I didn't have any trouble finding my way out of the castle. The room
seemed to be close to the entrance hall of the place, so finding the doors
wasn't difficult. I stepped outside and a cool breeze brushed into my
face. It felt really good. I took a look around, seeing a garden over to
my side and a fountain in front of me. It was of a pheasant woman, with
her hand outstretched to a child. In her other hand, she was holding a pot
of water, of which water was now spilling out of it into a pool below. It
was quite beautiful, actually. The garden was the most extraordinary I had
ever seen, with every flower imaginable growing in groups and clusters.
The scent coming from them was absolutely lavishing.
I walked past the garden and fountain to the main gates, which were open. Next to them, was a sign with what I guessed to be a map of the village. The writing was all in elvish, so I couldn't read it. I could tell that the biggest building on the map was where I was, the castle. The closest shop in the village looked to be weaponry. I decided to start there. I would need some defense for myself, and this seemed to be the place where I would find it.
I set off, walking down a dirt road with the smell of jasmine floating through the air. There was a light breeze, and the sun was shining brightly. There wasn't any noise, except for the chirping of birds and trickle of water from a nearby stream or creek. "This is much different from what I am used to at home, where everything is noisy and loud". I stopped walking abruptly. "Back at home." The thought went through my mind. "With my Mom and Dad."
"Who wouldn't care if I was gone anyway." I said aloud, erasing the image of my mothers face from my head. I continued down the road trying not to think about my family. I must have been getting close to the village, because I heard the bustle of voices and violins playing softly. My guess was right, and I came walking down a slope into the village with a happy skip in my step. The thought of meeting new people and seeing a real elvin village excited me, and I was ready to start my adventure.
The first thing I saw when I walked into the village would have made anybody stop dead on their feet. You wouldn't have believed it if you had seen it. Every single person.was wearing the exact same thing. They had the same color hair, same color eyes, and same color skin. You only could tell them apart by age or if they were male or female. They all wore the same green tunics with brown boots. There hair color was all shades of blondes. I was so surprised by what I saw that I didn't notice my mouth was hanging open, and that the townsfolk were gathering around looking at me. After a second this caught my attention, and before me were the majority of the people there. Without saying anything and not wanting to be rude, I looked for the sign to the weaponry shop. I saw one with a picture of a sword, and some scribbled words, and guessed that that must be it. I edged my way through the crowd and slipped into the shop.
It looked just as I had imagined it would. With heads of animals on the walls, displays of swords and shields, and a quiver for every kind of arrow you would ever want, this was a hunters' paradise. I walked around, admiring the handy work put into the weapons. As I started to walk over to the section with the slingshots, something caught my eye. I turned around, and saw the most beautiful bow I had ever seen. On it were carvings of some elvish design, and painted with gold and deep red-brown. On each end, instead of wooden tips, were golden topaz gems, perfectly fitted to a round point. I walked over to it quickly and slowly went to pick it up to feel the hold of it. But before I could touch it, a man came out from behind a counter.
"I see you fancy young Nerwen's bow." He said with a heavy elvish accent.
"This was Nerwen's?" I asked, now even more interested in it. The shop keeper looked happy that I was so intent on it.
"Oh yes. Nerwen loved that bow. She was very good at archery. You see here on its side? Her name is engraved." He said, picking up the bow with delicacy and turning it over. There was her name, engraved in elvish black writing.
"Wow. How amazing." I said to him, looking at it with a new kind of admiration. "Lord Daeloneil said I could get anything I might need for my- er." I stopped, thinking it might not be a good idea to share about my trip.
"Ah, do not worry. I have spoken with Daeloneil. It is alright." He said in reassurance. "I know of your journey, as do the other villagers and shopkeepers. Please do not hesitate to ask us anything." Feeling much better, I decided to ask him if I could have the bow for my weapon..
"Uh, do you think...that I could.maybe.have it?" I asked with caution. I had no idea what it might cost, and I didn't want to take advantage of the options that were given to me. The shopkeeper smiled.
"Of course. Please, take anything you think you might need." He replied, with absolutely no hesitation at all.
"Quality arrows are only fitted for a top quality bow," he said "and I have just the arrows for you." He walked over the section where the quivers of arrows were kept, and came back with 100 arrows, and a fine quality quiver.
"Here you are," he said "And do take care of them. Nerwen used these for herself as well. I have been waiting for someone like you to come along. Now, let me show you how it all works..."
