Two Priests One Boy
Raw never looked up from the stopwatch he held in his right hand when Steen entered the large kitchen of the rectory.
The priest was seated in front of the huge, red- bricked oven staring hard at the timer, willing it to chime. He had spent the entire wee hours of the morning baking what he considered to be his best recipe of hand kneaded, home- baked Westfall Oat bread and it was nearly browned on the edges and ready to be removed from the hot oven. The smell was heavenly! Raw drew a long breath through his nostrils and leaned his head back in satisfaction. He couldn't help uttering a muffled… mmmmm…at the thought of his freshly cooked Stormwind apple butter and hot honey being poured over the soft, cushiony bread still hot from the oven.
Without argument, the gourmet breakfast promised to start a beautiful spring day. The birds had begun their morning song outside the tiny circle shaped window above the short hardwood table that was still covered in flour from his earlier preparation efforts. There were linked sausages, grilled to perfection lined on a simple white platter. Large, brown eggs, hard –boiled with a runny yolk, chopped, crisp apples, warm with cinnamon and sugar, and the bread would complete the feast!
"Morning Raw, you been up all night again?" Steen asked his fellow priest as he poured a cup of strong, dark brewed coffee from the pot on the hot plate and sat at the messy table. One look around the room had already told him everything.
"Got up at three am to knead this dough actually and from the smell of it- worth every minute of lost sleep." The long-bearded, older priest replied, still never taking his eyes away from the watch.
Steen grinned, "I seriously can't complain about getting assigned here with you. I bet I've gained 25 pounds since the council gave me this transfer. You are by far the best chef in the priesthood my friend. Plus, you make a mean bit-o-wake-me-up coffee." Steen swallowed the hot brew and nodded in appreciation.
"There!" Exclaimed a happy Raw as the timer dinged ready in his hands. He quickly donned a set of reinforced, fire-resistant gloves from the wooden cooking butler and opened the cast iron door of the oven swiftly then carefully pulled the long wire rack from the hot cavern. Waves of heat poured into the small kitchen from the opening and sent a mouthwatering blast of the aroma of fresh bread billowing throughout the house.
"That's sinful." grinned Steen looking at Raw over the rim of his coffee mug, his eyes gleeful.
"It may be sinful but light above! It's good stuff! Do you have clean hands?' Raw was chuckling as he set the four loaves of bread on the cooling rack on the counter and covered them with a red checkered cloth.
Right at that moment, they both stopped and stared at each other.
"Did you hear that?" Steen perked his head to the side and set his coffee down on the table.
Puzzled, Raw turned toward the arch shaped door next to the oven.
"I thought I heard… something. Is it that mongrel you found in the wood the other day? Seriously Steen, you should have let that worg die on the path you found it. Worgs are nothing but trouble you know. Besides, I dislike animals." Raw stared hard at his friend as he took the few steps toward the small wooden door to the yard out back.
"Max is fine and he's outside in the barn. I have been tending to his feet; someone or something nearly burned the pads off his paws." answered the younger man.
"MAX! You…you've NAMED him? I don't care, you ARE NOT keeping him." Raw was clearly annoyed that Steen would even remotely consider keeping a wild animal on monastery premises. Why, it was unheard of! The priest huffed in disgust.
"SHHH…There it is again! Did you hear it?" Steen hushed the older priest with a quick wave of his hands.
They both held perfectly still.
"There! Again! Did you hear it? Sounds like laughter." said Raw to Steen. They both stepped forward.
There in the glen beside the rectory was a small child amidst the flowers in the morning meadow. He was giggling and running through the field of yellow-gold blossoms, his thin, long blond hair mixing gently with the yellow buds upon the early morning blooms.
He was chubby cheeked and dressed in a long white cotton nightshirt.
The toddler had an envelope pinned to his chest. Upon the envelope in beautiful script the following had been penned:
'For safe keeping"
"What the…" exclaimed a surprised Raw as he stepped onto the flagstone porch. An equally puzzled Steen followed him outside and stared. They both dropped to their haunches to meet this small visitor at eye level.
As the toddler approached them he was smiling, his gait one that spoke of newness to walking. He lumbered toward the duo on the porch and stood before Raw. With swiftness too fast for such a small person the boy snatched a handful of Raw's long beard and gave an unusually hard YANK!
"Ow! WHAT THE HECK!" cried the older priest as he fell back on his rear end.
The boy let out a string of gleeful giggles and repeated" Ow-wee." and pointed at Raw's face with a chubby finger.
