Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  Sarah

  Joshua and Andrew’s initial excitement about the journey faded the farther they went from Morelle. The three travellers walked for several days without encountering another soul. This was much farther than Joshua or Andrew had ever ventured outside of Morelle and they found their surroundings to be unnerving.

  Then the thick vegetation they were struggling through opened up and they wandered into an eerie forest clearing. They walked closer to each other. Something just didn’t seem right. The trees were not the same. There was an unpleasant odour in the air and even the forest litter beneath their feet sounded different; it was somehow unsettling.

  The mood changed. Something was amiss. Joshua slowed to a crawl and held his hand up, surveying the clearing.

  The trio stopped walking and Galleon stopped talking. The sun shone down into the forest clearing, and there was a faint humming in the air. They could hear the distant shrieking of a Raetheon soaring somewhere high up. Raetheons usually shrieked when they were scared, and this did nothing to ease the tension. The three continued to creep into the forest clearing.

  “Someone’s here,” Andrew whispered. He scanned the clearing. Galleon glanced at him and then looked around, his eyes darting from tree to tree.

  “Are you sure?” Galleon whispered back. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the perimeter of the clearing.

  They all crept on farther. Galleon stepped on a twig. It broke in two and made a loud snapping sound. There was a swishing noise and a swift rush of wind. Before any of them could react, a huge net lifted up around them and engulfed their bodies.

  They dangled in the air several feet above the ground. As they struggled in vain to free themselves, a figure covered in twigs and grass rose from the ground right below them.

  “Oh, hello. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting people,” came a soft, high-pitched voice.

  Joshua, Andrew and Galleon stopped struggling and stared at this curious mass of bush and twigs.

  “I was really hoping for a Wood-boar, but it seems the three of you accidentally wandered into my trap. Well, it’s not a real trap. Well, I suppose it is but it’s not a very good one, I guess. I mean if it were a good trap, I’d have caught a Wood-boar days ago but I haven’t caught anything yet. I’m normally really good at catching things you know. Once, I caught a Raetheon accidentally. You see, it had a broken wing and, well, it sort of stumbled into the trap accidentally. I didn’t mean to hurt it, of course. I wasn’t really trying to catch it, you see…”

  “Um, sorry, but, who are you?” Joshua interrupted.

  “More to the point, can you please get us out of this infernal thing? Honestly!” Galleon said.

  “Oh, um, yes, well, that’s probably a good idea. What must you think of me? I mean, I suppose it must look rather rude of me to stand here talking whilst you’re still hanging there. I mean, it can’t be very comfortable for you in there, can it and, well…”

  “Ahem!” Andrew snapped.

  “Oh, yes, sorry. Here, let me cut you down.”

  The mass of twigs and straw pulled out a slingshot and arrow. With one swift arm action, it launched the arrow and sliced straight through the vine from which the net was suspended. The whole contraption fell to the ground with a thud.

  “Ouch! Couldn’t you have landed on him instead?” Galleon shouted.

  The three captives flailed around untangling the net and picking themselves up off the ground. They looked at the mass of twigs and straw, still somewhat dazed from the experience.

  “Sorry,” Joshua said, “but who or what are you?”

  “Hmm? Oh, sorry,” the mass of twigs replied with a giggle. And with that, a pair of hands emerged and pulled away the makeshift camouflage suit revealing a young woman. As she removed the headpiece of spiky grass she shook her head to reveal beautiful blond hair that fell to her shoulders and down her back. She looked at Joshua and smiled.

  “I’m Sarah,” she said extending her hands out to either side.

  Joshua stood there captivated. She had deep blue eyes and a small, round face with rosy cheeks and a petite pointed nose. A straight fringe of fine hair hung just above her eyes. Joshua thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. For a moment he lost track of time, where he was or even that he had moments before been held upside down in her trap. He wanted to speak. He opened his mouth but was unable to produce any words.

  Sarah giggled. The infectious sound made his heart race.

  “What are you doing here?” Andrew demanded.

  “Oh, well, I’m out on an expedition to learn new skills. I’m a Fixer. Well, I’m learning to be a Fixer that is. I mean I am really a Fixer but I’ve just not done the trials yet. I’ve been gone for several months already and, well, at least I think it’s been several months. It’s so difficult to keep track of time, you see. I did have a piece of string I was using to track the number of days and, well, I sort of lost it wrestling an injured Raetheon. It had a broken wing and fell into my trap, you see…”

  “Do you mean to say you’ve been out here alone for months?” Andrew asked, interrupting Sarah’s runaway enthusiasm. Neither he nor Joshua had ever been away from their village for more than a few days.

  Sarah giggled yet again. “Yes, that’s right. I did think about going back to my village a few times but, well, I’m not entirely sure where I am anymore and, well, I’m really enjoying myself anyway. You see, I’m learning new skills all the time. Take this trap, for example; I’ve been perfecting it over the past few days. Well, it’s not perfect yet or I would have caught a Wood-boar. Still, it did catch the three of you. Did I tell you I accidentally caught a Raetheon once? It had a broken wing and, well…”

  “Do you always talk this much?” Andrew sneered.

  “Don’t be rude, Andrew!” Joshua said, nudging him in the ribs. Although he turned his head in Andrew’s direction to deliver this admonishment, he kept his eyes trained on Sarah.

  “I’m Joshua, and this is Andrew.”

  “Hello, Joshua,” Sarah replied. “And who is this little boy you have with you?” Sarah bent towards Galleon and pinched his cheek.

  “I’m not a little boy!” Galleon retorted pulling his cheek free. “I’m an Imp. I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen anyone like me before either, then?”

  He didn’t bother waiting for an answer and started walking around brushing debris from his hair.

  “Really?” Sarah said in wonder, her eyes wide. “I’ve heard of Imps but I’ve never seen one before.”

  Galleon stopped brushing himself down and looked at Sarah. “You know about Imps?” he asked raising his eyebrow.

  “Well, only the stories I’ve been told. I thought all the Imps were gone.”

  “Hmmm. Well, not all of them,” Galleon said, continuing to pull twigs out of his hair.

  “Where are you going?” Joshua asked Sarah.

  Andrew’s shoulders sank, and he rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms and glared at Joshua. Joshua ignored him.

  “Well, nowhere in particular really. I’m travelling around all over and learning new skills. I’ve learnt so much already but I do really need to perfect my trap-building skills. I’ve been trying to trap a Wood-boar, you see and, well…”

  “Why don’t you come with us?”

  Andrew’s shoulders sank still further, and he rolled his eyes again, this time shaking his head at the same time.

  “We’re heading to the Valley of Moross,” Joshua added, continuing to ignore Andrew. “I bet you’ll learn loads of things along the way.”

  Joshua not only found Sarah very attractive but he was also impressed with her resourcefulness. Anyone that could survive on her own for as long as she already had was bound to make for an excellent travelling companion.

  “I’m sure Galleon would also love to hear everything you know about Imps. Right Galleon?” He turned to Galleon and nodded with raised eyebrows. Galleon nodded back.

  “Hmm, I’ve never been that far east before, and
I have always wanted to see the mountains. Sure, why not?”

  The four of them set off out of the clearing and into the mist. Sarah told them all about the stories she had heard about Imps from the various Traders she had encountered on her travels. Andrew just sighed and continued to shake his head.

  7

  Fable & Florelle

  The four travellers continued to move east towards the Valley of Moross. Joshua listened with fascination as Sarah recounted stories about all the new skills she had acquired. By all accounts, despite her being no older than himself, Sarah was already a very accomplished Fixer.

  She could not only hunt but was able to fashion weapons from just about anything at hand. She told them all about the different types of vines she had found and how she used these to make slingshots and bowstrings.

  Galleon at one point snagged his tunic on a hooked Bintok vine. Within minutes, Sarah found a Sprinkle bush and stripped out one of the inner spikes to use as a needle. She removed the outer skin of a twig from one of the Sprinkle bush branches and stripped it into fine thread. She then used that to sew up Galleon’s tunic until it was like new again.

  Joshua looked on with raised brows. The whole thing took no more than a couple of minutes, with little fuss. Joshua and Galleon smiled at each other with jaws dropped.

  Galleon and Sarah were getting along very well. She was the first person he had encountered for many years who had heard of Imps. Joshua could see him reacting to her warm and bubbly attitude.

  Andrew seemed mostly irritated with Sarah’s tendency to talk endlessly about everything and nothing. He didn’t find anything she did impressive. Every time she demonstrated one of her amazing abilities, he rolled his eyes and pulled a scornful face. Joshua thought it was just jealousy.

  After a few more days of travelling, the four adventurers stumbled upon an inn. It was a decent sized log hut, not unlike those Joshua was familiar with from Morelle.

  It was surrounded by a gaggle of small forest creatures. There were several baby Raetheons wandering around picking for Dengle grubs on the ground. Some of the Raetheons had bandages on their wings and or were limping.

  A hairy Wood-boar was tied to the leg of one of several tables in front of the inn. The lumbering beast was waddling about trying to catch the Raetheons as they foraged for food. It had a bandage on its hind leg and was unable to move fast enough for the more agile birds. Despite the menacing fangs, it looked fairly tame as it nosed around in the dirt for grubs.

  A pair of Chirvels was sitting on their hind legs on the roof of the inn. They were peering in opposite directions as they often did, scouting for full-grown Raetheons that might swoop in and catch them. Several more Chirvels were gnawing at leftover scraps on the tables below the two lookouts.

  Above the inn door hung a sign that read ‘Fable & Florelle’s Inn - the best Wood-wine in all of Forestium’. There was nobody else about but as they got closer, the door opened and a stout, round man came out. He was a portly figure with a gruff beard.

  He wore an apron around his waist, smeared with food stains.

  “Clear ‘oof you little scoundrels!” he shouted in a moody voice, waving at the adorable, furry Chirvels. They scattered, barely managing to escape the back of his hand.

  “Rotten vermin,” he mumbled.

  He cleared the table of the few mugs sitting there and wiped it down with a cloth he had strung over his shoulder. With a dissatisfied frown, he finished clearing the table and turned to go back into the inn.

  With a swift sweeping motion, he launched one of the injured Raetheons out of his path with his left boot. The baby Raetheon squealed when it landed and limped off. He pushed the door open and went back inside mumbling to himself slamming the door behind him.

  Joshua and Galleon looked at each other. “Charming fellow,” Galleon said. “I wonder if he treats visitors like he treats forest creatures. I’ve eaten dried Shrooms with more charm.”

  “We’ve been walking for days,” Joshua said. “We could do with a rest for a short while. Come on, let’s take a look. Maybe we can get a home-cooked meal.”

  “It would make a change from dried Dengle grubs and Wood-shrooms,” Andrew grumbled. He grimaced as if he’d just eaten something sour.

  “What? Don’t you like my boiled Wood-shrooms?” Sarah asked, raising her eyebrows.

  Everyone was grateful for her cooking skills but they had all been hoping for a good, home-cooked meal for some time now. Joshua wondered whether Sarah picked up on Andrew and Galleon being overly polite when it came to her experimenting with new recipes.

  “No, it’s great.” Andrew rolled his eyes at Joshua and winked. “It would just be nice to have something that didn’t grow off a dead tree for a change.”

  Galleon nodded in agreement. “Yes, your food is…lovely,” he said, doing his best to keep a straight face. “Really, who would have thought there were so many different ways of preparing boiled Wood-shrooms.”

  He and Andrew cast each other a glance and they both stifled a chuckle. Sarah turned to them and they both removed their smirks. She lowered her brow and pursed her lips together. Her stare lingered, and she turned her gaze back to the inn. As she did, she gave Joshua a wink, and he smiled.

  Joshua walked up to the inn door and pushed it open, and they all followed him through. Inside were a number of wooden tables positioned around a central counter. Candles hung from the rafters, and more injured animals scurried about the place.

  Some of the animals chirped and squealed as Galleon closed the door. A huge fireplace on the far left wall sported a raging fire, and Andrew went over to it to warm himself.

  There were five or six stools around each of the ragged-looking tables. The slanted roof on both sides was quite high and there were a number of strange things hanging from the rafters. Some looked like the sort of weapons Woodsmen might use but Joshua didn’t recognise many of them.

  Above the counter hung a number of brown mugs as well as an assortment of other curious looking wooden objects.

  The bearded man was standing behind the counter with one mug in his hand. He was wiping it with the same cloth he used to clear the table. He was peering at them with a grumpy look but didn’t say anything and just carried on wiping the mug.

  Judging by the man’s casual attitude at seeing them walk through the door, Joshua wondered whether they would be welcome here as customers. Galleon motioned to the table closest to the fire and they each took a stool around it and sat down.

  Just as they took their seats, a short and plump woman wandered into the inn from a door behind the counter. She had curls of untidy white hair and wore a pointed black hat.

  “Oh, be with you in a mo, me darlings,” she shouted across to them.

  She took an apron from a hook on the door and wrapped it around her waist. With a broad smile, she hurried over to their table.

  “Hello, me dears,” she beamed with a welcoming smile. “Just look at yer rosy cheeks. You look like you could do with a nice pot of me ‘ome-made stew.” Her voice was soothing just like the tones of the village Tenders back home.

  Galleon and Andrew beamed at each other and nodded.

  “Um, that sounds lovely,” Joshua said.

  “FABLE!” the woman barked in needlessly demanding voice, as she turned and looked at the counter. “ONE POT OF STEW! NOW!”

  Everyone at the table shrank in their seats. The man slammed the mug down and mumbled to himself as he turned and disappeared through the same door the plump woman had entered. She turned to them again and carried on, but in a motherly tone again.

  “Oh dear, where’s me manners?” she said in a gentle voice. “I’m Florelle, me darlings. That’s Fable over there.” Her tone was low and disapproving as she motioned towards the empty counter.

  “I’m Joshua. This is Andrew, Sarah and Galleon.” Joshua said, pointing to the others in turn.

  “Oh, well, my,” Florelle said with a lingering stare in Galleon’s direction. “We hav
en’t had an Imp here in these parts for many years now.” She peered at him.

  Galleon perked up.

  “You’ve seen Imps before?” he asked, raising his brow and widening his eyes. “How long ago?”

  “Ohhhh, not for some years now, me darling.” She gazed into open space for a moment. “T’was a time when we would see Imps regularly in here but I haven’t seen another for a good few years now.” She looked at Galleon again. “I was beginning to wonder whether they all died out or something. Glad to see I was wrong about that.” She ended with a warm smile at Galleon.

  The despondent Imp’s shoulders sank again, and he looked down at the table.

  “How about some of our famous Wood-wine to warm yer’s up?” Florelle asked with a beaming smile. Before anyone had a chance to respond, she grasped her apron, spun around towards the counter and rushed over to fetch four brown mugs.

  She returned and put the mugs on the table, went back to the counter and lifted a clay pitcher from one of the hooks above it. Hanging from a girder behind the counter was what Joshua first assumed to be a set of bellows. It looked like a big sack made of some sort of animal skin and was pointed at the bottom with a small tube extending from its lowest point.

  Florelle placed the pitcher beneath it and untwisted a screw on the end of the small dangling tube. A golden liquid flowed into the pitcher. When the pitcher was full, she twisted the screw again to stop the flow of liquid and lifted the container back to their table.

  “Ere…this is the reason people keep coming back ere,” she beamed. “It’s about the only useful thing ‘ees ever done. We call it Wood-wine. It’ll put ‘airs on yer chests, me darlings.”

  She poured the golden brown liquid into each of their mugs in turn. With the pitcher still in her hands, she stood there with a brimming smile and waited for their verdict.

  Galleon and Andrew looked at each other with suspicion. Galleon took his mug and sniffed its contents. The others watched with interest. He raised his eyebrows at Andrew and took a sip. It left a golden froth on his upper lip that he licked away.