Within the next to hours, I had become pretty good at hitting various targets. I wasn't the best, but with lots of practice, the shopkeeper said I could catch on quickly. He even showed my how to make my own arrows once the first ones were gone. He also gave me a small sword with a hilt, one of Nerwen's hunting knife's, and a nice leather belt to hold the sword on. I left the shop feeling like I had made a new friend, and feeling much better about my chances on finding the treasure and completing the 5 tasks.
At first, having a bow on my back and a sword at my side felt a little weird, but as I walked around the feeling wore off and I came to like it. I was looking more and more like one of the elves now, and I was very happy.
My next stop was the Alchemy shop, and I was a little apprehensive about it. I had no education about medicines and herbs, let alone exactly what I needed in case I came down with a severe sickness. Since I would be traveling alone, I felt it nessasary to have some kind of ointment in case I started to feel funny. I hoped the owner in the shop new as much about medicine as I didn't.
I pushed the door open into the shop, and instantly I could smell something cooking. It wasn't a pleasant smell, more like cooked cabbage and old socks. The person brewing the concoction looked up as I entered the shop, and immediately stood up and bowed to me. I had no idea what he was doing, and I took a step towards him to tell him he didn't need to bow. But he got up instead.
"Oh, Mistress Nerwen, I am so pleased to see you back." He said, with his eyes closed.
"Um...excuse me, I am not Nerwen." I said to him, a little uneasy. He opened his eyes, and looked at me with much surprise.
"Oh! I am very sorry! You see, when you walked in, you looked just like her. That bow- "Was hers." I interrupted. "I'm not Nerwen, but the bow is hers. I am sorry for the misunderstanding." He looked at me a little more closely, and seemed to believe me.
"I was hoping you could help me." I said to him, trying to change the subject. "I need some medicine and knowledge of plants and herbs for my journey. Could you tell me anything?" I asked him. Right away, as if on cue, he hurried off into some shelves and came back with an armful of glass bottles filled with different colored substances. He also had a book which I guessed to be information on wild plants.
"Please come over here to the table." He said, and carried everything with him. He pulled up two chairs, and we both sat down. He laid out the bottles in some kind of order, then handed me the book.
"That book contains information on wild edible and medicinal herbs. If you open it, you will see that it is not in elvish, but in another language. The Lord said someone was coming and told me to give them this book. I cannot read it, but I have the knowledge that you can. I do know however that every plant in that book can be found in the mountains, so you might want to go on a hunt for them if you have the time. Now, did you say that you needed some medicine for a trip? With that, I can help you with."
After about an hour, I thanked him and left the shop with the book and medicine I would need. He also gave me a bag for any plants I might find and want to keep. He said the bag would keep them fresh for weeks. I put everything into my sack and walked out back into the hustle and bustle of the village. It was around lunch time now, and I could here children laughing and playing in the shops. "This a very nice place. I wouldn't mind living here." I thought to myself. "The only problem is, is there's no individuality. That might get depressing after a while." And actually, now that I was paying attention, the town's people did seem a little different in their attitude, like they had been playing the same game over and over and over again. I felt a pang of sadness towards them, and then remembered that it would be me who would be able to change all that. It gave me hope. It would be nice to see so many same faces turn different.
Remembering what I was here to do, I put my mind back on gathering supplies, and looked into my sack. The only things left that I needed were food supplies and general things, like rope, blankets, and extra clothes. I headed for the clothing shop first, while humming to a catchy tune from the violin players.
I heard the tinkling of a door bell as I stepped into the shop. There were already other customers in the store, so I decided to look around first instead of directly talking to the owner. I started to think about what I would need. "Defiantly a cloak for sure." I thought. I walked over to where there colder weather things were, and I looked down at the line of clothes.
"I should have known." I said aloud. Each one was exactly alike. They all had the same brown color, trimmed with brown fur, and a hood. I picked one off the rack and looked at its size. It looked to be about mine, so I tried it on. It fit really well. I decided to keep it, so I put it under my arm and walked over to the next section of clothes. I decided I didn't need very many sets of tunics and pants. Travelers usually didn't carry around a whole lot of clothes, but I wanted at least one extra set of regular clothes. I checked the sizes until I found mine, then I put them under my arm too. The last thing I needed was some really good boots. For this, I needed to ask the owner what boots were good for hiking, and that were water-proof. I walked over to the owner, who was now finishing with another customer. He looked up as I came near him.
"I will be with you in a second." He said to me, and then finished with the other person. When he was done, I asked him my question.
