The Autumn Wood, When two spirits meet
#1 of The Autumn Wood
Here is yet another new story line. Before we get going with this one, I will say it up front. I am only planning on a three parter for this storyline. If people really, really want me to continue it beyond that, I will try, but no promises on that one.
Anyway I hope you enjoy it. Comments are appreciated as usual.
I always liked the spirits of the autumn wood, for they always treated me with kindness. The spirits of the wood were elusive creatures that looked to be half human and half fox. Their power kept the famous Autumn Wood in an eternal state of autumn, no matter the season outside it. Many scorned their influence and deeds because it made the forest a queer place, but then again, there were many such places in the world, and some even stranger than the forest itself, or so some claim. I myself have never seen them, so I cannot say one way or another. The spirits were hard to find and even harder to catch, and some people thus offered giant bounties for anyone that could bring a spirit to them alive. And many still do offer them, though a spirit has not been seen for many years. Many were the hunters who went into the woods looking to rake in the bounty, and thus spirits often treated intruders with scorn. They led them astray with their powers, making them lose themselves in the deep woodlands for days on end. But always, the spirits never harmed me.
I live in a village situated near to the edge of the mysterious wood. I say live, but it would be closer to the truth to say lived or grew up in, because that all changed, but we will get to that later. Many people in the outside world called us foolish for making our homes that close to such a place, but we didn't really care. There were only two ways to get safely to the other side of the forest. One was to go around the edge of the great wood, a journey of some weeks; the other was to go along the only road going through the wood, a road that my village straddled. Much trade passed through the village and thus we made a lot of money catering to travelers and merchants. And since we were the only village near to the forest, every bounty hunter seeking the spirits stopped in the village on their way for supplies. So, we had quite a lucrative set up there, hence our willingness to live near the queer forest.
I was born an orphan, abandoned on the doorstep of a blacksmith and his family when I wasn't more than three months old. The blacksmith considered letting me die solely because of my looks. The villagers, despite their willingness to live near the forest, were, by and large, a superstitious lot. My mysterious appearance on their doorstep and the fact that I had one eye that was blue like the sky and one that was brilliant emerald green, made him want to have nothing to do with me. But his wife prevailed upon him and he took me in. But, as I grew up, he and his three sons never let me forget that I was adopted. I was treated as little better than a servant during most of my childhood. And that, perhaps, started all the trouble in the first place...
***
I awoke from a sound sleep to my dark room. I sat up and tried to remember what I had been dreaming about. It had been strange and wonderful, full of color and strange eyes watching me from the trees. I shook my head, it was gone. Yawning expansively, I got out of bed and dressed in simple cotton breaches and a shirt before walking barefoot into the kitchen. My room was just large enough to warrant the term room and not closet, but I didn't mind. I didn't get to see it very often. Once into the drafty kitchen, I piled a few logs and some tinder into the cast iron stove and struck sparks into it until it caught, then I closed the door. I yawned again and shivered slightly before walking out the back door to retrieve breakfast from the ice shed. The day was icy cold as it always was before the dawn. The sun was only just rising and my mind was swift to wake in the cold air. The ice shed was a good twenty paces from the door and I couldn't avoid stumbling a few times on stones hidden by the clinging mist of the morning.
About halfway to the shed, I paused in my journey and looked suddenly off to the east, towards the brilliant trees of the forest. At that moment, though I had seen the trees like this for the last seven years, a new feeling woke in me. I recognized it as curiosity. I wondered just what was in the woods that I had been forbidden to enter. With this feeling strong in me, all I wanted to do was run off into the forest, but I knew that would get me into much more trouble than anything else. Reluctantly, I returned my attention to the ice shed and continued to walk. Once I had gotten out some bacon and a few eggs from the shed I returned to the kitchen. The iron stove was hot and warming the kitchen by this point and I set the supplies onto the table for a moment. Then, I opened the centrally located stove and took a lit piece of wood out of it and lit the cooking fire against the stone wall. By the time I was frying the newly sliced bacon, my father and brothers were up and waiting patently at the table. They were discussing what they had to do that morning and I listened in with only half an ear, the rest of my mind occupied with thoughts of the forest.
