A View Form Above

When May awoke, there was some chattering outside her tent. She took a peek outside; four heavily armed people were standing just outside her camp. She didn’t panic; instead, she calmly said, “What business do you have here?” Her voice told them she was an old woman. They weren’t wrong, but that really didn’t matter. All her practicing with her forest and river made her strong; the odds were in her favor.

“Well, Well, Well… we found our prize.” One of them said

“We’re looking for an older woman with a hat,” another said. While they talked, she was getting prepared.

“I don’t want anyone to die, but if you impede me in any way, I will kill you.” her voice was stern and quite threatening, even though she was donning her armor.

“I’m not afraid of an old woman.” one of them retorted.

She thought for a minute. Then she came up with an idea, and she stepped out. Her armor proclaimed to all, ‘Come at me if you dare.’ She laughed at them. “I may be over 80, but this forest is my closest friend, and she is far older. If you no longer have the value of your youth, then I will offer it to the trees.” The bandit out front, whom she assumed to be the leader, stared daggers at her. “If you leave, the forest will not harm you; if you stay, the forest will claim you.” The one in the back took off as fast as he could.

“Kevin, get back here, you coward,” the blonde shouted.

“Well then, you had one smart man on your team, because once my barrier goes down there is no stopping me or the forest, keep in mind neither one of us has an end.” her words had the two underlings in the back, shaking in their boots, ready to make some mistakes. She gave them time by picking up her tent and bundling it onto Dart, still safe in the bubble with her, for now. They were banging on it pathetically, while she scattered the ashes of the campfire, she left the stones in a circle for more passing travelers. Then she looked back at them. “Look, I’m old I don’t want to fight, what do you kids want?” she said plainly.

“We want your hat.” this surprised her.

“I’ll give it to you, if you tell me who you are working for.”

“No more talking, old crow, give us the hat, or we will wait for you to lower the barrier, then come and take it.”

She laughed. “Alright, if you have resigned to your fate, who am I not to help you on your way?” Unconcerned, she pulled out her shiny golden blade, pointing at the chest of the man in front. The barrier fell. In the back, the blonde tripped on a root sticking out of the ground. At the same moment, a rather large fruit fell out of the tree, hitting the next man on the head, hard enough to cause him to collapse to the ground. The Leader came at her with his own steel blade, striking clumsily. She deftly dodged him and brought her blade completely through his leg. He screamed and grabbed his missing appendage. She looked up to see that the other two had fled. She looked back at the screaming man. “If you live, you will serve the forest with your life”

She walked over to Dart, got on and rode off. This day did not start off right; the next town is still several hours away. As she rode, she thought about the times she spent with her husband playing cards by the fire. He had such an unnatural way of lighting the fire. He would sprinkle water over the old charcoal, to turn them into stones, and and and the stones would begin to glow a blue flame, the Divine Arcane’s signature. “I miss the warmth of the blue flame,” she said idly. In all their years together, he always lit the fire in their home, but never in her forge. “I told you it wasn’t hot enough.”

Time flew by. The horse was getting tired. The river was nearby, and she wouldn’t mind talking to it. She missed its company. The horse slowed as it approached the river, patiently waiting for May to get off and for her to restart Frick’s protection bubble. She removed the armor for a little swim; she had to be in the water in order to speak to it. Small fish came up to meet her excitedly, and water skippers bounced around on the surface like little puppies, fighting for her attention. The creatures scattered as her toes dipped into the water. For the first time, Frick began to understand what it meant for her to communicate with the river. Her skin reverberated with sound, tickling her all over, as she slipped underwater.

It plumbed the depths of her humanity, telling her of the going’s on of the river. She was so happy to hear the other two attackers got away. The forest claimed the last man. His blood was going to be used to feed new life. She breathed out, little fish darted through her breath like it was a gift. She asked it of the whereabouts of Malgastaflorian, water trembled at the name when she used her breath to speak it. The feeling that he was a terrible but true ally, nature would only call that name should dire situations arise. The last moments with her husband had been stolen. Nature agreed as one, he will be freed.

The talking with the river had her giggling, then concerned and interested. It took all of her mind to communicate with nature, every sensation speaking its own distinct language. Each one is more intricate than the last. Then she heard something in the distance; it was expressing to everyone that Malgastaflorian just showed up downstream.

She looked at Dart, and then the forest spoke to her. The forest was a poet who loved her animals. She also spoke differently, from exactly the right perspective, with the browns of the tree lined up, just right, to say, “He wants apples.”

She looked at the horse in her bubble, got out of the river, bundled her belongings, and put it on her back “Thank you so much for your aid Dart,” she hugged him around his neck. The rope was never attached to the tree limb, but she slipped it off anyway. She took a moment to pick some apples and put them into a sack, tied them to the saddle, saying, “the others will give you the apples, when you get home.” Dart took off back the way they came.

She looked back at the river; it was urging her to put the armor on. She trusted her closest friend, donning the armor. The golden filigree was forged in the river itself, propelling her through the water with great speed.