"Um.excuse me, could you tell me which boots are best for hiking any terrain and that are water-proof?" I asked him uncertainly. His face lighted up, and beckoned me toward the boots section.
"These I think will fit your request." He said, and picked up a pair and handed them to me. They were extremely heavy.
"Are you sure I can even walk in these?" I asked him. It was now getting very difficult to hold all the clothes, and now the boots. Seeing the look of concern on my face, he just nodded his head and took the boots away from me.
"You see, when you put them on, they feel extremely light. They feel heavy now, but that's because once you are over the mountain, elvin-made boots are extremely rare to come by. Wanderers are looking for them everywhere. They only know them by the fact that they are really light. We make them heavy, but when you walk in them, you couldn't tell that they weighed one pound." He said all of this with much confidence, and I believed him. He helped me with my other purchases, and then I was ready for the next shop.
I stepped out of the door (tinkle tinkle) and made my way over to the general store. There were very large windows in the front, and you could see almost everything inside. It had just about anything you could ever need or want. The door was already open, and I made my way inside. I saw the owner and asked him what kind of things I would need for a long journey, including food. He showed me all the supplies I would need, and how to use each properly. I learned what kinds of food lasted the longest, and I got enough to last me about 2 months. I didn't need to carry any water, since there would be many streams and rivers to drink from. After I was finished, I thanked him, put everything into my sack, (which now I could feel a bit of weight.) and headed back to the castle.
When I got back, the sun was setting behind the trees to the east. It was a most breathtaking sight to see. There were so many colors in the sky. It looked a pastel painting if a rainbow. I stood there looking up for about 5 minutes, then resumed my trip back into the castle.
When I got to my room, the door was closed. I opened it to find a completely different room. (Ha I knew it) It was still a bedroom, but a new bed was there and a huge library was stationed next to a grand fireplace. There was another room connected to it, and as I looked into it, I saw that it was a bathroom, complete with a pool tub. Very happy about this, I scrambled out of my clothes and took a very hot bath. There were some kind of pajamas set out for me, and I put those on when I finished. It was dark now, and I felt the weight of my eyelids growing every second. I crawled into bed (which wasn't taller than me this time) and got under the covers. It was extremely comfortable. I leaned to the side to blow out the candle at my bed, and saw my weather ball there instead. "I'd better not forget that tomorrow morning." I thought to myself, and reached to the side of it to blow out the candle. I sank back into the bed, and didn't even have time to think about the events of the day before I had fallen into a deep sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I walked past the garden and fountain to the main gates, which were open. Next to them, was a sign with what I guessed to be a map of the village. The writing was all in elvish, so I couldn't read it. I could tell that the biggest building on the map was where I was, the castle. The closest shop in the village looked to be weaponry. I decided to start there. I would need some defense for myself, and this seemed to be the place where I would find it.
I set off, walking down a dirt road with the smell of jasmine floating through the air. There was a light breeze, and the sun was shining brightly. There wasn't any noise, except for the chirping of birds and trickle of water from a nearby stream or creek. "This is much different from what I am used to at home, where everything is noisy and loud". I stopped walking abruptly. "Back at home." The thought went through my mind. "With my Mom and Dad."
"Who wouldn't care if I was gone anyway." I said aloud, erasing the image of my mothers face from my head. I continued down the road trying not to think about my family. I must have been getting close to the village, because I heard the bustle of voices and violins playing softly. My guess was right, and I came walking down a slope into the village with a happy skip in my step. The thought of meeting new people and seeing a real elvin village excited me, and I was ready to start my adventure.
The first thing I saw when I walked into the village would have made anybody stop dead on their feet. You wouldn't have believed it if you had seen it. Every single person.was wearing the exact same thing. They had the same color hair, same color eyes, and same color skin. You only could tell them apart by age or if they were male or female. They all wore the same green tunics with brown boots. There hair color was all shades of blondes. I was so surprised by what I saw that I didn't notice my mouth was hanging open, and that the townsfolk were gathering around looking at me. After a second this caught my attention, and before me were the majority of the people there. Without saying anything and not wanting to be rude, I looked for the sign to the weaponry shop. I saw one with a picture of a sword, and some scribbled words, and guessed that that must be it. I edged my way through the crowd and slipped into the shop.