A sudden searing pain brought my mind back to what I was doing. As I sucked on a burned finger, I concentrated my attention on the frying pan. Once the bacon was fried, I started on the eggs. By the time breakfast was ready, my mother had joined the family at the table. I served everyone and only my mother thanked me. Then, I served myself what remained of the food and sat down at the table at last. I bolted down my food quickly because by the time I had sat down, my father and brothers were already most of the way through their meal. When they finished eating, I had to clean up, regardless of whether I was done or not. As usual, my father made his normal crack about my eating habits and then finished his food. Dutifully, I got up and picked up the plates, carrying them over to the sink and laying them down before going and getting water from the well.
By this time, the sun was up in the sky and the village was coming awake around us. We lived on the north edge of town, but there were plenty of houses near to us. Their occupants were just starting to eat breakfasts and I wondered wistfully what it would be like to be able to linger over my food while I worked the handle of the well, drawing the bucket up out of its depths. Then, with my heavy cargo in tow, I went back towards the house. Just as I got there, my father and brothers came out, headed for the forge. As the last brother passed me, I felt another hand on the bucket and all of a sudden, I was drenched with the water I had been carrying. The bucket had been overturned by the last brother in line. All three of them laughed as they continued on and my father reprimanded me to be more careful. Shivering with both cold and rage, I went back to the well and drew up another bucket full. Sopping wet and shivering violently, I carried this back into the kitchen and dumped it into the wash basin. Then, I began to scrub the morning's dishes. Once these had been set out to dry, I shivered my way to my room and changed into dry clothes.
When I returned to the kitchen, I found my mother waiting for me. She was smiling and I waited for the inevitable next task. But, instead of a task, she spoke to me with kindness.
"Do you know what day it is son?" She asked and I had to think for a moment.
"Uh..." I said, then it came to me. "The third?"
"Yes, but it also eight years to the day since you were brought to us." She said and then took a package from behind her back. She offered it to me and I took it, smiling. The days of hard, monotonous chores tended to blend together, so I had forgotten what was important about today. I unwrapped her gift to me and gasped when I saw what it was. It was a beautifully made deer skin backpack. I took it in my hands gratefully and stared at it for a while before looking up at my mother with tears in my eyes. She smiled at me and spoke once more.
"I know that will come in handy." She said and then turned back to the table laden with hides. "Now, why don't you take the rest of the morning for yourself."
"Thank you mother." I finally managed and then went back to my room. I carefully laid the backpack on the bed and then went under it for her other gifts. Every year she had given me one and I laid them all out in a row on the covers. Among them was a sharp dagger that my father would never have allowed me to keep if he had known I had it, a kit of tanning tools and some hides for me to use. Since my father refused to teach me to be a blacksmith, my adopted mother was secretly teaching me how to work leathers. I smiled to myself and slipped all the supplies into the backpack and then hid it beneath the bed. I looked out at the sun through my window for a moment and then lay down, gratefully wrapping myself in blankets. For the first time in months, I had a few hours to do absolutely nothing. As my eyes closed, I smiled. I intended to enjoy every second of it.
***
I sat upright with a start once more. The sun was bright and still high in the sky. Someone was knocking hard on the door and shouting for me to get my lazy carcass out of bed and get to work. I rolled out of bed hurriedly and slipped leather shoes on my feet before heading out of the room. As I cooked lunch and cleaned up, all the time enduring the running commentary on my short comings that my father took delight in reciting to my brothers, I thought about the dream I had been having. The dream I had had the night before had come again. I had been standing in a forest, the trees all golden, orange and red. I had caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye and I had turned to find a shape descending from where it had hidden among the leaves. I had been about to see what the shape was when I had been awoken. As I worked, oblivious to the comments of my father and brothers, I focused hard on the memory of the shape, trying desperately to see detail. I saw no more than I had before, but I remembered mismatched eyes staring at me from in the trees. Sighing, I went back to work.
Because I had had to have been woken up during the day, a lapse that my father never tolerated, I had been given a huge list of chores to do that evening. By the time I had finished all of them, it was nearing midnight. Massaging sore muscles, I lay down in my bed, trying to will myself to sleep. But it was not to be. Sleep continuously eluded me. After a half hour, I sat up and put my shoes back on. I felt possessed of some kind of restless energy. Sighing to myself, I tried to think what it was that would make me feel this way. When the distant forest entered my mind, I rose to my feet and grabbed my new backpack before heading out of the house. I was about to violate the most important rule that my father had laid down. I knew that this would probably get me into trouble, but I was feeling rebellious and annoyed and I didn't care anymore.