Steen sucked a hearty laugh back behind his teeth as he observed the middle aged priest rubbing his chin with one hand and backside with the other.
"Come here little one." said Steen softly to the child as he stretched out his hand to the boy. "Come here." He encouraged.
The child inched toward the younger priest, still grinning, his rosy, chubby cheeks flushed with color from running through the flowerbeds.
Quietly he looked at the child's round little face and asked
" Well, hi there, who are you? Huh? What's your name little one?" Steen grinned at the lad as he carefully grasped the boy's forearm.
"MA-WAW-DIS" the boy slammed the answer into Steen's face.
"Marriddis?" repeated Steen.
The boys open palm swept up with a THAWCK! smacked up against Steen's cheek.
"MA-WAW-DIS!" the toddler corrected as he reached down and grabbed a piece of worg scat Max had left near the step of the porch after barely having made it outside. The youngster promptly smacked Raw across the face leaving a nasty brown mark across the older priest's left cheek.
Letting out a stream of giggles at his own entertainment tactics, Marudas pointed at Raw's face and said
"POO!" and continued his gleeful reaction at his own antics.
The child was sitting in the bucket Steen had modified as a booster seat; which had then been attached with a rope to the bench of the kitchen table. In one chubby fist, Marudas held a half-eaten plump sausage and in the other a small wooden spoon dripping with Raw's applesauce. He was happily banging the end of the spoon on the table while he punctuated every rhythmic spoon hit with a "LA- LA- LA- LA" in a singsong, high pitch voice.
He turned a sticky face at the two priests, stuck his tongue out and promptly gave them a wet raspberry, splattering the pair with the un-swallowed happiness of the breakfast Raw had so lovingly prepared.
Giggling, he stuffed his mouth full again and resumed his morning song.
Raw gave Steen a shell-shocked stare. The men were beside themselves and totally out of their circle of comfort. They both looked exhausted and were covered in bits and pieces of breakfast fare, from collar to hem of robe.
Steen released a long held breath in the form of a defeated, tired sigh, taking in the vision of the boy in the seat before him and returned Raw's stare with a helpless shrug.
"Hellooooo? Anybody home?" came a soft female voice from the front walkway of the cottage.
Startled back to reality Steen and Raw looked at each other and said "The Ladies!" Both men simultaneously remembering they were expecting company this fine spring morning.
Jumping into action Raw smoothed his long beard, tangling his fingers in his sticky whiskers in the process. Steen wiped his hands down the front of his robes, doing his best to smooth the wrinkles and cleared his throat.
"We're in the kitchen!" He yelled out, his voice sounding slightly desperate and relieved all at once.
Saks and Sariseva were tethering their beautiful white mares to the hitching post in front of the rectory. Saks lifted a small basket from the back of her mount, carefully sliding it up her arm.
'We'll be right in." Saks hollered back as she checked the contents of her basket and whispered a slight "Shhh", to the pet within.
"Sari did you bring my roses? They will make a beautiful centerpiece for the receiving table for services this week." Saks looked up from the basket as she questioned the tall, beautiful woman standing next to her mount.
"Yes, I have them here. You have such a green thumb Saks! They are the most beautiful shade of yellow I have ever seen! I haven't a clue how you get them to shade the way they do. I think you missed your true calling when you entered the priesthood. You should have been a gardener. They are truly fabulous!" Sariseva buried her nose in the large bundle of perfectly budded yellow roses and took a deep breath of the flowery scent, closing her eyes and losing herself in the fragrance.
Saks blushed a little, "You're so sweet Sari! Why thank you, I love roses, what woman doesn't?"
They walked to the front door and were met by the men who were stumbling over each other to let them in, their movements were jerky and they were a mess!
"Oh! Thank you! THANK YOU! Light Above! LOOK Steen and PRAISE as we are saved! Yes! Yes! Do come in! Please come in, welcome! I have made a breakfast", Raw was gushing the words and practically pulling Sariseva and Saks into the cottage. Steen was quick to open the door for them, his head nodding a quick agreement.
Sari glanced a quizzical look in Saks's direction and saw that Steen had an equally anxious grin upon his face that mirrored that of Raw. It was then she noticed the disheveled state of their clothing. Steen had a section of hair pointing straight out from behind his ear and Raw's beard was a tangled mess of wire.
"What in the world is going on in here? What have you two been up to?"
Saks and Sari stopped cold in the doorway and stared at the men.
Saks tapped her foot.
Raw and Steen stared at theirs.
Marudas was unbound.