It looked just as I had imagined it would. With heads of animals on the walls, displays of swords and shields, and a quiver for every kind of arrow you would ever want, this was a hunters' paradise. I walked around, admiring the handy work put into the weapons. As I started to walk over to the section with the slingshots, something caught my eye. I turned around, and saw the most beautiful bow I had ever seen. On it were carvings of some elvish design, and painted with gold and deep red-brown. On each end, instead of wooden tips, were golden topaz gems, perfectly fitted to a round point. I walked over to it quickly and slowly went to pick it up to feel the hold of it. But before I could touch it, a man came out from behind a counter.
"I see you fancy young Nerwen's bow." He said with a heavy elvish accent.
"This was Nerwen's?" I asked, now even more interested in it. The shop keeper looked happy that I was so intent on it.
"Oh yes. Nerwen loved that bow. She was very good at archery. You see here on its side? Her name is engraved." He said, picking up the bow with delicacy and turning it over. There was her name, engraved in elvish black writing.
"Wow. How amazing." I said to him, looking at it with a new kind of admiration. "Lord Daeloneil said I could get anything I might need for my- er." I stopped, thinking it might not be a good idea to share about my trip.
"Ah, do not worry. I have spoken with Daeloneil. It is alright." He said in reassurance. "I know of your journey, as do the other villagers and shopkeepers. Please do not hesitate to ask us anything." Feeling much better, I decided to ask him if I could have the bow for my weapon..
"Uh, do you think...that I could.maybe.have it?" I asked with caution. I had no idea what it might cost, and I didn't want to take advantage of the options that were given to me. The shopkeeper smiled.
"Of course. Please, take anything you think you might need." He replied, with absolutely no hesitation at all.
"Quality arrows are only fitted for a top quality bow," he said "and I have just the arrows for you." He walked over the section where the quivers of arrows were kept, and came back with 100 arrows, and a fine quality quiver.
"Here you are," he said "And do take care of them. Nerwen used these for herself as well. I have been waiting for someone like you to come along. Now, let me show you how it all works..."
Within the next to hours, I had become pretty good at hitting various targets. I wasn't the best, but with lots of practice, the shopkeeper said I could catch on quickly. He even showed my how to make my own arrows once the first ones were gone. He also gave me a small sword with a hilt, one of Nerwen's hunting knife's, and a nice leather belt to hold the sword on. I left the shop feeling like I had made a new friend, and feeling much better about my chances on finding the treasure and completing the 5 tasks.
At first, having a bow on my back and a sword at my side felt a little weird, but as I walked around the feeling wore off and I came to like it. I was looking more and more like one of the elves now, and I was very happy.
My next stop was the Alchemy shop, and I was a little apprehensive about it. I had no education about medicines and herbs, let alone exactly what I needed in case I came down with a severe sickness. Since I would be traveling alone, I felt it nessasary to have some kind of ointment in case I started to feel funny. I hoped the owner in the shop new as much about medicine as I didn't.
I pushed the door open into the shop, and instantly I could smell something cooking. It wasn't a pleasant smell, more like cooked cabbage and old socks. The person brewing the concoction looked up as I entered the shop, and immediately stood up and bowed to me. I had no idea what he was doing, and I took a step towards him to tell him he didn't need to bow. But he got up instead.
"Oh, Mistress Nerwen, I am so pleased to see you back." He said, with his eyes closed.
"Um...excuse me, I am not Nerwen." I said to him, a little uneasy. He opened his eyes, and looked at me with much surprise.
"Oh! I am very sorry! You see, when you walked in, you looked just like her. That bow- "Was hers." I interrupted. "I'm not Nerwen, but the bow is hers. I am sorry for the misunderstanding." He looked at me a little more closely, and seemed to believe me.
"I was hoping you could help me." I said to him, trying to change the subject. "I need some medicine and knowledge of plants and herbs for my journey. Could you tell me anything?" I asked him. Right away, as if on cue, he hurried off into some shelves and came back with an armful of glass bottles filled with different colored substances. He also had a book which I guessed to be information on wild plants.
"Please come over here to the table." He said, and carried everything with him. He pulled up two chairs, and we both sat down. He laid out the bottles in some kind of order, then handed me the book.
"That book contains information on wild edible and medicinal herbs. If you open it, you will see that it is not in elvish, but in another language. The Lord said someone was coming and told me to give them this book. I cannot read it, but I have the knowledge that you can. I do know however that every plant in that book can be found in the mountains, so you might want to go on a hunt for them if you have the time. Now, did you say that you needed some medicine for a trip? With that, I can help you with."