It took me an hour to cover the distance to the edge of the tree line and there I paused a moment before taking a last fateful step into the forest. There, under the boughs of the trees, I found myself in a new world. The pale moonlight made the leaves of the trees glow with an unearthly, beautiful light. I strode along slowly beneath the trees, listening to the sounds of the night woods. Everything was wonderful there and I breathed in the sweet scent of autumn and then sat down to rest under a tall tree. A strange feeling that I had never felt before came over me as I sat there, a feeling that I had unknowingly sought my entire life. It was a feeling of utter peace. I still don't know how long I remained sitting there that first night, all that I know is that by the time I rose and walked back to the forest's edge, guided entirely by instinct, it was nearly dawn.
I took my time getting back to the house, very reluctant to leave the peaceful woods. The sun was well into the sky by the time I neared the house. From where I was standing, I could hear my father shouting for me out the back door. From the tone of his voice, he was furious. I knew that he would be angry enough with me already without knowing that I had been into the woods and I stopped in a small copse of trees that stood a ways from the house and stashed my pack in a hollow fallen log before at last heading into the house. As I had expected, he was very mad at me. So mad in fact that he gave me even more chores to do and he forbade me from eating anything until I had finished them as punishment. But this time, something had changed. Something was different inside me. I no longer wished to submit to his tyranny.
"Now get started on your chores." He ordered, his triad ending and a defiant snarl came to my lips.
"No." I stated. My father was so surprised that he couldn't say anything for a while. Using that moment of total silence, I spoke, my voice growing in intensity until I was shouting. "I am not your slave and I refuse to be treated like this anymore. I have had enough of your snide comments about everything I do. And you!!" I shouted, whirling around so I faced my brothers. They were all larger and stronger than I was, but they cowered before my rage now. "I have had enough of your dirty tricks and your pranks. If you so much as touch me for now on, you will regret it!" Then I turned back around to my father. "From now on, if you want breakfast in the morning, you get it yourself. If you want the house to be cleaned, you find someone else to do it. I have had enough. Now, I am going to eat breakfast."
Ignoring their flabbergasted looks, I sat down at the table and helped myself to eggs and bacon. I ate my fill, a treat I had not been allowed for a long time, and when I was finished, I set my plate into the wash basin and went into my room. Once there, I started to sew the hides my mother had given me into a tunic and breaches. That day, my life was forever changed...
***
For the next few years, I lived a new, wonderful life that I had never had a chance to live before. My father and brothers no longer treated me like a servant, always asking politely for me to do things. I still didn't tell my family that I went into the woods, though I did it ever more often. I seemed to have a strange, instinctual sense of the woodlands. I knew by instinct which things could be eaten and which could not. Also, I seemed to have a good sense of direction. I began to journey deeper and deeper into the woods as the years passed and I soon knew the woods better than anyone. I had long since taught myself to hunt deer and elk with a bow, a skill that I had always been interested in. I was ten when I first brought down a deer and I brought it back to the village with me. I finally told my family that I had been going into the woods for years and, as I expected, my father was angry. But he never refused the meat I brought home. The hides I tanned either went to making more clothing or were sold to buy needed supplies, such as arrowheads.
I spent more and more time wandering in the woods and I suspected that my family was happy not to see me more often. But, as time passed, I realized that I was different form everyone else, even more than I had ever thought. I wandered often into the heart of the forest and while I was there, I began to hear strange whispering voices on the wind. I didn't understand what they were saying, but twice, I thought I saw a figure in the tree tops out of the corner of my eye, but always they were gone when I looked again. But I grew to love the woods even more by the day, and soon the voices on the wind ceased to bother me because of something that happened one winter's day when I was thirteen.