The toddler shot into the room, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet and pointing his spoon in the direction of the women; "Nan! Nan! Mimee! Mimee!" he clearly addressed the two newcomers. He excitedly hopped toward the back door all the while yelling "Puppies, PUPPIES! PUPPIES!' Clearly the child wanted them to follow him.
Sari and Saks looked at each other with twin astonishment and then looked back to the men.
"Whose child is that?" Saks questioned Raw directly; she was still in a state of confusion as to exactly what had been happening here this fine morning. Sari became aware that her jaw had been open and closed her mouth, and turning to Steen, tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"He showed up." Was all that Steen could manage to squeak out.
"What do you mean 'He showed up'? That makes no sense." Sariseva was as confused as Saks looked.
Raw picked up the explanation:
"He just showed up… this morning… about forty five minutes ago. I was taking the bread from the oven and we heard him laughing and running in the backyard. There he was. We brought him inside; he was hungry so we fixed him a plate and sat him down to eat. Here, "Raw handed Sari the letter that had been pinned to the front of the nightshirt of the boy," This is all we know of him."
Sari opened the note and read the following impeccably penned message aloud:
"This is our child. We find ourselves in a position to be unable to properly care for him. We can think of no better or safer place for him to be. Please understand that it is with great grievance that we entrust him into your care. He is loved and he is very special. We cannot and will not return for him. Know ye this.. He is destined for things that we don't understand and are better explained by the environment you can offer him. Please let him know that he is always loved. Please keep him safe."
Saks took the letter from Sari's hands and scanned it with her own eyes.
"My word!" was all she could say.
Right at that second Marudas came rushing back into the front entry and grabbed the hem of Raw's robe looked up at him and yelled "PUPPIES! Hey… hey..POO!" He addressed Raw demandingly," Puppies out der...Poo.. come.. Puppies!" Tugging hard on the fabric with his sticky hands and nearly pulling Raw to the floor as he turned toward the yard and did his best to drag the older priest with him.
Steen bit back a chuckle but couldn't hide his grin, "Aw ..Raw he likes you, he called you Poo."
"SHUT UP." Raw's tone was flat in response. His teeth were clenched.
Steen dropped to eye level with the boy, " Yes, there's a puppy out there." The words were softly directed at the child.
Marudas released Raw's garment from his grip and lumbered toward Steen;
He placed a hand on each of Steen's cheek and turned his face to look him directly in the eyes; softly he whispered to the young priest, "Noob…puppy…out der..(Marudas pointed to the back door of the cottage); "Noob…come, puppy owee, puppy oweee. The toddler then pointed to his own feet and looked back in Steen's eyes.
"I don't believe this!' Steen lifted his face to the three standing over him and the child. He was astonished!
"Don't believe what?" the older priest chuckled." That he called you Noob? I can believe that! Aww…. Steen I think he likes you." Raw's tone was mocking through his grin.
"He knows!"
"Knows what?" asked a still confused Saks.
"He knows the worg has injured paws." Steen was amazed at this realization and searched the faces of his fellow priests one by one as he looked up from his spot on the floor near the child.
"Worg!" Saks gasped and unconsciously pulled her pets' basket closer to her body. "What Worg? What has been happening down here this week?!" First this child! And..and… Now a dangerous Worg? You men are out of sorts!" She was unnerved at the unexpected turn this visit had taken and frankly was scared for Alicat, her smoky colored cat that hid in the basket.
"How could he possibly know that worg has burned Paws?" Steen was still trying to figure it out and spoke more to himself at that point than the others.
Marudas sat beside Steen and pulled off one white dirty sock exposing a tiny foot that was beet red and hot to the touch.
"Owee.. Noob..Puppy oweee." Marudas showed Steen his feet.
His big round eyes then met Sari's gaze.
They all gasped simultaneously and exchanging amazed looks with each other, knowing this was beyond them all.
Steen allowed the child to grasp his hand and be led to the back door. The other three partially stunned priests were following closely behind the pair. They made their way down the stone pathway to the barn, with the boy chattering to Steen about puppies and owees for the entire walk.
The toddler stopped at the entrance to the comfy looking old structure with its high thatched roof and light smell of hay and horses. Marudas put a sticky finger to his lips, looked up at Steen and said with all the seriousness his young round face could convey stated, "Shhh..kk? Noob.. Shhh." Under any other circumstance that exchange would have been unbelievably funny, but things being what they were Steen stopped and watched the boy tip- toe into the barn.
The first stall on the left side of the barn was unlatched and strands of hay were scattered about on the dirt doorway. A heavy breathing was coming from the creature within, sounding much like the type of sleep that comes from exhaustion by pain or having been over-worked.
Saks stood at the entry to the barn clutching her basket close to her body, not wanting to take another step forward;
"Steen! Don't you let that baby go in there with that animal! I won't have it!', Saks voice was a harsh whisper and her expression was alarmed that Steen would consent to allowing this child anywhere near a wild worg.
"Mimee…shhh..kk? "Mawadas is kk. KK?" the boy turned and faced the beautiful lady in the doorway. A feeling of calm overcame Saks and she answered him with an unusually soft "OK Babe, if you're sure about this."
Marudas gently led Steen to the doorway moving ever so slowly all the while saying "Shhh, shhh, shhh" as if whispering a reminder to himself. They turned into the stall and there lay the worg nestled in a bed of hay in the corner of the small area. The morning strands of sunlight sliced through a space in the wooden wall, capturing the tiny dust particles as they floated through the air and danced onto the sleeping wolfing.
The creature was large and its white fur was unkempt and straggly with parts of the mane matted and muddied. The four paws bore Steen's mark of attempted doctoring and were covered with clean white cotton bandages. There was a slight medicinal smell coming from the wraps.
Sari sniffed the air," Is that Sungrass and Goldthorn I smell on those bandages Steen?" She asked the young priest.
"Yes, as recommended by the Alchemist in Stormwind. Why? Should it have been something else you think?"
"For burns? No, that's what is commonly used. Well, for people anyway, I am unsure about worgan though. I assume it would be the same, would be logical to me anyway." Sari was carefully eyeing the toddler while she answered Steen.
Marudas crept next to the sleeping worg and knelt down beside him glancing in Steen and Raw's direction every few seconds all while repeating "shh, shh, shh" in his little whispery breaths.
His tiny hand gently picked up the worgs right foreleg and he began to unwrap the bandage. The worg's paws, although not grown to full size, were twice the size of the toddlers hands. A low rumble of a growl began to quiver the belly of the beast, the boy continued his rhythmic "shh, shh, shh." directed more at the animal now than to the priests who stood nearby.
"This is not good Steen; it's not safe for any of us in here. An injured worg is nothing to be toyed with." Raw's forehead was lined with worried crevices and his gaze never strayed from the child on the stall floor. A slight sheen of perspiration covered his hairline and his fingers nervously threaded through his long beard. "We should take this child from here and go…now." Raw's every nerve stood on edge and he poised himself to snatch the child up should the creature awaken.
Steen moved slightly closer to the boy, a great desire to protect the child filled his gut; he fought to keep his instinct to grab the babe and run out of the barn with every inch of control he could muster. Raw was right, they shouldn't have allowed him anywhere near this wild animal. What had he been thinking!
Sariseva stood holding her breath, watching every detail of the encounter with an Eagle eye. Her mind was sending the worg soothing thoughts as she sent a prayer for safety to encircle the child. She was rooted to the spot where she stood and found that her feet were unmovable. She opened her mouth to tell the others but no words came to her tongue.
Saks stood at the back, biting her bottom lip and clutching Alicats' basket ever so close to her side.
"shh, shh." Marudas was rocking his little body back and forth just a tiny fraction of an inch as he held the great paw in his hands. He pulled the remainder of the bandage and exposed the pad of the paw. The flesh was severely burned and open, seeping raw meat where there was once a pad exposed to the morning air. The wound was terrible, the burn deep and although Steen had done well in his attempts to clean it and provide medicine for healing, the injury was devastating to the animal and eventually would have brought about its death.
Marudas took each leg in turn and gingerly unwrapped every bandage, the next paw looking worse than the one before. The four priests stood mesmerized and unable to assist or move, each frozen in position with expressions of utter concern and angst.
The tiny fingers began to touch every part of exposed injury on the wolfing, the child still repeating shh, shh, shh, in little rhythmic whispers. As the adults watched in hope and terror Maru's fingers danced across the afflictions with rapid fire, smoothing and tapping and massaging the four extremities of the beast.
Then it began to happen!
Miraculously, slight dark strings of paw pad began to appear and sew their way into one another and across the raw burned edges of the wounds. Cross sectioning and re crossing until all of the paws were restored to health!
"MY WORD!" exclaimed a shocked Saks, her jaw more open than closed. "What in the name of The Lightbringer himself! Do you all see that? Or have I finally lost my mind! Did those Paws just knit themselves back together? Someone say SOMETHING!" Her voice was filled with amazement at the witnessing of such an event.
None of the priests could say a word. They each looked at the other in silent astonishment rooted in time to the spot they stood.
But what none of them realized was the real miracle was about to happen.
What was about to manifest was bigger than all their powers combined.
Marudas fell into a trance. His eyes wide and open and gaping, as if staring into something or someone unseen. His lips still mouthing "shh, shh, shh,' but no sound emerged. He fell to the side and into Maxs' left haunch.
The beast was instantly snapped and bore up on his newly healed feet with a loud growling and snatching of jaw.
Saks screams filled the barn.
A flock of white pigeons flew from the loft.
~~~~~~~to be continued~~~~~~
Saks' shrill screams filled the barn where the priests stood -frozen in horror at the great wolfling which was snarling in the stable before them. The beast's lips curled over long, ivory fangs inching longer than the priest's fingers; exposing pink, dripping gums to the terrified four. It bore up on its hind legs and towered over them growling and snapping its' jaws at the witnesses.
Marudas fell to the bed of hay beneath the creature, seemingly oblivious to the horror around him, his tiny pink mouth, pursed like a rose bud, still mouthing a silent "shh, shh, shh" his pale, blue eyes wide and staring at some unseen apparition. The great worgs' tail curled protectively around the child.
None of the priests could move an inch, unable to react or assist, like stone statues they were rooted in their places with only the screams of Saks filling their ears. In terror they viewed the boy on the bed of hay with his great wild protector promising none would gain an inch to its young savior.
Steen's mind was screaming for him to grab the child, he struggled against his invisible bonds, internally agonizing for release to save this child. Searing -white terror filled his mind as adrenaline flowed through his veins like hot lava down a mountainside.
Raw was paralyzed, glued to the spot in time in the barn, his heart racing like a woodpecker's rapid beak tapping on a hardwood tree. His mind consumed with urgent need to save the boy, yet incapable of reaction. His eyes never leaving those of the worg's and ready to instantly grab the child once this invisible force released its grip.
Sariseva's mind was wild with the terror before her. She began to leap to snatch the child up and away from the wolfing but was also frozen to her space in the barn. Her thoughts worked relentlessly to soothe the wild animal, whose wild green eyes were now fixed on pinpointing her as its target. A thin glistening of perspiration shone on her agonized face as she focused every thought in her power to calm the worg and encircle the child in the light of protection. She fought wave after wave of nausea as her protective instincts were denied by this unseen force. Helpless, she focused on Marudas' tiny form, lying in the golden hay upon the stable floor.
Saks fell to her knees, still screaming and clutching her small basket to her chest. Desperate to reach the child but nearly immobilized by her fears she inched her way toward the great wolf. She was the only one of the four capable of physical movement. Terror gripped her gut like a living force within her belly. Horrified, she knew what she must do.
"Move slowly and try not to scream.' Came the calming female voice in her mind.
It was Sari!
"Put the basket aside so you can get the babe. Move slowly and cautiously..I have the beasts' eyes on me. You must get the child quickly; I cannot hold this creature for long."
Saks bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood, rapid hiccupping breaths came from her chest as she set her basket beside the wood on the back side of the stall. Her fingers instantly rechecking the front clasp to ensure her beloved Alicat was safe within its' confines. Warm sunlight washed her cheeks which were wet with unrealized tears; Saks faced the worg and the child who lay behind it.
The woman straightened her shoulders and squarely set her stance before the wolfing. Sniffling she slowly began to inch her way across the dirt floor on her knees in the direction of where Marudas lay, her eyes sharply on the snarling beast before her, she called to him quietly;
"Marudas, I'm coming, don't move." Her voice was a weak whimper under rapid breaths.
The child was totally unaware of any spoken word around him. As the priest crept closer, she began to smell the worgan, blood and medicine, puppy breath mixed with wet dog fur filled her nose. Despite her every fiber wanting to turn, grab Ali's basket and shriek for the barn door; she moved her terrified form toward the child on the bed of hay.
Max's teeth snatched at her hair and face, missing its target by mere hairs-breath.
AT that precise moment, with a wild yell sounding more like a war cry than a scream, Saks lunged toward the child and covered him with the whole of her body.
The worg turned in an instant and released a howl the shook the beams above their heads. Saks squinted her eyes tightly as she curled her body protectively around that of the babe beneath her and waited for the attack.
"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!"
It was Sari! ….and she had a pitchfork…
"Here..HERE..' she screamed, waving the weapon in an arc in front of her; Sari distracted the beast from its intended prey. Growling, the worgan's glazed, green eyes focused on the crazed woman.
Poised like a javelin combatant at the Olympics, Sari stood at the doorway of the tiny stable her narrowed eyes on the wolfing, ready to impale the animal at any cost to her own safety.
The Worg fixed its gaze solely on this new aggressor, but unwilling to charge the foe- it howled a second time until the rafters shuddered tiny bits of ancient dust upon the people in the barn.
Then the basket by the wood suddenly began to wiggle vigorously and with a loud POP! Out jumped Alicat! With puffed up fur and arch-backed the cat lunged toward the worgan! Hissing and swiping at the massive creature measuring twenty times its size.
With a side step dance, (that only cats can do when they're really ticked off) it pranced in front of the monster, yowling and daring the huge mongrel to take its best shot!
"NO! ALI! NO! OH GOD! RUN!" Saks was screaming from her position on the hay, shock reverberated through her body like a bolt of severed lightening. She tightened her body and curled around the child to shield it from what she knew would be her final moments in this life.
Ali shot from the stall like an arrow from a bow and the worg bolt out behind the feline in fiery chase.
As if on cue, the priests were instantly released from the unseen bonds that had held them in grip. Raw raced and slammed the door shut. He pulled the cross latch down to secure it and then flattened his back against the door for added protection.
Steen leapt toward the woman and child in the hay, and threw his arms around them protectively while searching the area where the worg had just exited.
Sari ran toward the pile of people in the hay, "Who's injured? Are any of you injured? Saks! Easy now, easy! Check the boy!"
"Oh my word! Sari- Ali is out there! ALI IS OUT THERE!" Saks was blubbering tears and close to hysterics.
"Extraordinary."
The words were almost a whisper as Snuff examined the trail of tiny sparkling, dust -like material through the leaves on the floor of the wood.
"Isn't it though?" Huit commented, equally entranced by the spectral glitter.
The two druids were bent at the waist, focused on the tiny, nearly invisible line of shining strands of thread which created a minute trail through the bed of leaves and underbrush of the forest. Oblivious to their surroundings, they waited as every tiny breeze parted the leaves above the trees allowing sunlight to lighten the path that was so slight, but yet so very significant. They crept along, side by side, examining and pointing in wonder.
Huit had noticed the sign several days before and had sent word to Snuff to come to Auberdine from The Stormpeak Retreat. Naturally, Snuff thought Huit was losing what little mind he was known to possess, however, Snuff, on hearing the call of a fellow Druid, was only too happy to travel to Azeroth. He had been busy in his instructional duties, and visiting an old school chum seemed exactly what he needed right now.
What he didn't expect was to encounter an ancient sign that hadn't been seen since the beginning of recorded time. He didn't expect to witness what was known as the trail of the Mekkalee-Pon. Old Druish writings which were often unrecognized by modern Druids, occasionally referred to the trail of the Mekkalee-Pon as a highly religious sign of nature and one that led to eternal life. Most current day Druids passed the story off as ancient legend and gave it no further thought. Never had the pair of friends thought much of the old legend to overly concern themselves with gathering a full understanding of the text. Instead, they chose to adopt the more current views of Druism, entertaining such an event as lore-based and unlikely.
The trail had led the pair from the soft shoreline of Auberdine docks, where the simple dirt roads curved into elven woods, all the way to the suburbs of Stormwind. The land was foreign to them and both. Having visited this human city only once during their school days on a field trip, neither could understand why an elven legend would lead them to this place. The fresh smell of land and tilled dirt was a nice change to their surroundings. They had entered the little forest not long ago.
"Wow! Do you smell that?" Huit perked his head up to look at Snuff, surprise in his eyes.
"I sure do! Did you have cabbage last night before we left the inn? Or more cheese?"
Huit answered Snuff with a sharp elbow to his side. "Idiot! The food! Can you smell the food?" He demanded.
Snuff turned his nose to the air around him and took in a deep breath. Excitement had prevented him from taking any breakfast at the inn in the city this morning, and sure enough, the aroma of bread filled the air around him. Hunger gripped his mid-section.
"Wow! Where is that coming from I wonder?" Snuff was breathing deeply trying to discern the direction of origin for the heavenly smell.
"I don't know but someone has been busy this morning. It certainly smells delightful." Huit turned his focus back the thinly traced trail they had been so diligently following for days now.
"C'mon, back to work. We haven't come this far to lose this trail and who knows, it could disappear at any moment! We just cannot take that chance." Huit bent back over and started to walk along the trail again.
Snuff followed behind for a few more paces, but hunger was getting the better of him and he drifted off the given path to the west, toward the direction of the wonderful aroma.
~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~
"Oh! Sari! "Ali is out there!" Saks was cautiously pealing her body away from the tiny child beneath her. Her voice was shaking and broken from fright and tears. She looked at Sariseva with eyes filled with tears. She picked the small bundle of child up into her arms and held him outward to face the other priests.
Marudas was still entranced, his tiny fingers tapping together silently, as if he were still healing the worg, his gaze distant and seeing, his mouth still moving with a silent whispering "shhh". Sari gathered the child up and laid him flat upon the softness of the hay. She immediately began inspecting every portion of the boy's body, ensuring to her satisfaction that no injury had befallen him in the fray.
Raw, certain there would be no way the wild animal could re-enter the barn, ran back to the stall where the others were inspecting the child.
"Are you all well? Is everyone unhurt?" Raw was shaking with leftover adrenaline and dropped to his knees by the boy in the hay.
"Yes, I think we're fine Raw." Steen was still on alert. He leaned his face over the child and picked up one of the tiny hands, which continued to move in rhythmic fashion.
"Raw, Look at this would you?" Steen was peering at the boy's fingertips intently. "I think something got on the babe's fingers." Steen turned the small hand palm up so the others could get a look.
Small blister-like beads were forming on the tips of Marudas's fingertips. Tiny orbs the color of muted oil; three or four to a finger, were appearing on every single one of his fingertips.
"What in the Name of The Lightbringer Himself is this?' Steen's brows were knitted together and closely inspecting one tiny finger. "Did he receive the burn? You all saw how his feet had become hot and red. But this, THIS…is not the same.. Is It?"
"I don't know I have never seen anything like it." Sari was looking at the tiny pink digit Steen held in his palm. The little orbs were shaping up to be rounder and a little fuller with fluid. She was becoming concerned for the child.
"Hello the House!" hollered a strong male voice bearing a thick accent from the barnyard outside.
Steen rose up and went to the door of the barn. "Who comes calling?' he responded, his voice a strong unwavering statement, and filled with a tone of iron defense. He was resolved never take another chance, and this morning had been filled with enough excitement to last for a good length of his lifetime.
"What now?" whispered Saks under her breath as she moved closer to the child. Sari shook her head slightly and placed a finger to her lips.
The druid spoke through the latched barn door, "I am Snuff and this is my fellow druid Huit. We are travelers from Kalmindor. The smell of bread was too tempting for my nose to resist."
Raw looked at Sari with an arched eyebrow and mouthed" Kalmindor?" Clearly he was curious. No Druids ever ventured this far into Elwyn Forest.
Steen unlatched the barn door and peeked with one eye thru the slight opening. Sure enough, there stood two druid nightelves, dressed in native leathers from the far off country. He wondered" Could this morning become any stranger?" The priest was fairly shocked at their appearance, and without question, they were what they said to be- Traveling Nightelf Druids. Gathering his manners he welcomed the holy men.
"Greetings gentlemen, please forgive my lack of mannerly welcomes, we have been having a sort of unexpected excitement this morning. Please come into the barn, there's a worg running loose about the place. Can't have you visitors at risk." He opened the barn door wide enough and waved them enter with his hand.
Huit and Snuff entered the barn, the smell of blood and worg, hay and medicine filled the air.
"Is there something we can assist with? Huit here has a way with the animals that is unmatched." Snuff looked about the barn and things seemed fairly calm and pleasant to him. It was then he noticed the stall and people to the left.
He also noticed that was where the trail of the Mekkalee-Pon Ended.
Pulling Huit front and center. Snuff pointed and in a voice, electrified with shock and wonder!
"The Trail! THE TRAIL! SEE? It ends here! Look Huit! A Child! A Child in the Hay!"
The four priests stared at the pair of druids- confusion spread across all their features like a disease.
It was then a tiny "PING!" noise caught all their attention to the child. From a lone fingertip rose a tiny, elemental creature bearing gossamer wings of pale green and gold. It was glittery in appearance and no bigger than half a fingernail. The creature had a small head and slender body and flitted through the air on the minute, sheer –looking, bisected wings which rose slightly from its back. It winked in the streaming sunlight; dodging in and out of the little dust particles and danced upon the brow of the boy on the floor in the golden hay.
PING! PING! PING!
Saks sucked in a hard breath,
"OH MY WORD! SARI! CAN YOU SEE THEM?"
Sariseva couldn't believe her eyes! They were tiny, little creatures that gathered and winked upon the brow of the tiny babe in the hay. The streaming sunlight flickered, like diamond specks, tossed from their gossamer winglets. Never had she seen or heard of any such phenomena!
"What in the world?" Raw was mesmerized by the event unfolding before him. The wee elementals clustered about the child were forming a circlet of golden light above his head. Marudas's fingers were still tapping and his breath became deeper as he began to close his eyes ever so slightly.
Huit and Snuff moved forward toward the child.
"This cannot be! How can a human child show the signs of an elven legend?" Huit whispered to no one in particular, as the scene before him drew him closer to the babe in the corner. Both he and Snuff weren't the best versed in the ancient text, neither one of them had adopted that part of the druish ancient writings as part of their beliefs. To them, this was more legend than fact, making the situation before them, that much more mysterious and unbelievable.
Steen gathered his messy priestly robes and although he was interested in the happenings here in the old barn, his main concern at this point was to gather the small crowd and head back into the rectory. He was tired and annoyed and his mind was swimming from all the activities of the morning. To him it felt like mid-day and it was barely past daybreak. He was fascinated by the elementals but in his reality, they had no meaning. It was a strange occurrence that he would muse about after some hot coffee and cold breakfast.
"Help them up. Let's gather back to the kitchen, there's danger afloat and we need to get Marudas where we can better assess his condition. "Stated Steen as he opened the wooden door to the barn and peered outside for signs of the Worg.
Sariseva gathered the child from Saks arms and Snuff gently helped the beautiful priestess up from her position on the hay strewn floor of the stable. Saks was a mess, her face streaked with tears under her expression of shock and wonder at this small child. This seemingly ordinary child, who obviously was not ordinary in any way; well, in any way that they would have considered ordinary before today had dawned.
"What does this mean?" Raw asked Snuff on the path back to the small kitchen, "Exactly what kind of witchery is this?"
"Not witchery my good man, but a sign from our Goddess Elune. This sign is said to lead to eternal life." Snuff continued, "Huit and I have been following the trail of the Pon for days. That trail has brought us here and to your child in the hay. We both remember that part of the story but, we will have to go back to the ancient writings to educate ourselves as the remainder of the legend. Our sect had written this story off as a fairy tale long ago. No one expected it to hold the truth. Frankly, had I not been here myself, there's no way I would have believed this prophesy to be true. So, to answer your question; I am unsure what it truly means."
The rest of the short walk was spent in shocked silence. Each of the adults lost in thought as to the happenings of the morning. To Sariseva, it seemed unreal, as if it had all been a story thought up by that little elfling Tazeria who lived in the Stormwind Orphanage.
They entered the rectory without incident and Sari laid Marudas upon the small settee in the receiving room; and then covered him with the knitted blanket that had been draped over the back of the chair. The tiny fairies continued dancing, like a glimmering mist of fine gnats over the boy's head and shoulders, hearing the occasional PING of a new arrival. She checked the boy's fingers and saw to her satisfaction that nearly all the whelps were gone and his hands were mostly back to normal. Unwilling to let the child from her sight, she stood in the doorway to the kitchen where the rest stood eating the now cold breakfast Raw had prepared.
"Well, not exactly what we all had in mind for the start of this beautiful day, but I guess any day that starts is a good day to keep." Raw poured himself a cup of coffee from the hotpot and sat at the small table which was still covered in flour. "Now, what to do with the rest of the day… "He grinned at Sari and the rest of the clergy in his kitchen. He was a total and complete mess, with his long beard stuck together in clumps and stray gray hairs poking out from all directions of his head.
The others weren't in much better shape either. Steen's robes were stained and wrinkled, Saks tears had run the dust from the rafters down her tiny cheeks, and the morning had taken its toll on all of them. Only the Druids appeared remotely presentable.
"Clearly, this child is not human." Snuff was the first to speak out loud.
"He looks completely human to me." Saks turned her gaze to the druid who was munching on a piece of Raw's bread smothered in butter and honey.
"Human?!" Huit nearly spat the word out. "What's wrong with you people? HE HAS MEKKALEE-PON SPRINGING FROM HIS FINGERS! HELLOO?" He stuffed a sliced of bread into his mouth, looked at Raw and with his mouth full said" OH MY!This is good stuff! I MUST have the recipe!"
"Well, human or not there's only one place this child will be going and that is straight to Thorden."
There, Sariseva had said it.
They all knew she was right.
There would be no argument from any of them to her decision. The only safe place for this child would be the Stormwind Cathedral of The Lightbringer.
And Thorden, Leader of the Paladin Community.
For him, there was no choice.
In this child, lay the destiny of the many.