that you could catch a cold from a bath, and taking a bath in cold water was even more dangerous. But the thought of having her show her divine beauty was too irresistible. Thinking that he had better do this quickly he doffed his clothes and stepped into the cold water. Quickly his feet told him what he feared the most. This was very cold water. Of course the river could get colder, especially in the early spring when the just melted snow was only slightly warmer than ice, but for William it was cold enough. First I have to wet my hair, he thought, which means I have to step into the waterfall. So bravely he walked in. The shock of the cold water hit him like a collapsing brick building, but he refused to step out. After a few moments he started getting used to the cold. He stepped out briefly to apply the shampoo. Now it was the air that seemed cold as the water started drying off of his body. He lathered, rinsed and then lathered again. After a final rinse he turned around to find Mignon. The shock of the cold water was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the nymph in front of him thus revealed. Had she been there all along or had she suddenly appeared as she often did through the magic she possessed. Then he saw from behind her John, George and Louis walking towards him followed by The Red and Maria. There he was exposed in his birthday suit and it appears everyone had been invited to the party. Louis turned around so his back was towards them. “Stop,” he stated. “I’m naked.” “We noticed,” Maria replied. “I’ve been there before,” John said. “It didn’t stop them then and it probably won’t stop them now.” “Turn around,” Mignon replied. “I want to see you.” “But I didn’t want you to see me like this,” William replied. “I wanted to impress you so badly I was willing to use magic to augment my appearance. It was wrong. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry,” Mignon replied. “I just want to see you.”

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William turned around, somewhat surprised that Mignon was staring directly at his face. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. “Well I’ll be,” Mignon replied. “You’re hair is already dry.” The Red said something in elf which only Mignon understood. “Yes I know it’s ‘magic.’ Red,” she replied. “You know you do look drop dead gorgeous now. Yes I know it’s only magic and magic is fading but you make me want to show you my divine beauty. Oh yes I want to show it to you.” “Now,” William asked. “But I’m naked.” “Ready or not,” Mignon replied, “here it comes.” The rest stood in general amazement at the general pause that followed. All eyes were on Mignon who apparently was doing nothing. Louis noticed a few muscles on her body tensed slightly but that was generally it. Finally George pointed at William. While nothing much was going on with Mignon, William was standing in a state of shock, his jaw dropped, his eyes wide open, his arms at his side completely limp. It seemed like a long time before William recovered from this state, well over half a minute. “Well that was interesting,” Maria replied. “Apparently the power only works on a single target at a time,” George replied. “And it works only on males,” Mignon replied, “not on either elves or orcs.” “So,” George replied looking at William. “What’s her divine beauty like?” William for his part stood with his jaw open. “Oh, so it’s left you speechless,” George asked. William shook his head suddenly. “No,” he finally replied. “It is just that words can’t describe the experience. It was beauty so warm, so light, so harmoniously beautiful.” “I know,” Mignon replied. “I just can’t help myself.” William started blinking, “I think I’m seeing after effects. Everyone seems to have a echo of that beauty.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“There’s a little bit of divine beauty in everyone,” Mignon replied. “Only those who have seen true divine beauty can spot it in others and only for a short time.” “Is it me or does Maria seem somewhat bright?” “That is because the divine is love and those who love have a greater essence of divine beauty within them,” Mignon replied. “Maria loves much.” “She does,” George replied. “You know I don’t want to change the subject,” Maria stated, “but William is still naked; really cute, but naked.” William turned his eyes down to his naked body, “Oh my God I’m naked,” he proclaimed, “and my feet are cold!” Suddenly everyone turned to look at William’s feet which were ankle deep in the cold running stream that was flowing past the waterfall. “You better step out of that stream,” Louis replied, “before you catch a cold.” “Don’t worry,” Mignon replied. “I can remove disease.” “You can,” Louis said. “I can’t do that yet. Can you do me a favor and throw one on John just in case. We’re not sure where that dryad has been if you know what I mean.” Mignon went over to John and touched him. “All cured,” she replied. “Well now that has been settled,” Louis replied. “Why don’t you get dressed William and we can have a nice elf meal before we head out to see the gnomes.” “Oh that’s right I’m still …” William replied. “I can’t believe how liberating this is; once the total humiliation of it all passes over you.” He turned to pick up his clothing. The rest turned to head back towards the camp.

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To the gnomes and beyond The next day they left the rest of the elves and began the long trip westward towards the lands of the gnomes. Since there were now seven of them in the general party they divided the watches so as to better reflect the needs and abilities of all the members. Mignon, with her ability to see well at dusk started the watches along with William. Mignon had a two hour watch and William had a four hour watch. After two hours John relieved Mignon for a four hour watch. Maria relieved William for a four hour watch in the darkest part of the night. The Red then relieved John for a four hour watch and Mignon retuned to relieve Maria for another two hour watch. Finally the last watch was shared by the spell casting George and Louis. “So,” William said as they were going along the way. “Is there any reason why George and Louis only get two hours each while we all are called to do four hours?” “George and Louis are spell casters,” John replied. “They need to get their beauty sleep and study.” “I’m a spell caster,” Mignon replied. The Red made a quick remark in elf and Mignon added, “My spells do come naturally, but what about this beauty sleep?” “Your beauty comes naturally also,” William replied. The plan was simple. They would travel west until they reached the town of Wyoming, travel south along a river until they reached a major tributary that went westward, travel up that river passing through a pass in the mountains and then travel along the western side of those mountains until they encountered the gnomes. The Red had estimated the journey as roughly four hundred miles the time depending on a number of factors depending on how well the conditions were along the rivers and the general weather over the course of the journey. At least the plan was supposed to be simple. Problems started immediately upon the start of the journey as this was the first time that Mignon had ever ridden a horse. Fortunately, Maria had an extra side saddle so that Mignon’s short shirt would not be too revealing on the horse. Still it was a very uncomfortable ride for one not used to riding a horse in the first place. Maria had to help Mignon on and off the horse and the first day had frequent stops. As per the agreement, Louis supplemented the iron rations with divinely created food and drink which was mostly eaten by The Red and Mignon. The rest had NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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a little from the magical meal and a little from the iron rations. It was estimated that the food would last longer, and The Red had refused to eat food with so much salt in it. This was also the first time Mignon ever did a watch, which she did with both William and later with The Red. “You know William,” she said after a while together. “I really want to thank you for what you did.” “Thank me,” William asked. “I used magic to make myself appear to be something more than what I really am. You didn’t have to go along with it because you knew it was magically false.” “Of course,” Mignon replied, “but perfection is a curse in a way. Yes I am blessed with divine beauty, I just can’t help that, nature gave it to me, but it is wrong to try to see such near perfection to others. You wanted something, in this case to see my beauty and you found a way to accomplish that. That’s like an ‘E’ just for the effort alone. Of course somewhere out there is a knight on a shining white horse, but now I don’t care. He’s there. You’re here, and since I’m here and not there, you’re the one that makes me care.”

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Bess, I’m not Bess and I ain’t your woman! The next day went better than the first and Mignon was now comfortable riding a horse. Things began to settle down for the long journey. Louis was only now getting to realize the enormity of this New Word and how much larger it apparently was over the Old World. They were a day from what The Red was calling the town of Wyoming situated on what was apparently one of the many major rivers in this New World. Many of these rivers meandered south towards the southern colonies before they emptied themselves in the great ocean that separated the new from the old. Their journey, from what he understood by the descriptions of The Red and George would eventually take them to the northern borders of the southern colonies, both George’s colony of Purity and the colony of Mary where there was an Old Church presence and where the Bishop was said to reside. “You can relax now,” George said to Louis that evening during the meal. “We have crossed into the colony of the Pen and it’s not illegal to either be a priest of the Old Church or to preach to the elves.” “That’s a relief,” Louis replied. “Don’t worry Red I will not start preaching to you.” “I’ve had Hen fur traders and missionaries preaching to me for over a hundred years,” The Red said. “They haven’t convinced me yet. You’re welcome to take a score of more of years to see if you can do better. But frankly I’d be more convinced in learning of Ent than learning of faith.” “Indeed,” Louis replied. “Teaching Ent is easier.” It was during the fourth watch of the night, with Maria and The Red at the same watch. Hearing a noise, Maria turned to The Red to quietly give him a warning. But the warning would come too late. Several orcs had appeared and had started wielding weapons at the elf. Fortunately The Red was somewhat prepared for the attack and was in the process of defending himself. But, she thought, as the situation unfolded, if they are attacking the elf then could there be others trying to attack those in their sleep. Turning around she spotted several orcs trying to rush the camp. She started to shout a cry in the hopes of awaking the other members as she rushed to intercept the attackers. John and William were the first up, getting out of their tents with muskets in hand. The Red was busy parrying and attacking the several orcs that had gathered around his side. They readied their muskets and fired at the first orcs they spotted. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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For his part William had not studied his opponent and his opponent was clearly aware of his presence, but the close distance as well as the lack of armor on the orcs allowed his shot to be aimed true. John’s shot was also effective and both had felled their targets with a single shot each. This left them with empty muskets and surrounded by a growing number of opponents. Louis and William awoke next, seeing the mass confusion that was ensuing around the camp. William cursed about loosing his precious sleep and proceeded to launch a barrage of magical missiles against the enemy. Louis, for his part called forth a divine sword to speed in front of the now defenseless musket wielders. Maria studied the situation carefully. Four orcs had found their way around The Red. Two orcs had fallen to the muskets of William and John but there were two more orcs that were trying to avoid the mystical sword of Louis in order to get to the two who were trying to quickly reload their muskets. Finally there were two who were trying to attack her directly, except they were having a hard time moving towards her. Off of the corner of her eye she spotted Mignon who had apparently just finished casting a spell of entanglement on those who were about to attack her. Behind her was an orc who was about to pounce on the unsuspecting Mignon. There was a time, in what seemed an age or two ago, when she was taught a language by her mother in words that were spoken with reverence and awe because they were not to be spoken in the presence of the humans. Charging the orc the one word came to her in tones harsh and frightening. As the anger of battle rushed through her she cried out in a loud voice using that ancient language of the orcs, “stop.” The orc had already managed to grapple the surprised nymph and had a dagger close to her throat. “Join us,” he cried in the same tongue, “and we shall liberate you from the tyrant humans!” Maria looked around. The Red was wounded by the attacking orcs but had already dropped one of them. John and William had managed to step back enough to reload. The three who were trying to attack her were still struggling against the vines that Mignon had called to her aid. “Unless you have forces that I cannot see,” Maria replied, “it would appear that you are no match for us. Let us discuss this before we kill you all in self defense.” Pausing a second she continued, “If you harm the nymph I will personally strangle you with your own intestines.” The orc quickly surveyed the situation. It was clear that his group was not winning the battle. Another orc had joined his side and was about to cast a spell, most likely at Maria. He turned to the caster and told him a terse “no.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Turning to the rest of the group he shouted in the language of the Orc, “Stand down.” Only Maria and The Red had understood what the leader of the orcs had said but the others quickly noticed the attempt of the orcs to go from an offensive to a defensive posture. Maria, for her part, cried in Ent, “don’t attack them,” and then to he leader. “We need to talk and in Ent so the others can understand.” “Very well,” the leader replied, although it was clear that he did not like speaking the language of the humans. Meanwhile the others, both the members of the party and the orcs had shifted to a more defensive posture. “First of all,” Maria started. “Why did you attack us?” “We are here to rescue you,” the leader replied. “A few of us attacked the elf because that is our duty. We must attack the elves. Has no one taught you the old faith of our fathers?” Maria paused. She had only heard the stories of the faith of the humans. She had simply assumed that this was always the faith of the orcs. “In the beginning,” the one next to the leader began, “was the great one, the all seeing. He made us to serve him and so we did. But the humans and elves fought a great war and in stealing the essence of his power defeated him. The humans banished us to the great lands and the elves it was said left the world to the humans, or so it was thought. For this reason it is the divine duty to oppose any elves that we find, in revenge for the defeat of our god. When the humans brought us from our native lands in chains and in slavery we thought it was a curse, but once we were freed we saw a divine purpose in our mission, to oppose the elves and attack them unceasingly on sight.” “We are here in part to rescue you,” the leader continued. “No orc would voluntarily work with humans so you must be the slave of one of them. The elf was a side issue. We are here for you.” “That’s like, so interesting,” Mignon replied, “but I think a number of your men are dying. I think they need help like right now before they become dead. Let me help now!” The leader let her go and she appeared by the side of one of the fallen orcs. The one next to the leader also ran to the aid of a fallen comrade. Louis also ran over and began to heal one of the ones who had fallen to the muskets of William. “Are you a divine healer,” Louis asked the orc while he was healing a comrade. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“I am a shaman,” the orc said in reply. “The humans,” the leader replied in a slight state of shock. “They would help us after we have attacked them?” “Because death is something no one wants,” Maria replied. “One first doesn’t want to personally die. Only then does one want others not to die.” “They will live,” Mignon replied after healing one of the wounded orcs. Louis managed to say the same thing after healing another orc, while the orc that had been beside the leader had attended to the orcs that were brought down by the sword of The Red. “Then I offer my apologies,” the leader replied, “and I over my thanks for helping my shaman. We had attacked the elf because it was our duty. We had attacked the humans because we wanted to help and liberate you, as well as the fact that they may have had treasure that we could have put to good use.” “You wanted to help me,” Maria replied almost in shock, still recovering from her barbarian rage. “By killing my companions, you wanted to help me?” “No orc travels as an equal with humans,” the leader replied. “Are you not a slave to one of them; nothing more than personal property to be used and abused as necessary?” “I am the property of one of the humans,” Maria replied. “But I have never been abused.” “Then you are lucky,” the leader replied. “We have all been slaves; we have all been whipped and beaten by the humans. They care not for you.” “That doesn’t explain why you attacked first without talking to me,” Maria replied. “Zeal for the death of elves got the better of some of my men,” the leader said. “Otherwise I would have insisted that we first rescue you from their hands before we slaughtered the humans. Had the situation been reversed I have no doubt they would have slaughtered us without a second thought.” “I don’t wish to complain,” The Red finally spoke, “but have you all used up your healing, because these wounds hurt massively.” “I think we have used up all the healing for the night,” Louis replied. “It is a good thing that no one will die. In the morning we can ensure that all might live.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“I find this interesting,” William finally replied, “but I think we need to get back to basics. Who are you good sir orc and why have your men thought we were something they could so easily attack?” “I am called Kaleb, which in our tongue stands for the heart of the dog,” the leader replied. “We have escaped from the human masters to the south. Our captivity makes us fear the humans. Our tradition makes us hate the elves. We have managed to survive without fiend or ally in these strange lands for years, using our wits and our faith, along with the powers of our faithful shaman.” “Given this,” Maria replied. “I find it odd that you would simply claim you wanted to liberate me. You just wanted to kill an elf and take revenge on humans who had no direct cause in your suffering.” “Well, yes,” the leader replied. “I am no liar, and that’s what we do to humans and elves because they would do the same to us. They would only not kill us to make us work their fields once more. But you are an orc, big, strong, and woman. Humans are weak, you are orc, and a leader needs an orc woman at his side to make his power last for all generations. Come with me, and I will show you what an orc is like!” “Let me get this correct,” Maria replied. “You attack my friends to kill and rob from them and you have the gall to want me to be your personal love slave? You think you are better telling me what to do because you are not human? You are no better than the ones who beat you. I would rather be the property of a human who respects me than the slave of someone who wants me for making orc babies.” “An orc who would rather be with humans,” the leader replied. “You disgust me.” “An orc who hides behind fey is telling me what disgusts me,” Maria shot back. “I was not hiding behind anyone,” the leader replied. “I was keeping the, that was a fey … first time I saw one … I thought it was an elf baby … from casting more spells.” “Like, hello, I am not an elf,” Mignon replied. “You’re lucky I’m a nymph and not like a satyr, because if I was I would take my horns and shove them right up and into your …” “Mignon,” William shouted. “Backside,” Mignon ended. “Oh my goddess I’ve never spoken like that before. It’s so against my nature. Not like you could have really prevented me NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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from doing anything. I can always go away faster than you can say ‘zing.’ But I suppose brute orcs can’t say ‘zing,’ or ‘zippity do dah’ for that matter.” Suddenly Mignon disappeared and the orc leader felt a tap on his back. “Tag,” Mignon said. “You are, like, so it.” Suddenly the other orcs turned and started reaching for their weapons again. The leader turned and with a single motion forced his sword into Mignon’s side. Maria’s reaction was swift and immediate. In a moment she ran towards the leader and with a single blow of her axe felled him. The other orcs having seen the leader fall quickly turned and ran. Louis ran immediately to Mignon’s side. “She’s not dead,” he replied, “but I’m out of healing so the best I can do is bind her wounds until the morning.” Meanwhile the orc shaman had managed to get beside the orc leader, “Kaleb is not dead either,” he replied. “But by the great eye he deserves to be for such a stupid act.” He paused a moment and continued, “In any event that is not for me to decide. That is for the leader. You mignon are the leader by you defeating Kaleb through true orc tradition, even if you are a woman.” “If the nymph dies, he dies,” Maria said. “If she lives he lives.” “A wise decision,” the shaman said. “You will make a fine leader.” “So,” John said, “what about those six orcs who just ran away? You don’t have any more friends out there do you?” “No,” the shaman replied, “we were only a dozen in number.” “We should go after them,” William insisted. “In the dark,” John asked, “with them with perfect dark vision and we without it?” “What do we do with him,” William asked pointing at the shaman. “Orc shaman,” Louis asked. “Who do you follow?” “I follow the leader,” the shaman replied. “The female orc named Maria.” “And would you attack anyone who is friend of the leader?” “The friend of my leader is my friend,” the shaman replied, “even if they be elf.”

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“I think that answers the question,” Louis replied. “If you don’t mind, my fine orc shaman, I would like to see your arms tied until the morning. We need to adjust the watches because George is going to need more sleep to make up for this interruption. I will take over Mignon’s second two hour shift, and if William can take the shift reserved for George he can have enough sleep to replenish his spells for tomorrow. Then we can heal the rest so we can continue to the town.” “I will only agree if the leader agrees,” the shaman replied. “Consider the leader agreeing,” Maria replied. With the unconscious orcs and the shaman tied up, the rest returned to sleep leaving Maria and The Red once again alone. “What was that nymph thinking,” Maria said to The Red. “I think you told her she was way below the level of the group. It was dangerous for her to be where she was and her impulsive action only made a bad situation worse. So what is this thing that the shaman was talking about? I never heard anything about the old tales from my mother; she refused to tell me about the land of her birth.” Maria paused and realized The Red wasn’t going to talk. “I forgot, you can understand but you can’t speak with the helm.” Then The Red removed the helm from his head and placed it on Maria. The fact that the helm somehow managed to fit both the slim elf’s head and the larger orc’s head was dismissed as an act of magic from an item known to be magical. “Now you can understand me,” The Red said, “but I won’t understand you so do be quiet. I can also speak in elf which I am confident the orc does not understand. According to the ancient traditions we elves originally came from the Old World. That was thousand of years ago when humans were rare in the land. For thousands of years we fought a mighty demon. He was slain in physical form but had bounded himself in magic and was able to appear as a single eye. The eye of fear and flame ruled from his mountain for millennia until the magic that had bound him was found and was destroyed. After this was done, and I should point it was done by a Halfling, the elves went west across the sea where it was claimed we came from, seeking the eternal tree of life. That tree is the symbol of the great Five Nations of elves to this day. Humans, from what I have been able to understand, drove the orcs, who were servants of the eye of fear and flame south to another great continent. Humans have weak memories and in a thousand years they had forgotten all about this event; forgotten all about elves, or gnomes, or dwarves. Only the Halflings knew and they never bothered telling anyone. Even when the humans ‘borrowed’ the writings of their sacred scriptures they were silent and opened not their mouths. Even when they declared that their goddess somehow caused NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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a human female to become pregnant they were silent, thought the humans strange and opened not their mouths.” Maria paused, then removed the helmet and gave it to The Red. “But,” she asked, “don’t the humans call their god a ‘father?’” She then took the helmet and placed it on her own head again. “God,” The Red replied, “which is a higher concept than anyone can know is spirit. Sprit has no gender; neither male nor female, or both male and female. The choice is up to the observer.” Morning finally came and Louis was able to cure Mignon. “There will probably a scar because we had to wait until it was completely healed,” Louis replied. “I would also seek a remove disease as well as it could have been infected overnight. I believe you can do that.” The shaman for his part cured the former leader. “Who killed or nearly killed me,” he asked him as his back was turned when Maria struck. “The female orc,” the shaman replied. “Divinely inspired no doubt for having you turn your back on an enemy. By orc tradition she deserves the title of leader now.” “That was not a proper challenge,” Kaleb insisted. “It doesn’t matter,” the shaman insisted. “Loosing to an opponent in a single blow is equivalent to a challenge. You have a right to issue a counter challenge. I highly advise against it. I believe she is far above you in skill, based on the short amount of time I saw her in combat. She is also stronger than you as well.” Meanwhile Mignon looked at her torn garment which had been damaged by the orc’s blade. “You can heal the body,” she replied. “Sometimes the mind, but my poor dress is a mess.” “I can mend the dress,” George replied. “Can you,” Mignon asked. “Please do it now.” “Well I can but,” George said with hesitation. “I need you to take it off first. My hands have to be on both sides of the tear and all of that. Go with Maria and she will bring back the garment to me.” “If she has to take it off,” Maria replied. “You better do more than just mend it.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Yes,” George insisted. “Cleaned and pressed as well. Oh the agony; to be reduced to a magical tailor is so unbecoming to a member of the arcane science.” Maria and Mignon went off to the side, close enough to the camp so that any threat of attack by the orcs who had escaped would be minimal. “They won’t attack in the bright sunlight,” Maria said, “especially without their leader. There is one thing I wanted to ask you. How do you go about the place in those small bare feet without shoes? I can see how the Halflings do it, their feet are almost as hard as leather under all the hair.” Mignon removed her short dress, “Part of the ways of the fey is being light on the feet.” She looked quickly at her blouse. “Fortunately the blouse was short enough not to have been damaged.” “He can always give it a clean and a press,” Maria replied. “That’s a good point,” Mignon replied. “We are going into a town. There might be some cute guys there. One has to look ones best.” Removing the blouse and handing it to Maria she glanced at the small scar on her side. “Actually it’s not too bad looking.” Maria looked at Mignon. “You know you look like a child, a really tall child but a child. How old are you?” Mignon smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I stopped counting the years, ages ago. A fey isn’t supposed to know or tell her age. How old are you?” Maria smiled, “One score years and five.” Mignon laughed, “To a fey that’s a baby. I’m at least four times older.” Maria left with the garments for George. “That’s it then,” George asked, “just two items of clothing?” “Yes and do not tell the others,” Maria replied. “It would only encourage them to try to take a peek while she was riding the horse.” It took George less than a minute to mend, clean and “press” the garments and he returned them to Maria to give back to Mignon. Returning them to Mignon Maria added, “There is one thing I almost forgot to tell you. Do not ever, and I mean ever, do that again you her me? I don’t care if you are four times my age, do not do that again.” “What did I do,” Mignon asked. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Deliberately get into melee range with someone who would not hesitate to hit you,” Maria sternly stated. “That was just an orc, and he nearly killed you. If you had pulled that stupid trick to a dragon, he could have taken a bite, swallowed a large chunk of your intestines and you would be immediately beyond the power of any of us to heal. How you ever got to be four times older than me is beyond me. Just don’t do that again; you nearly gave William a heart attack.” Maria and Mignon returned to the group to find them discussing about what to do with the orcs. “So you have been talking about what to do with my orc boys,” she joked. “You heard the shaman, I’m the leader now, so I should have a say.” “Of course you should,” George replied. “We all should and they should as well. But we have a small problem. Currently we are headed to the town, but after that we are heading south and will be very close to the colony of Purity where we come from and as you know slavery is an accepted way of life.” “You can see the problem,” John added. “Having once been former slaves it would be extremely uncomfortable for them to get so close to a place where they might be enslaved again.” “Even if they had proper papers, which they do not,” William added, “most humans might not even care. A lone orc is probably an escaped orc.” “Couldn’t we just claim they were all yours,” Maria asked George. “Yes, but I don’t they want to be slaves again, even in name only,” George replied. “You know me, they do not. If I were them I would definitely not trust me either.” “So where do they go then if not with us,” Maria asked. “That’s a real problem,” George replied. “They can’t go north, because that is the heart of the elf Five Nations. They can’t go south because that is where the slave colonies are. If they remain here they could cause a threat to other humans. They need to find a place where they might at least be accepted and not despised.” “What about New Journey,” Maria asked. “That’s a good idea,” George said. “We can direct them there. We can give them enough supplies to make the trip and general directions.”

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“Did you say we have to give them something,” Mignon said. “Like they attack us, and try to kill us, and we in turn give them stuff. Hello, Isn’t that sending like the wrong message?” “I think almost killing them sent them the right message,” George replied. “But if they don’t have enough stuff they will just revert to attacking any passersby for food and stuff.” “Then I suppose it is settled then,” William replied. “We give them stuff, send them on their way with general direction and let the kobolds deal with them. Do you think the ones who ran away will join them or do we have to deal with them separately?” “Hopefully,” George replied, “seeing the supplies they will rejoin their band. It’s no sin to escape when overwhelmed. Orcs are sensible, not suicidal.” This it was agreed. They gave the orcs supplies of salt meat and after a little encouragement they gave most of William’s apple cider as well. Before they left Kaleb wanted one last word with Maria. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I know I have the right to challenge your new position, and getting the position simply because you are not going with us isn’t as impressive to the other people. You are naturally better than me and you deserve leadership not servitude. Besides, when a woman beats me like that; it’s just so sexy. Humans are just so, small and weak. You need a real orc man to make you a real orc woman if you know what I mean.” Maria would hear none of it. “If I were the leader, I highly doubt that you would be my first choice. The thought of a harem of orc men would be appealing, but I think I prefer the company of human men.”

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The town of Wyoming Leaving the orcs the party quickly came to a large river and on the river a small town. An inn was located in the center of the town and the group made arrangements for the day. One small room was set aside for Maria and Mignon and a larger room was reserved for the men. Maria’s first request was for a bath complete with hot water. George for his part made inquiries as to whether there was any Guild of Builders in the town. It turned out that there was one but the wizard was more or less his equal in terms of ability and power. George then inquired about whether or not the wizard had any items of magic for sale. He was particularly interested in an item known as a “folding boat.” “We will be crossing a river at one point and it’s a lot easier to do so when you can pull a boat out of your backpack.” It turned out there was indeed one but the wizard wanted a lot for it. George paid in a combination of cash and magical spells from his personal collection within his spell book. That evening, George informed the group of his new toy, “I have procured for us a item that might speed us on the way, allowing us to not need to use horses to give us the best speed. This box can turn into a boat and an even larger ship, one that can hold up to fifteen. We can then sail down the river and then up the other river and could easily walk the remainder of the journey on foot. It has a sail.” “What if it there is no wind in the general direction we want to go,” William asked. “It has oars,” George replied. “Is it too late to go back and get those orcs,” William joked. “Yes,” George insisted. “We start the journey tomorrow.” John came into the room and proclaimed, “I have good news! They have hot buttered rum here!” “On second thought,” George insisted. “We start the journey tomorrow afternoon. Let’s go Maria we need you to drink us under the table.” “What’s rum,” Mignon asked. “The devil’s brew,” William insisted, “the devil’s brew.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Going down the river Poor Richard once said something about early to bed and early to rise but it was clear poor Richard never had a night with hot buttered rum. By the time of the afternoon the crew had gathered at the river, and armed with a small wooden box George gave a command word. A small boat appeared which he put in the water. “A boat for four,” Louis remarked. “There are more of us than four.” George uttered another command word and the boat, now in the water enlarged considerably. Even its sail changed appearance. Now there was plenty of room for everyone to board. Maria was the first to board. The others boarded slowly, almost as if they were a funeral procession, which was not all that far from the truth. The combination of the general flow of the river and some favorable winds allowed the craft to sail without needing anyone to man oars. Maria was at the helm guiding the ship and learning the fine art of steering on the way. Mignon was definitely not feeling well. The rest were avoiding conversation at all costs. “So Mignon,” Maria said, breaking the relative silence, “have you ever been on a ship on the water before?” Mignon responded by throwing up over the railing. “I suppose this was probably the worst day to introduce you to the joys of sailing,” Maria replied. “That was the best fun I’ve had in ages, and when you tried to show the bartender your ‘divine beauty,’ I almost hurt myself laughing so hard.” “I remember that,” Mignon said, turning her attention from the railing to Maria. “I tried so hard. He looked at me and then he laughed. My beauty, my divine beauty was gone. Why couldn’t he see my divine beauty?” “I would have thought it was obvious,” George replied. “What do you know of the divine beauty of the fey,” Mignon replied. “Did I loose it because of my injury? Was that weapon of the orc a bane to me in ways I didn’t realize? Tell me why I couldn’t reveal my beauty to the bartender.” “Well,” George replied. “We did see you show your divine beauty to William you know. From even a simple observation I can deduce that it requires at least some concentration on your part.” “So,” Mignon asked. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“You were so drunk at the time,” George replied, “that when you got up to go to your room you couldn’t even walk and Maria had to carry you. I highly doubt that you were able to concentrate for even a second never mind enough to have revealed your magical whatever that is that you reveal.” “Maria carried me,” Mignon replied. “I don’t remember that part.” “I don’t remember anything after that,” William replied. “Did she carry us all up?” “No,” Maria replied, “but I did have to escort you because you were quite wobbly on your feet.” “So I didn’t loose my power then,” Mignon replied. “I am not an expert,” George replied, “save being an amateur in human nature. If you feel that you need to prove it, you can always show your divine beauty to me as proof that you still have it.” Mignon turned to George. “Not now,” she replied. “I have a headache.” “Probably best,” George replied. “So do I.” “So Maria,” Mignon replied, “how come you are not as miserable as we are, I know we were all drinking at the same rate. It’s undignified for a member of the great fey race to be so relatively sicker than elves, humans and orcs.” “It’s a matter of mass,” George replied, “or rather of volume.” “I don’t get it,” Mignon replied. “Science Mignon,” George replied. “We all drank the same amount of hot buttered rum, but that hot buttered rum would fill each one of us differently because we all have different volumes. Volume you see is based on height, width and depth. They all get multiplied together somehow depending on the exact shape. Now Maria is the tallest of the group. Her shoulders are broader than anyone else in the group. And of course for her depth she has …” “Big breasts,” John replied. Maria looked appalled at his reply. “John,” George replied. “That’s no way to talk to a lady, even if you do have a hangover and she doesn’t. I was going to say a large ribcage, but both are valid points. In either case when you multiply all that together she has a very large volume compared to everyone else and especially you Mignon. That is why she was able to drink us all under the table.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“That and she’s an orc with a constitution that can have her take baths in near freezing cold water without getting a cold,” Louis replied. “How do you know about that,” George asked. “Remember,” Louis replied, “you had to escort her before we went on the voyage? I was getting water from the river that day, so unless the water was much warmer in the early morning than it was in the afternoon it was still very cold.” Louis was certainly not going to talk about his initial encounter with the bathing Maria, at least not unless she brought it up. They continued along the river some more and finally Mignon went beside Maria and chatted quietly her. “Are your breasts really so large that you can drink us all under the table,” Mignon asked. “It’s hard to see with all the layers of clothing you are wearing.” Maria laughed. “I never thought of them as allowing me to drink you under the table. Remember when I saw you naked how I thought you were like a tall youth? Well let’s just say that mine are far too large to stand up on their own; like yours can.” “Like, that’s so, wow,” Mignon replied. “When you get a chance can you show them to me?” “Perhaps later,” Maria replied. “This is probably not the time for a ‘public’ showing.” Mignon quietly laughed and realized that at least the headache had gone away. George found a good place to go ashore for the night to set up camp. He insisted that the boat was not big enough for the group to sleep in and besides there were the general necessities that one needed to do in the morning. They set up camp and William went out to search for some deadwood for a fire. Sunset was in the air and the sun had just fallen behind the mountains to the west. William was about to pick up some deadwood when he heard the snap of a twig. There in front of him was a human female. At least he thought she was a human female. She had clearly seen him and had noticed that he had seen her. She turned around as if to flee but he said, “don’t go.” He turned back to see him, a combination of fear and worry filled her face. “I’m so sorry,” she replied. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. People aren’t all that common in this part of the woods and I wanted to see who was stopping by.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Do you live near here,” William asked. “What’s your name?” “Elizabeth,” she replied. “Elizabeth Hawkins. I suppose I ‘live’ here, although that’s an odd situation really. Sometimes I go up north to the farmlands near the town. It’s really nice down here with few to disturb me.” “So you live alone,” William asked. “In some ways,” Elizabeth replied. “I do have friends nearby. They are special friends, but we don’t all live together. We sort of live scattered around the area. But you’re new here, so tell me all about yourself.” William sat down with Elizabeth and started talking all about himself, his life, and his recent adventures. Elizabeth wanted to hear more and more. Soon the sun had set and darkness was falling rapidly. “You had better go,” Elizabeth said. “It is getting dark out, your friends will be worried and it will be hard to see.” “Why not come to the camp with us,” William asked. Elizabeth seemed exceptionally nervous, “No I can’t. I’ve been out too long as it is. I really must go. Return to your camp. Whatever you do, don’t follow me.” Suddenly she started heading into the deep woods. Against common sense and reason William followed her. She was running as though she could easily see where she was going in the growing darkness. William was getting father and father from her until he noticed that she had stopped. As he approached he saw that she was removing her clothes and placing them next to a tree. It was getting dark and it was getting hard to see. “I told you not to follow. You are in danger. I can’t hold it much longer.” Against her wishes he came closer. On her skin there appeared blotches which seemed to form circular spots which seemed to blur as if her skin was turning into fur. Then he noticed her face changing, the bones of her face shifting as he watched. “Forgive me,” she said. Her entire body was twisting and turning and suddenly where she once stood there was a fierce tiger which lunged directly at William. She lunged at him and her jaws bit fiercely into his side. William had his musket on his back but she was too close and it would take him too long to wield it effectively. Even when he could wield it the weapon was not loaded. The tiger clawed at William’s side drawing more blood.

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Then from behind came Maria and Mignon. Maria with her axe quickly placed herself between the tiger and William. The tiger made noises at Maria. Maria readied her axe and attempted to intimidate the beast. “Don’t kill her,” William yelled. “Yes don’t kill it,” Mignon replied. The tiger, seeing Maria somewhat distracted by the cries for mercy, instead of taking the opportunity to strike turned around and began to run away. “Let it go,” Mignon replied. “It is faster than you and besides it doesn’t want to hurt anyone. The transformation deprives it of reason for a while and animal instincts take over.” “What was she,” William asked. “A human,” Mignon said, “but she is a cursed one. She is a weretiger, a lycanthrope.” “But how,” Maria asked. “The moon is only half way full.” “Not all lycanthropes follow the moon,” Mignon said. Turning to William she suddenly stated, “You’re wounded. This is not a good thing.” Quickly her healing touch closed the wounds of William. “Weretigers are tigers almost all of the time and can only return to human form once a day. They are very lonely creatures, except when they get together in small groups. She wounded you. That is not good.” “Why is that not good,” William asked. “Lycanthropy is a curse,” Mignon replied. “It is passed through bite or claw. Those who are so injured may turn into the creature that attacked it within a month.” “What must I do,” William asked. something?”

“Do I need to eat some poison or

“Unless cured within a month,” Mignon replied. “Only the most powerful of wishes could cure you, and I’ve only heard of wish granting genies in myths. Fortunately I can cure disease every day. Let’s get back to camp and I’ll cure you there. I can see in twilight and Maria in total darkness. You on the other hand cannot.” “She left her clothing,” William stated. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“I’m sure she will be back for them,” Mignon replied. They returned to the camp where everyone was quite relieved. William explained what had happened and Mignon explained what weretigers were. Then she cast her druidic spell and cured him of any potential lycanthrope curse. “You did a really nice thing there William,” Mignon said. “He did,” Maria asked. “That thing was evil.” “Not evil,” Mignon replied. “Lonely. Imagine if you had to spend most of your life as a tiger, barely thinking above the thoughts of an animal. Oh sure if you can wander near a town you can talk to people, but you can’t remain a human for long and soon they will wonder about the stranger who keeps showing up. She warned him, as best as she could.” “She could have told him the truth,” Maria insisted. “Why reveal dark secrets when you can avoid them,” Mignon replied. “She is only really dangerous after she returns to animal form and the animal instincts take over her better judgment. She warned him, several times. As I said she was just lonely. Have you ever been lonely? Have you ever spent years alone with no one to talk to?” “No,” Maria said. “I have,” Mignon said. Then suddenly she went over to William and kissed him. Not the simple kiss that she had first given him but a real long kiss, “from all the lonely people who want to thank you William.” She then turned to the group, “Have you ever heard the creation story of the fey.” “I don’t believe I have,” Louis replied. The others nodded in agreement. “In the beginning,” Mignon said, “the god, and for the life of me I don’t know which one, made the first human man. He placed the man in the garden of love and delight, to be a fruit grower. But the man was lonely. The god showed him all the animals but none was as intelligent as the man. So the god made the fey, a nymph, to know the man and to love him. But the man rejected the fey. The god sent the fey away and put the man to sleep and made a woman from the man. The fey cried that she wanted her own companion. But the god could not make a man from the fey as easily as he could make the woman from the man so he knitted a male goat with the fey and thus the satyr was born. Nymph and Satyr he created them. He made the other fey as well. Together we are all complete, yet all desire for the humans we were originally made for. Do you know why he made the human?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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All nodded their head in their agreement of their inability to answer that question. “Because the god was lonely, love, unloved in return is the loneliest of all. Even in a universe of gods he was lonely.” “To love him in this world and serve him in the next,” Louis absent mindedly replied. George was sitting by the fire, apparently cooking something on a griddle. “Well this calls for a treat. Does anyone want more hot buttered rum?” “No,” they all cried in unison. “Well that’s a relief,” George replied, “because I don’t have any. But I did get some other exotic stuff at the town.” Pouring water into the pan they all heard a sizzle. “Who wants something they called ‘coffee?’ They say it’s great for those who are about to go on the first watch!”

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Liturgical services The second day of the trip seemed far better than the first. Mignon was actually getting used to sailing on the water. John and William took turns at the helm. That evening went without any incident. The next few days followed without incident as well. Even the weather was exceptionally cooperative. The next day they had passed a large river going northwest. “We need to make a turn at the next large river,” The Red said. “That won’t be for another day or two depending on the wind.” They finally arrived at the “next large river” on the second day. It was decided that they probably should stop here and wait until the morning because they would probably have to row upstream if the wind wasn’t favorable. Before this they could rely on the current to keep them going in the right direction. After setting up the camp, Louis expressed his desire. “As I think everyone knows by now,” Louis began, “I am a priest of the Old Church. We’re not in New Orc anymore and I don’t have to hide my faith anymore. I’ve been saying my office every morning and evening but I’m also supposed to by church law do these liturgical services every week. I’m going to set up a little place in the clearing over there if you don’t mind.” “Is what you do some sort of secret,” Maria asked. “No,” Louis replied. “But there is a problem of language. My liturgy is in the language of the Old Empire.” “The language of magic,” George retorted. “I’ve never liked that insult,” Louis replied. “That’s not the reason why it is in the old tongue. There are many different languages in the Old World, Hen and Ent are only two of them. The Old Empire allows us all to get together and talk to each other.” “I really didn’t mean it as in insult,” George replied. “The Gild of Builders uses the language of the Old Empire for exactly the same reason. Unfortunately, I never really studied the language, except for a few key phrases. The ability to understand each other even though we can’t speak each other’s languages can be exceptionally useful at times.” “In any event,” Louis said. “You’re all welcome to attend. I’m afraid you can’t fully participate unless you are full members in the Old Church.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Louis setup an altar at the end of the clearing, towards the eastern side of the clearing. The rest stood around and Louis prepared the altar with all sorts of things, from candles to a very large book. He then threw on some light vestments and turned towards the east, his back towards the group. Then he began to pray. “So why does he have his back towards us,” Maria asked quietly. “I think it is because we are all supposed to be pointing towards the same direction,” George replied. “Have you ever seen my magnifying glass? It focuses the light heading toward it to a central point. I think he’s acting like a divine magnifying glass.” “In my church the leader faces the people because you need to see the people who you are leading in prayer,” William replied. “In the Church of Ent,” George replied, “the priest faces both ways.” “At the same time,” John replied. “That seems impossible.” “No,” George said. “Some times he faces the people and some times he faces the altar.” “Are we supposed to be saying things,” Maria asked. “I know we normally say things when we are at service in the Church of Ent.” “I suppose so,” George said, “but I have no idea what to say and I think that is true for most of the worshipers of the Old Church, save the learned priests.” Oddly enough it was The Red, who was paying the most attention. Perhaps it was because with the help of the magic helm he was the only one who knew what Louis was actually saying. He stood in rapt attention. Mignon went over to The Red and whispered in elf, “you understand all of this?” “Yes,” The Red replied in elf. “The magic of the helm allows me to understand languages even if I can’t speak them.” The rest looked at Louis. They noticed his raise something over his head. “Did he just say what I think he did,” Maria asked George.

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“No,” George replied. “What you thought he said was actually something corrupted from what he just said. Some wizard a hundred years ago started it was a joke and it caught on with the masses.” Mignon, hearing George’s whisper turned to the Red. “So what did he just say?” “An interesting statement of equality,” The Red replied. Louis continued the service and it was really hard to tell what was going on at any time. Eventually it was over because he left the altar. “Well that certainly was interesting,” Maria remarked. “Now you know why we pray in a language people can understand,” George replied. After the diner, William approached the group. “Louis,” he started. “It was really nice of you to let us join you in the service, even though we didn’t have a clue of what you were doing or what we should have been doing, although I’m pretty sure that commenting while it was going on was poor form. Now I’m used to more simple worship. I’m not a leader and I’m not good at making prayers, but there is one thing we all know how to do and that’s sing. Before the sun sets and there is some light can we do some good old fashioned New Ent worship in song?” “I don’t see why not,” Louis replied. William pulled out a book from his pack. It was smaller than Louis and was filled with a very odd notion. The notation consisted of a variety of shapes between sets of lines. “What’s that,” Maria asked. “These are what we called the shaped notes,” William replied. “It’s designed so that anyone can easily pick up a tune. The triangles are the ‘fa’ the squares are the ‘la’ the circles are the ‘so’ and that diamond is ‘mi.’ You sort of repeat them to form a scale ‘fa, so, la, fa, so, la, mi, fa.’” He then sang the scale. “Now there are three lines. The one in the middle is the melody or the tenor. George and The Red can sing that part.” “But I can’t sing Ent,” The Red whispered to Louis who immediately translated it.

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“You can sing the shapes, we do that first anyway,” William replied. “Take off the helm and I’ll learn you the shapes.” The Red removed his helm and he repeated the shapes. The Red then repeated them although with a slight accent. “Good,” William replied. “Then the line beneath it is the bass. Me and John can sing that. Then we have the line above which is the treble. Maria and Mignon can sing that part.” “What part do I sing,” Louis asked. “Since The Red is only doing the shapes, join in on the tenor. Now we all do each part together signing the shapes, then we all sing our own shapes together and then we launch into the words. Shall we try a simple song?” They all agreed and William led them through each of the tree parts and then they all sang the song together. “Wow,” Mignon said after it was over. “That was fun.” “Wait until we get to a fuguing tune,” William replied. “What’s that,” Mignon asked. “That’s when people sing the same thing at different times.” They went from the simple songs and then went into the harder songs and even the fuguing tunes. Soon George and Louis were magically lighting the area so they could all read from the music book. They only stopped when the magic stopped. “You know,” Louis replied, “I never heard that type of music before. It’s kind of fun.”

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Rowing up the river The next day they began a longer journey up a river that passed through the mountains. Here Mignon was given the steering oar as they rowed the ship slowly up the river. The journey took longer only because they had to stop more often to rest. Further up the river they encountered more monsters. There was the den of harpies, vile creatures that looked like a cross between a vulture and a woman, who sang a song of enchantment on the whole crew. Only The Red and William were able to resist their captivating songs. The Red attacked with his bow and William with his musket and was able to drive them away long enough for the rest to come to their senses. Then there was the encounter with the river troll. This vile monster lived under a large tree that stretched into the water. It waited until twilight to attack the nearby camp. The wart covered creature towered over them all and came at them with claw and jaw. Maria was severely wounded by the trolls rending claws before John and William’s muskets brought it down. Louis was too busy healing Maria’s wounds to hear The Elf’s cry. They realized it too late when the supposedly dead troll rose up again and attacked Louis, rending his claws deep into his chest. “He must be killed with fire or acid,” Mignon cried out as loudly as she could, throwing a small ball of fire at the beast. William threw out bolts of acid from his fingers. Maria resumed the battle and brought the creature once more down. This time Mignon came with a lit torch and they proceeded to drag it from the water and to pile burning dead wood on top of it. Mignon was able to heal Louis somewhat but it took the next day before everyone was back to full health again. Several days later they were attacked by a small band of ogres. Several of them attacked in the middle of the night putting most except Maria at a distinct disadvantage. Mignon was able to cause a glow to appear around some of them and thus those not with the ability to see in total darkness were able to attack while Maria handled the ones that were not so glowing. The experiences had instilled a sense of accomplishment among the group. John felt more able in combat, as did William. George knew that he could now use one more spell of the first section and might be able to understand the spells of the third section, provided he could find someone to teach one or more to him. Louis likewise had a feeling of the ability to use new divine powers. Maria had found the ability to call more of her primal might. The Red still knew he had a ways to go before he would notice any real improvements. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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The only one who had not improved was Mignon, who shrugged it off as a part of her fey nature. “We are who we are,” she replied. Finally they passed to the other side of the mountains and George turned the boat back into a box so they could continue the journey on foot. George took the time to examine the treasure they had gotten from the troll and the ogres. (They had not followed the harpies back to their lairs.) From the lair of the troll they found magical chainmail which The Red said was elf chain and which George was able to confirm. This armor was given to John. They had also found a gem which George determined could unleash an elemental creature of fire if destroyed. They were also considerably richer as a result of finding both gem and coin. As they traveled through the wood, The Red was able to supplement Louis’ magical meals with game and other food foraged in the woods. This allowed them to not rely on the remaining iron rations and to, in the words of The Red, who was beginning to speak simple sentences in Ent through the teaching of Louis, “make you live longer.”

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Fort Necessity After a few days travel by foot, they noticed a number of small smoke trails which indicated a camp nearby to the west. They set forth for that camp and encountered a small clearing had been set up and a number of men in uniform were erecting a fort from recently felled lumber. From the uniforms they appeared to be local men from nearby Ent colonies, perhaps even from the colony of Mary and the colony of Purity. Approaching the camp they were hailed and were asked what their business was. Several gave Louis some very nervous looks and George explained that they had come from New Orc and were looking for gnomes to seek a potential sale of a special ore which they needed in the iron mines to the east. Partially satisfied of their explanation they were shown to a tent to await the arrival of the Major who was inspecting the building of the fort. While they were waiting a very tall man entered the tent. He introduced himself as Major George Washington. He and his men were quickly erecting a fort which he was calling Fort Necessity. The fort was needed, he said because he had discovered that troops from Hen had built a fort near the river to the west. In the process they had engaged the enemy and killed the commander of the Hen forces. The Major was very worried about a possible counter attack from the Hen forces once they recovered from their loss of command and wanted to be sure that the area had a good means of defense should that come to pass. He invited them to stay with him that evening and to dine with him. Leaving the tent the Major gave the group a general tour of the progress of the building of the fort. He passed by the corral where he showed the group his beautiful white horse which was his pride and joy. William saw Mignon looking at the horse and then looking at the Major. After the tour was over, but before the dinner William took Mignon to the side. “He’s a knight isn’t he,” William asked. Mignon seemed confused at first. “The Major,” William added, “a knight, a born leader; he has even got a white horse. You were always talking about looking for a knight on a white horse and here he is. Even I can see he is cute, I mean he has natural charisma. This is the one you always were looking for all these years?” “I was always looking for a knight with a white horse, who I would reveal my beauty to and would be forever with. My ideal hero or so I thought. But before I saw my knight I knew I was wrong. My hero, you see, is not he but you.” “Me,” William asked in slight surprise. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Yes you,” Mignon replied, “the rogue who stole my heart not by his charisma but by his honesty. You’re my hero, and frankly, I hate riding horses. You’re the one I want to be with.” “Even though I’ve been seen glancing at naked weretigers,” William asked. “Don’t forget the glance you got at the naked druid when she was jumping off of John and into the tree,” Mignon added. “On the other hand, you’ve seen me naked,” William responded. “Are you sure you don’t want to see the Major naked first?” “I think I’ll pass on the naked Major,” Mignon replied. “You know you haven’t seen me naked. Maria said I looked like a naked human child. You’ve seen my divine beauty; you deserve to see my natural beauty.” “Perhaps later,” William said, “but what about the Major? Are you not going to show him your divine beauty? He really deserves to see it. I’m not filled with jealously; quite the opposite. You were born to radiate beauty, you are a child of nature, and I would never oppose a person’s true nature.” “Well if you insist,” Mignon replied. “I will ask him after dinner and if he agrees I will show him my beauty. But my heart I will show only to you.” “Agreed,” William said. Back in the tent the Major dined with the group. The Red was trying out his newly learned Ent with some success. George had found out that the Major had come from the colony of Purity and they had lived relatively close to each other. The Major explained how Hen had sent a unit of troops for reasons he could only surmise was for purposes of expansion and or invasion. In quiet conversation George inquired if there was a high level member of the Order of Builders in the unit. The Major told him of such a person. Afterwards the Mignon was able to speak privately to the Major. She knew that William had been following quietly behind; close but not too close to hear anything. “So,” The Major said to Mignon, “what is such a young child as you doing this far into the wild unknown.” “How old do you think I am,” Mignon replied. “I would say you are barely a teenager,” the Major replied. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Oh that is so cute,” Mignon chuckled. “Like, I haven’t been that young for at least a century.” “That’s an odd joke,” the Major replied. “That one so young would claim to be older than any man I know.” “Any human,” Mignon replied. “You see I am not human, but fey. I am a nymph, a child of nature, but not a child. I am endowed with divine beauty because I am a child of nature.” “That is an interesting concept,” the Major replied. “But we live in modern times. I can see the long lived elves, even though they only claim their ages as well. But how would I know you are something beyond human?” “If you want I can show you that divine beauty,” Mignon said. “But only if you want.” “Well I suppose it can’t hurt,” the Major replied and so she did. From the distance William saw Mignon and the Major’s reaction to the vision of her immense divine beauty. He realized how much concentration she needed to reveal that beauty and how to others she did appear as normal as ever. But he could see the reaction in the Major’s eyes. Later William went to talk with Mignon, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with him? I have the feeling that he is going to be someone important some day.” “The only one I want who is important,” Mignon replied. “Is the one who is important to me, and that one is you.” George was able to talk to one of the officers in the unit who was a higher level wizard than he was. He was able to secure a couple of very high level scrolls and an additional scroll that he could then put into his book. “Normally,” the wizard replied, “you are not supposed to pen into your book spells higher than the current section you have recently taken. You should use this spell only if your compatriots are in mortal danger, or when you are attacking the dragon which I suppose falls into the same condition.” George then explained that as they now had a boat they would probably take some of the rivers to complete their voyage and this route will take them past a number of cities including the city of Agape. “I will send this information to the guild at Agape,” the wizard replied. “If they have an exemplification around the time when you should arrive they will NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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inform you when you get there. If not, I would recommend killing the dragon first and then going back and taking it.” “Is it really important,” George asked. “Yes and no,” the wizard replied. “I can’t tell you the details but the guild does frown on people using spells routinely that are above their completed section. It also allows the guild to know who is what level and who can be counted on in an emergency.” Louis, for his part was disappointed. The unit was mostly from the colony of Purity which pretty much consisted of people from the Church of Ent. There was one priest assigned to the unit, but he was clearly of a lower level than Louis. Moreover, he seemed highly reluctant to talk to Louis. Returning to the group he explained his evening with Maria. “It is no wonder,” she replied. “Not only are you a Hen, a native of a nation whose troops are somewhere to the northwest of us and no doubt would do these men harm if they met but you are a member of a church they do not approve of. After all, if they did approve they would never have left in the first place.” She saw the dejected look on Louis’ face. “Don’t worry, you’re among company. Look at me. I’m a female and I’m an orc, which places me right about the same level in the eyes of these fine gentlemen from Purity as an Old Empire priest.” Louis smiled and went to his pack. “I have the perfect solution for both of us,” he said. With that he pulled out a bottle. “This is ‘liturgical’ wine, but I suppose given the circumstances we can share a bottle.” “You know you can’t drink me under the table,” Maria replied. Louis proceeded to uncork the bottle. “Especially since I have only one bottle left. Perhaps we can take a detour to the colony of Mary. I’m sure they have a good collection of wine; anything but that hot buttered rum.”

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Be they ever so humble Since they had previously veered off the path heading west to go see the fort, the next day the group set off in a south east direction to get to where The Red insisted was the gnome village. Resting on the side of the hill with a beautiful view of sunset was a series of stone buildings. “The village of the gnome market,” The Red explained, slowly getting used to hearing without the use of the magic helm and speaking the language along with it. Most of the buildings were clearly designed for people smaller than normal humans, but the center building was clearly designed for those of medium height and seemed to be a combination of trading post, tavern and inn. The first order of business was getting rooms for the night. After that they went to the inn to find out who they needed to talk to. The Red said that he had been to this village before, but that was a very long time ago, even by gnome standards and a new generation had taken over most of the daily work around the village. Since the rooms were small they paired off two by two. Maria and Mignon had their own room. William and George had their own room. Louis and John had their own room, and The Red was the odd man out and was given his own room. Maria and Mignon went to their room for the night. It was dark so Mignon had a small candle which she extinguished after getting into her bed. Maria got into her own bed. It was exceptionally soft, far more than she had ever felt before. Lying on her back she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Mignon, do you mind if I ask a question?” “Like sure; why not?” “We are in an inn, am I right,” Maria asked. “Yes.” “And the inn is three stories tall and we are on the second floor are we not?” “Yes.” “Then riddle me why I see the stars over my head?” Mignon looked up, her twilight vision adjusting to the near total darkness. Above her head were flickering points of light. “Well I’ll be,” she declared. “It’s an illusion.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“You mean it’s not real,” Maria asked. “It’s magic,” Mignon replied. “Gnomes are masters at illusion. I would never have thought they would take it to the extreme of using magic as ordinary decorations. They probably do it to impress the visitors. They probably have souvenirs at the trading post as well.” In another room William stared up into the ceiling. “You know,” he said. “I think I would rather be in a tent. You can’t see the stars inside a tent.” “It’s an illusion,” George replied. “Well as long as clouds don’t roll overhead and it starts to rain,” William replied. “I don’t want to be to personal George, but I have been wondering. Maria’s your property right?” “Well yes,” George replied. “Technically …” “I’ve seen people with property before,” William said. “You don’t treat her like they do. You let her talk when she wants to talk. She’s even corrected you a couple of times and you never get angry or anything.” “Well,” George replied. “We’ve known each other for a long time; ever since I was a young man and, well, I …” “Yes?” “I love her,” George said. “There I’ve said it. I love her from her tusks to her toes. I love her smile, I love her voice. I love what she says.” “Then why haven’t you ever,” William said and trail off. “William,” George replied. “A gentleman would never talk about such things. Not that I am saying I never did it but that I would never say that I did.” “I meant marry her,” William said suddenly realizing he may have learned something better left unknown. “Marry her,” George replied. “She is an orc, I am human. That can’t be done. Well not within the Church of Ent, and I would be dammed if there is a place where it’s allowed under the common law. Humans don’t marry orcs and that is that.” “Then what about half orcs,” William replied. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Humans never let facts get in the way of their stubbornness,” George replied. “You know if she was an elf, we could marry. Ironic isn’t it.” “What about the Old Church,” William asked. “Could Louis marry you?” “I think I would have to convert,” George replied. “That would cause problems in my advancement as a wizard as I’m supposed to technically hate that church.” “Besides,” George replied. “She could have left me with those orcs. She chooses not to. I choose not to leave her either. After this is all over we will find a nice place to settle down and raise a half orc family together. Somewhere there is no one around who talks abut who owns whom.” “George,” William said. “Do you mind if I ask you one more question.” “Sure.” “What am I looking at?” “I would guess the night sky around midnight of the winter solstice judging by that constellation over there.” “Buts it almost summer,” William replied. “You want their illusions to change with the seasons?”

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I’m “ore” right The next day they got together for breakfast. The gnomes provided a fantastic breakfast which consisted of a lot of interesting things. “You really don’t want to know,” The Red insisted. They met with the local representative of the mine guild. There they negotiated a deal with a supply of the rock that burns, “It’s called coal lad,” the gnome replied. The gnome calculated the amount of coal required for the mine as well as the most optimal route needed to deliver it to the location. This route, although somewhat indirect was the one that had the most rivers involved and thus the coal could be barged most of the way. Ironically it was also the way George was suggesting for their return trip. They did want a significant down payment which caused the group to give them almost all of the treasure they had collected on the way to the gnomes save the actual magic items. “Of course, we will need a receipt,” George insisted. The sizable down payment did cause much disappointment at the trading post where they wanted to sell the group all sorts of magical things that were interesting but not much of an immediate use to the party. There was the chime of opening, but no one really had a need to open anything. There were the drums of panic, but who really wants to panic? Now there was a sword of dragon slaying, but as the sword was designed to kill gold dragons and not green dragons no one was particularly interested. Instead they settled to buy potions instead, using what remained of their now limited budget. A potion of giant strength was given for The Red and several potions of haste were given for the members of the party. Unfortunately while it would allow Maria to make more attacks it was not as effective for William and John who had to spend most of their time in combat reloading their weapons instead of attacking. It was suggested that if they used the potion and had two muskets then instead of getting one shot every 20 seconds they would be able to get 2 shots every 30 seconds. Unfortunately, there was a potential side effect of aging with these potions, so it was decided they would only be used when absolutely necessary. Armed with this contract, through Mignon’s power of scrying they were able to inform the representative of the company at the West Point. She had accomplished this through one of the elves of The Red who made the journey and stayed with the representative long enough for Mignon to recognize his image through her magic. They apparently were happy because the representative expressed a desire to get the mine up and running as soon as NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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possible. So they cut their stay with the gnomes short and headed south to reach the round about river system It was a longer walk to the river than they had expected but eventually they came to a large river where George could once again employ his boat. They proceeded down the river, which formed the border between the colony of Mary and the colony of Purity. While on the river they were attacked one night by a pair of tremendously tall four legged wingless birds. The managed to survive that encounter and The Red was able to track them to their lair where they found considerable treasure. They proceeded down the river until they reached the city in the colony of Mary where the Bishop of the Old Church was known to reside. Louis asked if they could stay there an additional day so he could have an audience with the bishop and the others agreed. Armed with new found cash they went to the town and found the best inn they could afford. Maria went for another hot bath and William and John went shopping looking for the latest in modern weaponry. Louis presented his credentials to the bishop and told him of his exploits in New Orc and of his general travels, leaving some details, such as George’s wizard ability out of the tales. He particularly noted the Hen troops to the North West and expressed his fear that the nations of the Old World might seek a proxy war in the New World to gain various advantages in trade relations. The Bishop assured Louis that the Church in the colony of Mary would not side with any Old World nation even if one nation was favorable to the Old Church and the other nation tended to persecute members of the Old Church. Louis also brought up the issue of slavery reminding the bishop of the various letters on the subject that were written by the officials of the Old Church in the old world. The bishop expressed his general agreement but pointed out that most of the owners of slaves were not members of the Old Church and that it would be unwise to call these people who assumed they were generally morally upright to this fact because they in general did not hold the moral authority of the Old Church in high esteem. The bishop seemed very interested by Louis’ description of Mignon. “I have heard stories of the fey but I thought they were just that. Would it be possible for me to meet her this evening,” he asked. “In fact I would like to meet the whole group. Elves I have seen and talked to. Orcs are alas far too common south of here. Fey on the other hand I have not met.” Louis agreed and he went back to arrange a meeting.

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George was suspicious of the motives of the bishop of the Old Church, but was comforted by Louis’ promise that he was not told of George’s association with the Guild of Builders. They arrived that evening and the bishop had prepared a feast for his guests. There were various forms of fish and shellfish, fowl and meat. “I would like to welcome you all,” the bishop greeted everyone. “I am Bishop Howard and Father Louis has told me all about your brave adventures. I realize you are not members of the Old Church and so we can dispense with any particular customs and titles. Frankly they bore me to death. Instead I want to hear stories from all of you; especially anything you think is interesting from the times you were not with Louis. I also am interested in hearing the story of the lovely lady who is called Mignon. I want to say ‘young’ but I have been told that’s not entirely true. Somehow I suspect even for a fey you are young.” “Well,” Mignon began. “I am what you call a fey, and I’m like a nymph. There are many types of fey just like there are many types of people, but we all are fey. There are male fey, female fey, good fey and even evil fey. As you can see I am like the girl fey. I am a child of nature and nature has endowed me with a hidden divine beauty which I can reveal to some types of people, humans, gnomes, Halflings and even dwarves, although I’ve never seen a dwarf myself, but not somehow to other creatures like orcs. That doesn’t make then any better or worse you understand, just different because we are all different in our own ways even when we are the same kind.” “I’ve mostly lived my life in what the humans call New Orc, east of the elves but west of the great river. I’ve been east of the river several times but not all that far. I’ve lived with Halflings and other types of fey from the tree living dryads to the ponds of the nixies. It was then I discovered the human men who were mining the land. They were cutting down trees and they made so much smoke that the sky in the middle of the day was as dark as night, but they were killed by a dragon. Then this group appeared and here I am today.” “Is it true,” Bishop Howard asked, “that you have the ability to call the divine spells of nature in a manner similar to the ancient druids?” “Well like, I think so,” Mignon replied. “But I’ve never seen an ancient druid. I can speak with the animals, talk to the plants, and encourage their growth and all sorts of cool stuff.” The Bishop talked with them all evening and wished them all good luck on their journeys. As they left, he whispered to Louis, “Remember even though you are traveling with a couple of cute non human ladies, you still have to remember your vow of celibacy.” Louis agreed that he would always remember it. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Night time rendezvous That evening George and William shared one room, The Red shared a room with John, Mignon and Maria had their own room and Louis was the odd man out. Mind you being the “odd man out” meant having a room to your self, which isn’t always a bad thing. After a chat with George, William went to the room of Maria and Mignon and knocked on their door. Mignon answered the door. “Mignon,” William said in a soft spoken manner, “I’m sorry to bother you at this time of night but George wanted to spend some quality time this evening with Maria and, well to be frank, he kicked me out of the room. I could have gone with Louis but he only has one bed and George didn’t want too many people to know about this. After all, this might be the last night we are going to be in a nice place before we go face to face with the dragon, with the possible exception of our stop at the city of Brotherly Love, but he is saying he might have something really important to do that night. He suggested that since Maria isn’t sleeping with you I could take her bed. Do you mind?” Mignon opened the door. “That is, like, so, oh just come in,” she said. “I wondered why he didn’t do that when we were at the gnomes.” “I don’t know,” William said, “Perhaps it was the illusion of the night time sky made him nervous. Or it might have been the conversation we had that night while looking at that illusion of the heavenly stars. George really loves Maria you know. It’s a shame that society says that it’s wrong for a human to want to love a non human like an orc.” “Maria really loves George as well,” Mignon said. “I can tell it in her voice, in the way she looks at him. In one sense she really is an independent spirit. She is technically the ‘property’ of George but she is only with him because she wants to be.” She paused a moment and sighed. “You’ve never seen me naked have you.” William paused. The question literally had come out of the blue. “No,” he replied. “I don’t think I have.” William paused before he asked a question of his own, “Why did you just ask that?” Mignon laughed, “Well I’ve seen you naked of course. Did I ever tell you that you humans have hair in the oddest of places? Orcs have hair in the oddest of places as well, apparently. Well anyway, nature abhors such asymmetry. But the real reason is that it is kind of warm in this room and I am going to sleep on top NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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of these covers, which really aren’t as fluffy soft as the ones from the gnomes anyway.” Suddenly Mignon doffed her tunic dress and William realized she was wearing a lot less than he originally thought. Slowly she unbuttoned her blouse and put that aside as well. “Don’t tell me you’re not warm in this room as well,” she said jumping on her bed. “Exposure to the fresh night air can only do you good.” “What about the night time bugs,” William replied. “I don’t know if they care for fey but I know they love to annoy humans.” “I am a child of nature,” she replied. “I’ve also got a magic spell.” William started to remove his clothing but left his undergarments on. “I never knew you humans wore so many layers,” she joked. “Take it all off; I think you really need that fresh air. Remember I’ve already seen you naked.” “Yes,” William replied, “but I don’t think you saw me naked in this condition.” “You are so cute when you get so shy,” Mignon replied. William removed the rest of his clothing and went on what would most likely have been Maria’s bed. “You probably should come over here,” Mignon replied while moving to one side of her bed. “Why is that?” “Because my repel vermin spell has a ten foot radius and the bed you are on is fifteen feet away from me,” she replied. “You were the one concerned with the flies. I’m a child of nature. I can cure a person of disease every day if necessary, but I can see how those flies can be annoying.” William slowly moved over to Mignon’s bed. He quickly took one side of it, placing his back firmly on the covers below him. This was either going to be a very long night or a very interesting one. Suddenly she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. William realized that it was probably going to be latter.

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The journey to the city of Brotherly Love Leaving the city the river widened considerably and their travels brought them to a large bay which flowed eventually into the ocean. Fortunately an ocean voyage was not in store for them as they then took another large river and started heading northwards up stream. As they were heading up the river, George managed to get William alone. “Thanks for the privacy last night,” George whispered to William. “Think nothing of it,” William replied. “You two needed to be alone.” “You know,” George replied. “That was the exact thing Maria said to me. I hope your quality time together was as productive as ours.” Louis headed towards their side of the ship. “You two seem exceptionally cheerful,” he replied. “I must admit that’s it is nice to have a full night’s sleep without hearing someone snore, but somehow I don’t think that applied in your case. You know just because I’ve taken a vow of celibacy …” George and William turned to face Louis. “What’s that supposed to mean,” George replied. “Nothing,” Louis replied. “I’ve talked to John and convinced him that you should be roommates whenever we go into a major town. As I said just because I’ve taken a vow of celibacy doesn’t mean I have for force it on others. Just try to be discrete.” “We will try,” George replied. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask us?” “Actually,” Louis said. “I know little of the many places of this New World, and I was wondering whether you knew anything of this city of Brotherly Love we are sailing to?” “Well,” William began. “You remember how you always talk about how the churches split from the Old Church? Well even with the Church of Ent they kept splitting, only with them they didn’t have a government to back them up. My own Church, for example, broke away from the Church of Ent. Another church broke away and was despised because they didn’t believe in such things as war. They were driven away from Ent and settled in their own colony which they called the colony of the New Whale, and they settled in the town which they then called the city of Brotherly Love.”

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“Interesting,” Louis replied. “That explains why I saw mostly people from the colony of Purity in that army to the west.” “That and the fact that the southern colony of Purity has the best fighters,” George remarked. “I thought the best fighters came from New Ent,” William insisted. Maria and Mignon, having left The Red at the helm, came back to hear the growing argument. “Isn’t that just like men,” Mignon replied, “arguing over who was better?” “Well actually,” William said. “We were discussing, albeit loudly, whose colony had the better fighter.” “Ah,” Maria replied. “A wizard and a rouge discussing who had the better fighters. At least you were not comparing conquests if you know what I mean.” “Don’t mind me,” Louis replied. “I’m just the poor celibate priest on the boat. I better see how The Red is doing. I promised him a few more Ent lessons.” Once Louis left to join The Red, George turned to the ladies. “So,” George began. “What have you two been discussing among yourselves?” “Oh nothing,” Maria replied. “Just comparing notes,” Mignon added. “You were ‘comparing notes,’” William asked in mild shock. “So,” Maria replied. “John had the encounter with the dryad. Then there’s George and me, and Mignon and William. Do you think that The Red is, well you know.” “No I don’t know,” William replied. “Well I think I do know and I don’t want to know so I’ll say ‘no’ but why did you ask?” “Because,” Mignon replied. “He and Louis would be such a couple.” “Mignon,” William rebuked. “Like ok then,” Mignon replied. “We can always find girls for them at the next town.”

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“Louis is celibate,” George replied. “I don’t think he’s even seen a naked woman.” “I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Maria replied. “Is there something you’re not telling me,” George replied. “Nothing,” Maria replied. “Louis hasn’t seen anything more of me than The Red has.” “Or that I have,” Mignon replied. George sighed and looked towards the deck of the boat. “I never thought my ‘property’ was so ‘public’ as it were. Are you always on public display?” Maria went over and kissed George on the forehead. “Don’t worry my wizard,” she replied. “They only get to see, you get the full treatment. So how long is it until we reach the next port?” “Too long,” Mignon sighed. “We probably need to make camp in a few hours,” George replied. “Then you two go and discuss the evening’s arrangements,” Maria said. “Me and Mignon want to discuss what Louis and The Red look like naked.” “We do,” Mignon asked. “Hey have you ever seen a naked male elf?” “Actually, no,” Maria replied. Reaching over to Maria, Mignon started leading her away from the men. “Then have I got a story to tell you. Did you know that elves don’t have any hair except on their heads and their eyebrows?” As the two walked away William turned to George. “Did you know that Mignon doesn’t wear any panties?” “Somehow,” George sighed, “that was information I probably didn’t need to know.” Arriving at a suitable place to set up camp, they made preparations for the night. Louis explained how in discussions with The Red and in light of recent developments a slight change to the nightly watches was in order. Instead of having the first two hour watch start off with Mignon and William it would start NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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off with Mignon and John. William would then relieve Mignon after the two hours. “Why can’t me and Mignon start off the watches like before,” William complained. “Because,” The Red insisted. “We need the watchers to be watching the camp and anything outside the camp, not each other.” And so Mignon started off the first watch with John. “So, John,” she said as a way to start a polite conversation for the night, “have you, like, ever thought about that dryad they say you had an encounter with?” “All the time,” John replied. “The oddest thing is I still don’t know her name. With all the things we did, and all the promises we made, she never told it to me.” “That’s probably because she doesn’t have one,” Mignon replied. “No, seriously, this name thing isn’t something we fey do. I only have one because a human gave it to me. We don’t often need to refer to each other in conversation and when we do it tends to be in the context which we knew each other, like ‘the one I met two summers ago by the stream at the pine valley.’ Yea, I know, that’s a real tongue twister. It sounds easier in fey. So tell me about all those promises.” “They aren’t all that many,” John replied. “I promised to come back when her child was old enough and lead her to a place that has a nice old tree that is near a place of civilization. I told her I would take her back to my village on Grand Island by the Wading River. I know a lovely old tree that would be just perfect, and it’s the right distance away from the pond and the village.” “So,” Mignon asked, “do you miss her?” “At times,” John replied. “There are times when I would wish we had met under different circumstances. When I was charmed I really had no idea what I was doing. When I wasn’t charmed she was constantly complaining that I had no idea what I was doing. There’s nothing that can deflate a man’s ego as a desperate dryad I guess, especially when you know you are being watched for your own safety.” Soon it became time for Mignon to wake William. “Wake up, my handsome prince,” she said tapping him on the shoulder, “time for your boring watch.” William got up and got ready for the watch.

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“John,” Mignon said. “Do you mind watching out there for a minute? I just want to give William a nice ‘good night’ kiss.” John turned away. He waited a minute and then another. Then he turned around to see them still in an embrace, her bare foot dangling behind her in the air. He wondered to himself how she managed to walk around barefooted and still have such clean feet. He wondered where exactly William’s hands were. He turned around and waited a few more minutes. When he turned around again they were done and Mignon had returned to her tent. The next day they packed up and returned to the ship. Ahead they saw the city of Brotherly Love, with its many buildings adorning the banks of the river. It took them a while to reach the city, and once there they quickly found a place to make port. The port city was bustling with ships of all sizes. Some of them had probably sailed in from the Old World, some from other places in the New World. Some ships were so large that they had to be moored in the deeper part of the river, and small boats were ferrying passengers and cargo to and from the shore. The harbor master approached the ship and explained the fees for docking at the harbor port. George turned to the group and said, “Everyone out of the boat.” Once everyone was out, he uttered a magic word and the boat disappeared and a wooden box appeared in his hands. The harbor master’s jaw dropped in amazement. George dropped a few coins into the harbor master’s hands. “Close that mouth,” George whispered to him. “Ere you swallow some flies.” “You know,” Louis said as they walked down the road. “You didn’t have to shock that man like that. Not everyone is used to magic. Sure it’s fine when you are in the woods and there’s no one around, but not in the towns and cities.” “You sound like the masters in my guild,” George replied. “Don’t tell anyone about magic or how the elves live for centuries. Don’t tell people that it is a dragon that is keeping them from operating a mine. Don’t tell people that Mignon isn’t a small child but a fey nymph who has magical powers. It’s time we take off the blinders of the old world and start thinking in terms of the new one. I know that’s ‘revolutionary,’ but somehow I feel this is the place to do it.” “Perhaps,” Louis replied, “but probably not now and probably not by us. Let’s kill the dragon first.” The first order of business was finding an inn for the night. Fortunately they didn’t have far to go and there were a number of options available. George NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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went to look for a guild hall to see if there was an exemplification available. Louis found out that there was an Old Church so he went to see the pastor. The Red found out that a delegation from the Five Nations had been meeting with the city fathers on the matters of the situation with the Hen forces to the west. He headed to the city hall to talk to them after their meeting. The room arrangements were different in the city because they insisted that Maria have a room on the other side of the inn. That area of the inn was reserved for orcs. William and John both waned to object to the notion, but Maria assured them that it was not worth the trouble. “But you can see why I generally don’t like the cities,” she whispered to them. Mignon had her own room, and there was one room for four available. With five men it was decided that William would be the odd man out. After all, George had told them he might be in late if there was a ceremony that was available that evening. With George still with his guild, William and John wanted to once more object to the notion that not only would Maria not be in the same area where they were going to sleep she wouldn’t even be allowed to dine with them. Mignon was apparently treated as a old child because every time she asked for something at dinner, they turned to Louis to see if it had his approval. To add interest to things, one, of the young boys, who was cleaning the tables, appeared to have a fancy to Mignon. “Whatever you do,” Louis whispered. “Don’t tell him that you are actually older than his grandmother.” “Don’t you mean great-grandmother,” William whispered back. Night time came to the city. It turned out that it was a little harder for William to visit Mignon’s room than it was back in the other city. Everyone settled down for the night save George who was still with his guild. “Well I suppose that the couple is going to be lonely segregated in this inn,” Louis commented. “I wouldn’t say that,” John replied. distances.”

“Mignon can magically move across

It was well after midnight before George returned from his guild. He promptly went to bed and refused to answer any questions.

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Last leg on the trip back to the dragon George was the last to get up in the morning. He was unusually quiet as they collected their belongings and headed towards the dining hall for breakfast. There William and Mignon met them, their cheerful demeanor indicating that at least two of the party had pleasant nights. After checking out they met up with Maria and proceeded towards the docks. “You know,” John remarked once they were on the streets, “for a city of ‘brotherly love,’ this seemed a very unfriendly place. So Maria; how was your room?” “Well, if you really want to know,” Maria replied. “Yes, I really do,” John insisted. “Mediocre to dreadful,” she replied. “There were two bulk rooms, one for the male property and one for the female property. The beds were exceptionally firm. Fortunately, from what I was told, a lot of gentlemen are leaving the city because the air is unhealthy in the summer, so it wasn’t all that crowded. In addition most of the slaves at the time were male so there was only about four of us in a room designed for sixteen. The small dining room was next to the kitchen. I’m still not sure what they served us, but it was nothing compared to Louis’ divine food or even our iron rations. I for one am glad we are leaving.” George took a turn away from the docks and towards the northern end of the city. “If you don’t mind,” he said. “I think we should launch our boat away from the docks. It is not proper for common folk to see magical effects in their presence.” “That’s not what you were saying yesterday,” John replied. “That was then,” George replied. “This is now. Let’s just say that I’ve learned my lesson; a very long and very painful lesson.” “Really,” John said. “Can you tell us about it?” “No,” George replied. “But you’re among friends,” William replied. “No!” George insisted. “Solemn oaths have bound my tongue and I shall speak of it no longer. Unless you become a wizard of the third section in which case NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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you would probably have no need to ask me those questions on your very own mind.” After walking some distance from the city, George pulled out his box and caused the ship to appear. They then boarded the ship and set sail up river to the north. Later on Louis went to George, “George,” he said. “Do you know what happened last night?” “I think I told everyone,” George insisted, “I am not allowed to discuss it. I am bound by oaths, not words; I’m talking real magic of the highest levels.” “I wasn’t talking about you,” Louis replied. “I’m talking about how they treated Maria.” “A thousand times better than how they would treat the orcs who work the fields,” George replied. “A hundred times worse than how they should treat any sentient being.” “But I thought you said you loved her,” Louis replied. “Slavery is our ‘peculiar institution,’ and we are thus cursed with it,” George said. “It doesn’t mean I have to like it. Ask The Red about how many odd glances he got in the city. Elves are rarer so people don’t have to deal with them as often, but orcs from the south are exceptionally common. They may not be as common in New Orc and New Ent, but they are here. Humans generally don’t like anything not like them. We isolate Halflings, he outright ignore kobolds, and we treat our elf neighbors as people that should be out there and hope they don’t mind when we want to keep pushing them more and more out there as we expand into this new world.” George paused, “And you want to know the real irony? We, that is to say these wonderful Ent colonies who directly or indirectly support this particular institution against a non human race, want another non human race, the exceptionally noble elves to help us in defeating another human race who are probably no less and no more potentially hostile to them than we are.” The ship continued to sail up the river. “You know,” William said to The Red, “this seems like the way back was faster than the way over there.” “It is,” The Red replied. “But that’s because we have a ship. We don’t have to rest horses and find other ways to slow ourselves down. Rivers also abhor going up and down hills. But without a ship the shortest distance between two points is still more or less a straight line.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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It took them another day to get to the end of the river. From there it took a couple of days to walk the distance from where the river was too small to sail to where the camp was. The days were filled with preparations for how they would fight the dragon. Mignon also used magic to see that the dragon was still in its lair. George would cast the spells that would control the weather from the scrolls. Louis would supplement those storms by creating more water which would be set loose on the dragon’s lair when the time was right. An additional scroll would allow an additional storm to permit Mignon to call forth bolts of lightning to aid them in the battle. Through a combination of spells and tactics the dragon would be trapped and killed. The plan was, they believed, foolproof. The Red then met up with his own men who were still camped near the mining site. He then spent the remainder of the evening with them telling stories about his adventures with the humans and the nymph. With the elves adding numbers to the party, the watches were adjusted to allow each couple, George and Maria as well as William and Mignon, some quality time before the battle. Louis, for his part, spent the evening in prayer. Of course even with all the planning, preparations had to be made. The cabin was once again made to look like it was habitable; fires were set in the fireplace and even over by the mine. The area around the dragon’s cave was arranged to that the water from the magic storm would effectively flood the dragon’s cave. When all was ready, George pulled out the scroll to summon the storm. As it was the start of summer, he was able to call forth torrential rain and it rained for several hours. Meanwhile Mignon waited by the cave entrance to send them a signal when the dragon would vacate his cave in anger. William and John found good places to hide where all expected the dragon to land. The magical snare was prepared. They had only to wait for the final battle.

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The Battle with the dragon The rain fell and fell in torrents. Clearly, Louis thought, there was going to be more than a dragon wet and angry by the time the battle began. Maria appeared to be the only one who wasn’t upset about being completely soaked, but she seemed preoccupied with the coming battle. George turned to Maria and said, “You know this dragon is big; bigger than that owl bear; bigger than those monsters. While the rest of us are standing back shooting magic and muskets you and The Red will be facing the brunt of the dragon’s fury.” “Yes,” she said. “That was the plan.” “Well,” George said, “plans can go wrong. I just wanted to say ‘I love you.’” Maria turned to George and said, “Don’t get me wrong, I love you more than life itself. There is only one thing.” “And that is?” “Love makes me happy; happy makes it hard to get angry; not being angry makes it hard to me to work up my primal force, fury and might which in turn might put me in a weaker condition and might get me killed. So if you don’t mind I would rather concentrate on those wonderful people I met at the city of Brotherly Love and what I would like to do to them, than what I might want to do and your wet naked body.” Meanwhile, William and John waited in the rain, worried that the water might do more to their gunpowder. “You know, William,” John said. “These muskets are fine, but I with we had a pair of canons to go after this beast.” “I don’t know about you John,” William said, “but I have a hard enough time trying to rapidly reload a musket. A canon would be a one shot deal at best.” It was then that The Red got the signal from Mignon. “He’s coming,” The Red said. “How do you know it’s not a ‘she,’” asked Louis. Through the darkness of the stormy sky a dark form flew. It circled through the air paying attention to the clouds of smoke from the human structures. The dragon knew they were back and hatred for their devastation of the land returned to its mind. The first time they all died without a fight; killed in their NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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sleep before they could react. The only one away ran away like a frightened deer and was just as easily killed. He did make a good meal though. He landed on the clearing and turned to the cabin. Something had grabbed one of his rear legs and started holding him back slightly. He was about to look into the annoyance when he spotted something charging at him from the corner of his eye. The dragon was indeed “small” if you consider anything that was 4’ long, not counting the tail as small. Its green scales glistened in the falling rain. Its mouth was filled with vicious teeth. Its eyes were filled with rage. Maria was the first to enter melee. It was agreed that The Red would attack later and from a different direction in order to keep the dragon constantly confused. As she charged the dragon she cried a scream of primal fury. With the dragon’s attention thus assured William and John added primal sound of their own, in the form of the sound of muskets being fired. William’s shot went true, but John’s shot glanced off of the green scales of the beast. A feeling of magic went through the dragon but the dragon was able to stave off the effects of George’s enfeeblement. The dragon struck back in the most effective manner, breathing a caustic cloud in Maria’s direction. She managed to avoid most of the cloud but burns fell across the side of her face and she started gagging at the effects of even a partial whiff of the vile cloud. Maria’s weapon had swung true against the beast and for a moment she thought that she might be able to go toe to toe with the dragon. The dragon then took the initiative and began to attack Maria with claws and mighty jaw, being very effective against the simply armored barbarian. Maria’s rage was to some extent working against her in this area and she was not able to avoid the rending effects of the dragon. Maria’s weapon missed the mark, glancing off of the green scales. William and John were rushing to reload their muskets. The Red was rushing from behind with a sword. Suddenly the air was filled with another loud noise and a bright flash as a bolt of lightning which briefly illuminated the wizard went forth from his hands and struck the side of the dragon. It continued and struck a tree on the other side of the clearing, fortunately not landing anywhere near The Red or William or John. The dragon was able to dodge the incoming effect and received less than its full force. The Red was able to attack the dragon from behind. The dragon for its part pressed on with the attack. It ripped through Maria’s side with its jaws and claws. It slapped The Red with its mighty tail. William and John once again fired their muskets but the hide of the beast proved NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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stronger than their weapons, or perhaps better than the accuracy of those weapons. A bolt of magical energy flew from George’s fingers directly to the dragon. George was pleased that his simpler spell probably did more damage to the dragon because the magic made it guaranteed to hit the monster. The speed of the combat had surprised them all. Maria was clearly severely wounded from the dragon’s brief attacks. On the other hand, the dragon was also severely injured as well. “Louis,” The Red shouted, “Maria needs healing now!” Louis ran to Maria’s aid. The dragon also apparently had decided that it was not a good thing to play with the humanoids any more and turned to take to the sky. George’s reaction was swift and suddenly a massive tangled but wet glob of webbing started to make it difficult for the dragon to move its wings. Louis had arrived and a healing aura was surrounding Maria. The dragon turned and saw the two breathing another cloud of caustic vapors striking them both directly. Maria was too weak to avoid the damage, and Louis was too distracted. Maria collapsed in Louis’ arms who, in turn, collapsed straight on top of her limp form which started to convulse in a sudden shock. Mignon, who had just arrived at the scene looked up into the heavens and cried. Seeing the fallen pair and the evil grin on the dragon’s face she screamed to the heavens. A bolt from the sky fell on the dragon and the dragon too collapsed from the heavenly blast. The battle was over. It had lasted less than a minute. Only a few shots had been fired from the muskets of William and John. Mignon ran swiftly to the side of the fallen. The Red kicked the dragon on its back and with a mighty thrust dug his sword into what he thought was the dragon’s vile black heart. William and John were running towards the group. “Heal them quickly,” George cried to Mignon. “You still have your spells.” “I can’t,” Mignon cried. “Maria’s dead! My healing will have no effect.” Turning to Louis she said, “wait, Louis is not dead yet. I can save him.” Applying her magic to Louis, the cleric slowly came to. “Maria,” he asked. “What happened to Maria?” “She is dead,” Mignon replied. “Your healing helped but neither of you could survive the direct attack of that dragon’s breath. Had she been fully healed she might have been able to survive. Had either one of you managed to avoid the breath you both would have been able to escape.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“There are too many uncertainties in life,” George said. “All I know is my love is gone. My life is gone as well.” “We can deal with loss later,” The Red said. “Mignon, make sure that Louis is fully healed. Keep those lightning bolts ready. We need to check that cave and make sure that that dragon didn’t have a brother.” “And what if he did,” asked John. “We run like hell,” The Red said. “And worry about that some other time.” Fortunately it turned out that the young dragon had lived alone. Slowly they went into the depths of the dragon’s cave with George and Louis lighting the way. Over to the corner of the lair was a small treasure. Among the various items were many coins from various cultures which amounted to a great sum. Several gems of extraordinary worth were also found there. Various items of jewelry were also found. But the most important items were a cloak and boots that seemed to radiate magic. The Red remarked that they seemed to have a elf like design and they should be identified in case there were actually baneful cursed items. “Why should I worry about what a stupid magic item is,” George said, still distraught by what had just happened. “The day my love died I died.” “Look,” Louis said. “I know that this seems like the worst thing anyone can imagine, but there are options. We don’t normally talk about these things but back in the colony of Mary there is a bishop of the Old Church who is powerful enough to cast a spell to raise the dead. There is a time limit of several days, but I’m sure we can get to him in time for him to cast the spell. Maria may be weaker afterwards but she will be alive.” “Louis,” George replied. “I understand that you have faith in your leaders, but I do not share that faith. Magic is a dangerous thing, the knowledge of magic; not the knowledge of how to do magic, but the knowledge that magic exists, can be a dangerous thing in the hands of the masses. If people knew that your bishop had the power to raise the dead do you not think that every minor despot with a small force would be at his door to ensure that they never had to worry about accidental death? I love Maria, but she was an orc. No one gives a damn about an orc. If the Hen attacks Fort Necessity there will be captains, sergeants and lots of brave men dying. Do you think the bishop is going to risk exposing himself to such a potential abuse just because we claimed that this orc helped us kill a dragon at the expense of her own life?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“You know,” Mignon said. “Like, I think there is another option. And like she’s more than willing to do it, like, because, she’s me.” “You,” George asked. “What can you do? I don’t think your inner beauty can bring her back from the dead.” “Like duh,” Mignon replied. “Male humans, gnomes, Halflings and dwarves only; so she’s disqualified by two reasons. But I’m like this child of nature. I think I mentioned that before. Like, I have these ‘nature like’ powers? Like, I can reincarnate her in like a brand new body.” “Real great Mignon,” The Red replied. “I don’t think George wants her to come back as a badger or an eagle, or even worse a boar.” “What’s wrong with a boar,” William joked. “She already had a pair of sexy tusks!” “Like, duh, Red,” Mignon replied. “I am a child of nature, not some stupid human pretending to be a druid. I and nature are like, well family. I have some pull with Mother Nature.” “Can she come back as an orc,” George replied. “Well,” Mignon replied. “I hate to say this, because it sounds like something a human might say, but orcs aren’t natural. Hey there are lots of things that ain’t natural and they are nice sweet and wonderful. I can have her come back as a human, or an elf or a dryad, but not an orc.” “Or a Halfling, or a gnome, or a dwarf,” The Red added. “Imagine Maria coming back as a short woman with a beard?” “Didn’t I say I had my pull with Mother Nature?” “There is a chance she might not want to come back,” Louis replied. “If she won’t go to me,” George replied, “I will find a way to go to her.” “That could be difficult,” Louis replied. “Suicide is a mortal sin.” “Very well,” George replied. “Cast your spell of reincarnation on her.” “But can you do it tomorrow,” John asked. “This has been a very tiring day.” “Oh sure,” Mignon replied. “Like, you got an entire week that I can cast reincarnate on her.” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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Reincarnation – It’s like magic That evening Louis made preparations. “I never realized how complex this reincarnation is,” Louis replied while getting ready to say an Old Church liturgy. “How so,” Mignon replied. “I thought it was pretty simple.” “Well,” Louis replied. “First of all, she did die so we really need to have a wake and a funeral Mass. Now when you cast the spell she will get a completely new body right? The old body is still just as dead.” “Yes,” Mignon replied. “So we will need a burial even though she won’t be dead at the time,” Louis replied. “How long will this reincarnation take?” “About an hour,” Mignon replied. “That’s good,” Louis said. “We can have the burial in the afternoon. We wouldn’t want Maria to be late for her own burial.” Louis finished setting up for his liturgy. Mignon asked The Red if she could borrow the helm of understanding languages. “I am curious as to what prayers he is saying for the occasion.” Louis began the ceremony and with the exception of Mignon no one knew exactly what he was saying. This time he preformed some ceremonies over the body of Maria before he turned his attention to the altar. “What if the reincarnation doesn’t work,” George whispered to John. “Then she won’t be attending her burial,” John replied. Realizing how that could be taken in poor taste, he quickly added, “but I’m sure she will be.” After the liturgy, Louis removed his vestments and turned to the group. “Well is any hungry? I know I am.” Suddenly they realized that they had not eaten anything since before the battle with the dragon. “Food and drink,” Louis said, “and a few bottles of the liturgical wine should make for a good meal given the circumstances.” “So,” William finally asked at the end of the meal, “does anyone have a good recipe for all this dragon meat we just got?” NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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The next day they prepared the body for display and eventual burial. A casket was prepared and she was placed within it. Then Mignon began her own magical ritual over the body which lasted for ten minutes. After that they waited. A spot was selected near the graves of the victims of the dragon. Time passed and the sun rose further into the sky. Suddenly they heard a voice, familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. “Why are you standing around like a bunch of mourners,” the female voice claimed. They turned around and saw a female elf, with straight blonde hair and having a much slimmer body than Maria’s previous orc body. The odd thing was that while she looked like a female elf, she wasn’t dressed like one. “How can she be wearing the exact clothes that Maria wore, when Maria is still wearing them and well she’s not the same size as she was,” William asked Mignon. “Well, duh,” Mignon replied in return, “It’s magic!” “Maria,” George called out. “Is that you?” “Of course it’s me,” Maria replied. “Who would expect it to be? How many female orcs do you know around here that you would think I’m someone else?” “Maria,” George said, “Look down at your self. I think you might notice you changed.” “Like you are so totally elf now,” Mignon said. Maria looked down upon her own body. Her hands were smaller, her complexion significantly lighter but most important there appeared to be a significant absence of real estate directly below her chin. “What happened to my breasts? Someone stole my breasts!” “Relax,” George said, “your old breasts are with your old body, which is, unfortunately still as dead as it was when the dragon gave you an acid bath. Mignon reincarnated you into an elf.” “A fair, slender, pointy eared and blonde elf,” John replied. “With all the physical abilities of an elf and all the mental abilities of your former self,” Mignon replied. “Don’t forget you’re blonde,” John repeated. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Like what’s wrong with being blonde, you brown haired human,” Mignon snapped back. “But I’m still everything I used to be, only in the body of an elf then,” Maria asked. “Well that sucks. I’m a barbarian or I used to be one. What am I now?” “A barbarian,” Mignon said. “No reason why you can’t still be one.” “But I’m an elf, which means I just got massively reduced on all my primary attributes a barbarian needs! And it appears I’m massively reduced on a few other things I was quite fond of.” “You do get a better dexterity,” Mignon retorted. “Big deal,” Maria said. “I can’t smell nothing, well not like I used to. I probably can’t see in the dark.” “But you will have enhanced senses,” The Red replied, “the natural ability to move silently, spot hidden doors, and did I mention innate spell resistance. Plus compared to your former body, you are practically immortal.” “Besides,” George replied. “It’s better than the alternative.” “Being dead or being an orc,” Maria replied. “Doesn’t matter, I guess you have an elf now for a slave George.” “Actually I don’t,” George replied. “My property is lying over there and she is quite dead. Fortunately the law is blind to magic, divine and arcane. I might have owned your body but I never owned your soul. You have a new body now, free and clear. You are free.” “I am free,” Maria asked in wonder. Shaking off the implications of that revelation she changed the subject. “Well can I see my old body for one last time?” “We thought you would never ask,” William said. “We were waiting for you to begin the final ceremony.” Maria went towards the casket and looked inside, “Damn I sure look ugly!” “What do you expect,” Louis replied. “You took an acid bath in the end. I wasn’t exactly looking all that good either.” “Is the dragon dead,” Maria asked. NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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“Yes,” George said, “killed by a heavenly bolt directed by Mignon. But you did most of the damage.” “Can we start the ceremony,” Louis asked. The rest agreed and they proceeded to the burial. The pit had already been prepared, and the closed the coffin and lowered it into the final resting place. “Now what do we do,” Maria wondered. “Well,” George replied, “I have a couple of magic items to identify, we need to get the place ready for the workers who will be arriving in a few days as well as to make a path for the coal to be brought from the river. After that we can settle down for a nice meal and an evening of hot buttered rum which I managed to get from the city of Brotherly Love.” “I’m definitely looking forward to the hot buttered rum,” Mignon replied. “Why,” Maria asked. “Because the playing field will be even,” Mignon insisted. “But, what about us,” Maria asked George. “Well that’s the tricky part,” George replied. “Technically you’re not my property; technically we just met even though we have known each other for years. Technically – to hell with technically, I would love it if you were to marry me, but that’s up to you because now you are free. I mean I would understand if you decided to off with The Red because I guess for an elf he’s probably cute and I’m just a human but you know I love you; even if you are an elf.” “Well,” Maria replied, “in the words of Mignon, ‘well duh,’ of course I’ll marry you.” “We will have a proper elf marriage,” The Red insisted. “After we are done here we will head to the Five Nations and celebrate in style!” “Any particular reason why I can’t preside,” Louis asked. “Well, under elf law, the women own the ‘property,’” The Red replied, “so the irony of the situation would be obvious. In any event most elves in the Five Nations are already Old Church so I’m sure they would be delighted for you to take an active part.”

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Wedding at the Five Nations It took several days to get all the preparations made, in part because everyone was equally hung over after the long night of hot buttered rum, but soon the place was filled with human workers getting the mine back into operations. The Red agreed that they could start to use wood until the first shipment of coal arrived because the looming war made the mine a strategic resource for the colonists. The magic items were identified as boots and a cloak of elvenkind. They wanted to give them to Maria but The Red pointed out that as an elf she already had the abilities of the magic items naturally. So they gave the boots to Louis and the cloak to William. The Red also agreed that his men should help the humans set up and get the place running quickly. One of the human workers was familiar with elf and he acted as a translator to the group. The elves showed the humans how to cut down enough wood to operate without causing large areas that would have problems in the next spring thaw. With things looking like they were going to be going smoothly the group set out for the trip to the Five Nations. The workers also gave interesting news. The old law in New Orc against priests of the Old Church had been repealed and Louis could practice his faith openly. “This is good news,” The Red replied. “Even though I never went for the human faith a lot of the elves did. It would be good for them to be able to fully participate in their faith. And your understanding of elf will come in handy there.” On the way, The Red gave George some practical advice, “Understand she just recently ceased being an orc and now is an elf. They don’t give people instruction manuals if you know what I mean. Most people learn about themselves as they grow with their bodies, but she gets the fully operational model from day one. Now trust me when I say I just don’t understand women. But I’ve learned a thing or two and with elves I have to give you one bit of advice.” “And what is that?” “Their ears,” The Red said. “A gentle blow, a soft caress, a kiss or two will do wonders. I’ll just say that the ears are to elves what front tusks are to orcs.” “Really,” George said. “Absolutely,” The Red insisted. “It applies to both genders. On many a lonely night without the presence of female elf company I found some solace in that NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie

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wonderful fact. Just don’t tell any of the other elves that The Red plays with his ears if you know what I mean.” “My lips are sealed,” George replied. It took several days before they arrived at the main town of The Red’s tribe within the Five Nations. Actually it was more like a city than a town, but it was spread out over a wider area and had a distinctive rural atmosphere even in the center of the town. There was the question of the “status” of Maria but since it was common for non elves to be reincarnated as elves the procedure was already set in place. Maria was adopted into the family of The Red and was then given all the rights of elf citizenship including the right to vote for leaders of the tribe nation. In addition it allowed The Red to give away Maria in the wedding ceremony. Meanwhile as the wedding preparations were being made there was a major discussion among the elves on the subject of whether or not they should support the Ent colonists against the Hen troops. Maria was surprised when the other elves actively sought her advice and council. To them she was as equal among them as any other elf. Through her advice the elves agreed to support the colonists. Finally the day for the wedding had arrived. The summer season was half way through, the crops of corn and vegetables filled the fields and the wedding took place in the evening twilight when the air had cooled but the elves could still see with their twilight vision. Maria was dressed in a fantastic elf wedding gown, garnished with vines and flowers. George was dressed in a formal elf garment for the occasion. Louis officiated in the ceremony which also included a liturgy. He was pleasantly surprised that the elves could respond back in the liturgical language of the Old Empire. Afterwards George and Maria went across the lake for their honeymoon.

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Epilogue Louis stayed with The Red and the elves. George and Maria also stayed there as well. The Red also was elected into a leadership position thanks to the brilliant campaign of Maria and was able to represent the Five Nations when the colonists began to meet in the city of Brotherly Love. William returned to his small town in New Ent, along with Mignon. John retuned to the dryad, and when the appointed time was given, he took his dryad daughter back with him on the boat that George had purchased down the great river to he great sound that bordered the Grand Island to the small village by the Wading River, where a lovely oak tree was waiting for her. The journey had been long, especially the part on the water so far away from anything resembling a tree save the dead wood that made up the ship. John was told that once the pains of puberty hit a dryad they must find their tree soon or else they might die. While on the sea she fell into fits of pain and longing. He comforted her with tales of the tree by the village, near the pond but still a nice distance away. Finally they arrived at the bank of the Wading River, and he went past the village to show her the tree. She looked at the tree, and then to John. “I love you daddy,” she said and vanished into the tree, forever to become a part of it and it a part of her. “I love you too,” John said and went back to his wife and two young boys. Raising boys in Wading River was going to a problem from now on he thought. Last and well probably least, H’pt Y’t’kt took her six husbands and soon founded a town across Albany which they called “Troy.” Soon the town was awash in kobolds and they established a salted meat shipping company that would feed an entire colonial army. But that is another story for another time.

NaNoWriMo 2007 © 2007 Christopher Beattie