After about an hour, I thanked him and left the shop with the book and medicine I would need. He also gave me a bag for any plants I might find and want to keep. He said the bag would keep them fresh for weeks. I put everything into my sack and walked out back into the hustle and bustle of the village. It was around lunch time now, and I could here children laughing and playing in the shops. "This a very nice place. I wouldn't mind living here." I thought to myself. "The only problem is, is there's no individuality. That might get depressing after a while." And actually, now that I was paying attention, the town's people did seem a little different in their attitude, like they had been playing the same game over and over and over again. I felt a pang of sadness towards them, and then remembered that it would be me who would be able to change all that. It gave me hope. It would be nice to see so many same faces turn different.
Remembering what I was here to do, I put my mind back on gathering supplies, and looked into my sack. The only things left that I needed were food supplies and general things, like rope, blankets, and extra clothes. I headed for the clothing shop first, while humming to a catchy tune from the violin players.
I heard the tinkling of a door bell as I stepped into the shop. There were already other customers in the store, so I decided to look around first instead of directly talking to the owner. I started to think about what I would need. "Defiantly a cloak for sure." I thought. I walked over to where there colder weather things were, and I looked down at the line of clothes.
"I should have known." I said aloud. Each one was exactly alike. They all had the same brown color, trimmed with brown fur, and a hood. I picked one off the rack and looked at its size. It looked to be about mine, so I tried it on. It fit really well. I decided to keep it, so I put it under my arm and walked over to the next section of clothes. I decided I didn't need very many sets of tunics and pants. Travelers usually didn't carry around a whole lot of clothes, but I wanted at least one extra set of regular clothes. I checked the sizes until I found mine, then I put them under my arm too. The last thing I needed was some really good boots. For this, I needed to ask the owner what boots were good for hiking, and that were water-proof. I walked over to the owner, who was now finishing with another customer. He looked up as I came near him.
"I will be with you in a second." He said to me, and then finished with the other person. When he was done, I asked him my question.
"Um.excuse me, could you tell me which boots are best for hiking any terrain and that are water-proof?" I asked him uncertainly. His face lighted up, and beckoned me toward the boots section.
"These I think will fit your request." He said, and picked up a pair and handed them to me. They were extremely heavy.
"Are you sure I can even walk in these?" I asked him. It was now getting very difficult to hold all the clothes, and now the boots. Seeing the look of concern on my face, he just nodded his head and took the boots away from me.
"You see, when you put them on, they feel extremely light. They feel heavy now, but that's because once you are over the mountain, elvin-made boots are extremely rare to come by. Wanderers are looking for them everywhere. They only know them by the fact that they are really light. We make them heavy, but when you walk in them, you couldn't tell that they weighed one pound." He said all of this with much confidence, and I believed him. He helped me with my other purchases, and then I was ready for the next shop.
I stepped out of the door (tinkle tinkle) and made my way over to the general store. There were very large windows in the front, and you could see almost everything inside. It had just about anything you could ever need or want. The door was already open, and I made my way inside. I saw the owner and asked him what kind of things I would need for a long journey, including food. He showed me all the supplies I would need, and how to use each properly. I learned what kinds of food lasted the longest, and I got enough to last me about 2 months. I didn't need to carry any water, since there would be many streams and rivers to drink from. After I was finished, I thanked him, put everything into my sack, (which now I could feel a bit of weight.) and headed back to the castle.
When I got back, the sun was setting behind the trees to the east. It was a most breathtaking sight to see. There were so many colors in the sky. It looked a pastel painting if a rainbow. I stood there looking up for about 5 minutes, then resumed my trip back into the castle.
When I got to my room, the door was closed. I opened it to find a completely different room. (Ha I knew it) It was still a bedroom, but a new bed was there and a huge library was stationed next to a grand fireplace. There was another room connected to it, and as I looked into it, I saw that it was a bathroom, complete with a pool tub. Very happy about this, I scrambled out of my clothes and took a very hot bath. There were some kind of pajamas set out for me, and I put those on when I finished. It was dark now, and I felt the weight of my eyelids growing every second. I crawled into bed (which wasn't taller than me this time) and got under the covers. It was extremely comfortable. I leaned to the side to blow out the candle at my bed, and saw my weather ball there instead. "I'd better not forget that tomorrow morning." I thought to myself, and reached to the side of it to blow out the candle. I sank back into the bed, and didn't even have time to think about the events of the day before I had fallen into a deep sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *