by Kyle Spencer
The other squirrel sits in the shadows of the corner nook with numerous steins sitting on the table in front of him. We sit down on the opposite side and I slide the stein over to the sleepy-eyed squirrel. Smoky red paws catch the handle and a little mead sloshes onto the table. Those dozy emerald eyes turn toward us and he gives a slight nod in gratitude.
The squirrel and I stare at each other for what seems like forever. I bring my mug to my lips, stop, put it back on the table, then bring it to my lips again and stop. It would be rude to start drinking before him. Might as well get the obvious out of the way first, then.
“You have a story to tell us.” I say flatly. The squirrel snorts.
“I have many stories to tell.” He takes a long swig of mead. Susi and I follow suit.
“Woah!” We both exclaim at the same time. I shake my head.
“Rufus wasn't kidding about this stuff.” I smack my lips.
Susi takes another swig of her shandy. “It's like drinking raspberry jam! I've heard others say that alcohol leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste but there's absolutely none in this stuff…I think Rufus cheated me.”
“Sorry, sorry, don’t mind us.” I wave apologetically. “Please continue.” Our new friend nods and takes another swig of mead.
“Evershade used to be nothing more than a small clearing in a vast dark wood, a place where travelers could set up camp for the night in relative safety. Story has it that while camping there one night a young maiden named Dania was beset upon by a band of roving bandits that prowled the woods. But before any harm could befall her the trees themselves sprung to life in her defense. The forest claimed the bandits and Dania was left to question what she had just seen. That is, until a shadowy figure stepped out into the clearing.
“It was a guardian of the forest, a being who could uproot entire acres with simply a word. Dania had caught his eye while traveling through his domain, enrapturing him with her beauty. Under the watchful gaze of a thousand stars he professed his love for her and asked her to stay with him in his forest. Naturally she was hesitant, so the guardian tried to prove his love. Chanting ancient words and invoking ancient magiks, he brought forth from the soil a mighty tree. What would have taken centuries to grow only took mere seconds. As it grew the tree changed shape and formed a door and windows. Engravings of whimsical patterns and playful images adorned the outside while furniture of the highest quality sprouted up within. The guardian had literally grown Dania a house, right there in the clearing.
“Moved by the gesture, and slightly terrified at the guardian’s power, Dania agreed to stay. There she lived, every need cared for by the guardian, and she was happy. Her house eventually became a trading post and lodge for other travelers making their way through the forest. Pretty soon others began setting up permanent camps around the post. Dania asked the guardian if he could provide other homes for those staying. Out of his love for Dania, the guardian agreed, and the town of Evershade was born.”
“Wait-wait-wait.” Susi interrupts. She blinks a bit as if to trying to clear the fuzziness from her mind. Guess there is some alcohol in that shandy. “So what you're saying is that this entire town was grown?”
The squirrel guffaws. “Ha! Just a story, little one. It’s my token of thanks for bringing me this drink.” He stares deeply into the bottom of his mug.
“Well,” I drain my own stein, “I've heard – and seen – crazier.” The squirrel nods in agreement.
“Everyone here knows that story, but there's another part to it no one will mention. You see, whenever the guardian-”
“That'll be enough, Josef.” Rufus scowls as he descends the stairs. “Don't go fillin' these folks' heads with your horror stories before bed.”
“Are you trying to lecture me about horror stories?” Fierce green eyes shoot daggers at Rufus and the old barkeep shrinks back. Josef turns back to us. “But he's right. That's enough for tonight.” He shakily gets up from his seat and starts heading for the door, our signal to get to bed.
Susi wobbles a bit and loses her footing. Fortunately, I’m not too drunk to not catch her. “Alright you little lush. Up-we-go!” She giggles as I sling her over my shoulder and tiny paws grab onto my tail again.
Because of course.
***
Susi wakes to the rich smell of fresh pancakes mingled with the crisp tartness of fruit jams.
“Wake up, sleepy!” I throw open the window shades of our room and she yowls. “The Light! It burns! And my head...ugh…if this is simply from the shandy then I'm pretty sure that old squirrel Josef must be dead.”
I chuckle at her agony. “Don't worry,” I say, “Happens to everyone at least once.”
“You know, I can fix that for her.” The crystal that's always around my neck lights up as Leena speaks. “All you have to do is-”
“Let you out.” I finish. “No, that's okay. Besides, I have my own remedy for hangovers. Ta-da!” I carry over a huge stack of pancakes and plop them on the bed in front of Susi. The stack is as tall as she is. “Pancaaaaaakes!” I sing. “Topped with blueberry jam, raspberry jam, and honey.”
“I can't eat all of that!”
“Well if you can't then I'll finish what you don't eat.”
“But didn't you already have breakfast?”
“He already had two stacks just like that.” Lenna says. I flush a bit.
“Rufus said I couldn't have any more.” My mock pout makes Susi giggle. Except it isn’t really a mock pout. I want more damn pancakes.
“You can have what I don't finish.” She reassures me. Huehuehue…that was my plan all along…
A few minutes pass and I’m staring wide-eyed at an empty plate.
“You ate them all?!” I cry.
“Urp! Yep!” Susi lays back in a food-induced half-coma. “You were right: the pancakes cleared the pain in my head. Although now it’s replaced with an ache in my belly. Oh! But those pancakes were soooooo good!”
“She's just as bad as you.” Leena grumbles. She's just jealous she didn’t get pancake-y deliciousness.
“C'mon, let's get going.” I say after giving the little glutton a few minutes to digest. She gives me a look and I read her confusion. “There's something about this place that I don't like. It's off.”
“Is it because of Josef's story?”
“You should know by now that stories aren't just stories.” I waggle a finger at her. I hope she’s starting to understand what I mean. “I'll start packing our things. There's a washroom at the end of the hall.”
We descend the spiral stairs to find a much more crowded place than the previous night. The intoxicating smell of coffee hits my nose, as well as the nauseatingly decadent smell of blueberries and pancakes. Rufus sees us from behind his counter and waves us over.
“Hope you y'all had a good night's sleep.” A big grin reveals two large, slightly yellow teeth. He turns to Susi. “And I hope you enjoyed the pancakes.”
“Oh yes, very much so!” She nods enthusiastically.
“And I hope you enjoyed the leftovers.” Rufus grins wryly at me. I just shake my head.
“Actually, there were no leftovers.” At this Rufus' jaw drops open and he stares at the tiny maus. A second later he throws back his head with a great laugh.
“Well then I guess we're doing something right! How 'bout y'all have some coffee and relax for a bit?”
“Sorry Rufus,” I say, shrugging, “but we've got to get going. We’ve a long way to go and we don't want to lose the day.”
The low din from the other customers turns to absolute silence. Rufus nervously looks around for a second before the noise picks back up.
“You sure you can't stay for just one more night? We don't get visitors that often and all of us would be mighty pleased if y'all stayed.” There seems to be an almost panicked, pleading tone in his voice.
“Sorry, Rufus.” I say. “We thank all of you for your hospitality, but we cannot stay.” Rufus just nods and begins to clean some mugs. I turn
and nudge Susi to the door. As we leave my fur prickles as everyone's eyes stay on us. I’m right. Something is definitely off.
The eyes don't stop following us when we get to the street. Passing by the locals turns their heads and draws their gaze. Faint whispers reach my ears, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. I look down to see if Susi caught anything, but she looks just as confused as me.
We round a corner and come face-to-face with Mayor Bart. Behind him at the end of the road is a mass tangle of thorns snaking along the ground – the wall and our exit. He's surprised to see us, but smiles and bows with a flourish nonetheless.
“And I wonderful morning to the two of you!” Bart sees my pack and a frown flashes across his face. “You two wouldn't happen to be leaving so soon would you?”
“I'm afraid we must. But I thank you for all your hospitality.” I extend a paw but the mayor is hesitant to shake it. Eventually he gives in and clasps it with both of his.
“Then at least give me the honor of seeing you out of town. Least I could do.” Bart puts an arm around my shoulder and leads us towards the brambles. “As you know, the wall can be a bit finicky at times.”
We get to a stone's throw of the wall when a shrill cry from behind us sends shivers down my spine and stands my fur on end.
“My necklace! Those thieves stole my necklace!” Running around the corner at full speed is an orange and white cat wearing a light blue sun dress with floral patterns. She makes another distressed cry as she points at us. “That's them! They're the ones! Stop them!”
“Get behind me Susi.” I whisper and usher her behind my back. Bart steps away as the cat's yowling draws a small crowd around us.
“Now what exactly is going on here, Miss Amelia?” The Mayor huffs, paws on his hips.
“My necklace! The gold one with the large emerald leaf pendant! They stole it!”
“Now miss Amelia,” Bart cautions, “just because they're not from around here doesn't make them thieves. And furthemore-”
“Make them open their pack.” She sneers. Murmurs of agreement rise from the crowd. The mayor tries to settle everyone down, but can’t stop the rising tide of grumbles and accusations. He sighs and looks at us apologetically.
“Now wait a minute!” Susi shouts as she steps out from behind me. “We didn't do anything wrong! I mean, he's a monk for crying out loud! Monks don't steal!”
“Monk aren't supposed to drink either.” Amelia retorts. “This one doesn't seem to have a problem with drinking.”
“Don't forget philandering.” I chuckle to myself. “Wait. No! I didn't do anything wrong! But just to clear the air...” I toss my pack to Bart. “Here it is.” Bart nods and begins to carefully search through my things. A quiet falls over the crowd; even I hold my breath in anticipation. After a few moments Bart grunts and pulls out a delicate gold thread. Dangling at the end of it is a large emerald leaf, the outline and details accented in more gold.
Everyone gasps and Susi’s jaw hits the dirt. My heart skips a few beats and I try to swallow the lump in my throat.
“I told you!” Amelia hisses as she snatches the necklace from Bart's large paw. “I told you they were thieves!” The crowd starts up again.
“I never did trust them.”
“That little one looks shady to me.”
“I've been missing my glasses for two weeks now. I bet it was them.”
“Now calm down now folks.” Bart raises his paws to try and bring some sort of calm to the crowd. “I'm sure this is some kind of misunderstanding.”
“We...we didn't steal anything.” Susi pleads. I’m still in shock, but I narrow my gaze at Bart. He knows something.
“I'm sure you didn't, little miss, but the fact remains that this young cat's jewelry was found in your bag. Now we're not going to send you two to jail or anything like that, isn't that right, folks?” The crowd grumbles and shuffles their feet. “But we will ask you to retreat back to your rooms at the tavern for the day until we figure this whole mess out. Fair enough?”
“But-” Susi tries to protest but my paw gently pats her on the shoulder.
“Fair enough.” I says, barely audible. I turn to her and smile weakly. “Maybe we can get some more of those pancakes.”
As we enter the tavern once more silence falls amongst the crowd. Rufus, still behind the bar, casts his eyes down as he repeatedly wipes the same mug over and over again. We climb the stairs and make our way to our room. I open the door and Susi gives a surprised squeak. Looking out the window of our room is Josef, hands clasped behind his back and a sorrowful look on his face reflected in the glass. He doesn't even turn towards us.
“You expected us.” I state. Josef nods.
“Tell me,” the squirrel says after a pause, “was it a watch, a necklace, or perhaps a ring?”
“A necklace.”
Jose nods again, finally turning towards us. A single tear rolls down his cheek as he shuffles our way. He tries to get past us but the I block him.
“Why do they want to keep us here, old-timer? Why the charade?”
“You give them hope.”
“Hope for what?”
“That it would be one of you who gets chosen.”
“Chosen for what?”
“You'll see at sundown. When the time comes, find me amongst the crowd.” Josef forces his way around me. He turns and looks at Susi one more time and smiles sadly. “She was about your age.” Before any of us can respond he is gone.
“Bow,” Susi asks, trying to keep her voice from shaking, “what's going on?”
“I don't know. We'll find out soon enough. Try to rest up though. I feel it's going to be a long-ass night.”
Hours pass in absolute boredom as the darkening streaks of light on the floor mark the sun's path into twilight.
At sundown a sharp knock on our door stirs us. I get up from bed and open the door to reveal Mayor Bart and two other townsfolk. Bart holds his top hat in his hands and flashes a nervous smile.
“Good evening to you two.” He says politely.
“Fuck you.” I reply, not so politely. Bart seems genuinely hurt by those words.
“Well, ahem, yes, if you two would follow me please.” We follow the three downstairs and through a completely empty tavern. Even Rufus isn't present behind the counter. The streets outside are just as lonely. The only company we have are our shadows created by the light of the luxorbs. We continue to make turn after turn until we reach a clearing at the far end of the town. So this is where everyone went to. When we arrive excitement bubbles through the crowd. Bart turns back to us and gives a tight-lipped smile. It takes me a second to realize he's not smiling at us, but at what's behind us. We turn and Susi let’s another out another surprised squeak.
What was once an empty street is now a wall of thorns.
Bart tips his hat to us and without another word begins to make his way through the throng Susi and I look around frantically for Josef but to no avail. Wait. I hoist Susi up onto my shoulders to give her a better vantage point.
The entire crowd surrounds a raised wooden platform. On the platform is a large basket with tiny brown balls filling it to the brim. Bart's maroon top hat shifts its way through the crowd until the Mayor breaks free and climbs to the top of the platform. Everyone’s murmuring stops at once.
Susi scans the crowd for the old red squirrel. After a moment she points to our right were he’s waving to us frantically. Tugging on my ears, she directs me to Josef. We make our way around the edge of the crowd to where he stands. Alone. I sidle up to him and Susi lean over to listen in.
“So are you going to tell us what's going on?” I ask rather sharply.
“You may have noticed by now,” Josef keeps his voice low, “that the forest provides for our every want and need. But you must also know that everything comes at a price. This is our price.”
“Good evening, everyone!” Bart's voice booms across a silent crowd. “As you all well know, tonight is the last night. No
w, you may notice that Missus Shanna isn't here tonight.” A disconcerted mumble rises from the crowd. “I sent her home to grieve,” Bart explains as the noise from the crowd grows louder, “folks, folks, that's my decision and if it bothers you then you can talk about it with me afterward. Now, the reason I sent her home is because we have two newcomers here tonight.” Dead silence again. Even from the back I can hear Bart heave a long, tired sigh. “Alright folks. Let's get this over with.” The large basket is passed down from the platform and makes it way through the crowd.
“It's obvious that they want us chosen.” I say as things start to fall into place. “So why go through all the trouble of stalling us so we can participate here. Why not just label us as thieves and automatically choose us as punishment?”
“Dunno,” Josef shrugs, “It was seriously considered a few years back, when a visitor actually did steal something, but it was decided that the process is just as important as the result. Don't ask me why.” A tinge of bitter resentment creeps into his voice.
The basket makes it's way toward the back to where we're standing. We all hold our breath as it passes in front of us. Josef reaches deep into it and pulls out three walnuts. He drops one into each of our hands and makes a motion to do nothing with them. We wait as the empty basket is passed to the central platform where Bart checks it one last time. Satisfied, he holds up his walnut with one giant paw and crushes it with a tiny, echoing pop!
An explosion follows as everyone cracks their walnut simultaneously. Everyone, that is, except Susi. Her tiny paws simply cannot break the hard shell. As she struggles, sighs of relief roll over the crowd like a wave.
I turn to my right to see Josef, his shell cracked open, holding two halves of walnut meat the color of creamed coffee. Just like mine. Josef looks up from the contents of his paw to me with dawning horror.
“Here. Take this.” He shoves the walnut up towards Susi with one paw and makes a frantic 'come here' motion with the other. “Give me your walnut and take this. Do not cra-” Crack! On its own her walnut splits in two. The rancid smell of decay assaults my nose.