That day, I was out hunting in the heart of the woods and I heard the heavy footsteps of a bear approaching. I froze in place, knowing that a bear was the last thing I wanted to tangle with. But, it turned out that freezing was the last thing I should have done that day. After only a moment, I realized that I was standing between the bear and its cubs, a deadly combination. The bear charged me, knocking saplings over in its haste and I sprinted off, running between thick-boled trees and boulders, anything to keep it from catching me. I knew I would be caught, it was inevitable, but I knew of a place I could go that would make me safe from the creature. I ran swiftly towards a nearby hill and ran up the rock formations quickly. The bear roared in frustration at the bottom of the hill and I knew I had succeeded in escaping. But then, a bad day turned even worse.
I felt my legs slip out from under me on a loose stone as I continued my climb up the hill and I fell, toppling off the rock formation and striking the slope of the hill, barely avoiding a boulder with my head. My vision faded to black as I slid down the hillside and I knew I was in trouble...
***
I came back to myself at the bottom of a gully without any idea where I was. I knew that I must have hit my head on the way down. A quick check assured me that I hadn't broken anything, but that still left me with the problem of being lost and injured. I managed to force myself to my feet and my head swam. I felt like it was drifting away and I looked around for a moment, trying to find a landmark that made sense. But, night had fallen and mist shrouded everything. At least I knew generally where I was. Mist only came out like this in the Mistglades, but that did not help because I had no idea where in the glades I was. There would be no use in crying out, the mist had a tendency to swallow up sounds. I decided that moving in any direction would be better than standing there and I walked out of the gully. But then, just when I cleared the gully's edge, a breeze stirred the mists around me and I heard a voice on it.
"This way." The voice whispered and I got the incredible urge to trust the voice. I shrugged and started to follow the voice, not knowing where it would take me, but not having another option. More whispers guided me through the trees and before I knew it, I was out of the Mistglades and near to the edge of the forest. The lights of the village glittered in the distance and I started to head for them. But then, just when I was under the last tree, the voice came back.
"Good bye." It said and I looked up. The whisper had seemed to come from above me, but I couldn't see who might have said it.
"Thank you." I said, still looking up, "You saved my life."
I still could not see the mysterious speaker, but I felt comforted that someone was out here that helped me. I left the trees and walked out into the snowy grasslands around the village. I turned back one last time as I walked and, for the second time that day, froze in place. In the tree I had paused under, between two bright red branches, a pair of eyes were staring into mine. One eye was violet and the other a bright golden color. They stood out among the leaves for a moment, and then vanished. I stared after them for a while, but they did not return. Shrugging, I strode back to the village...
***
After a good night's rest, I decided that the spirits of the wood had guided me to safety after I had been injured. The eyes I had seen must have been one of them watching over me. I knew then that the spirits were not evil, like most said. They were just watchful and protective of the woods. I bore them no ill will because of that. Several more years passed and a new change came over me. As I grew to manhood, my hair changed color. Originally, it had been brownish in color, but now it had changed into a mixture of blonde, red and orange hairs, all the colors of autumn. I finally decided that the spirits protected me because I was half spirit myself. How else could I explain my uncanny forest sense and my looks? Add to that the fact that I was an orphan and it was an obvious conclusion to draw. These oddities made me an outsider in my village, and people did not like me to be near. Years ago, it would have bothered me, but I didn't care now.
I had always liked autumn better than the other seasons of the year, but the autumn of my sixteenth year was special and it make me love autumn all the more. For that was the year I met Shae...
***
The day had dawned cool and clear, the crisp air heavy with the scent of fallen leaves. I had slept in the near woods the night before and it would be an hour long walk back to the village. Hunting had been good this season and I hadn't needed to bring down a deer for days now because of it. I had been going into the woods every few days just because I liked it there. Smiling to myself, I set out at an easy pace, admiring the trees around me. Glittering yellow and orange leaves danced in the wind alongside vibrant red and brown. I could spend all week out here this time of year, for the temperature was just right, the smells were alive and widely varied and the sunlight caught the trees just right against the azure sky so as to make a sight more beautiful than anything I had seen elsewhere. Of course, had I known what that day would bring, I wouldn't have said that. I strolled casually along the winding path, in no great hurry to get back to the village.
By the time the village was in sight, I was seriously contemplating returning to the forest for another night. But I knew that I had to return to my foster family that day. I had been in the woods two nights already and they would be angry enough as it was. I walked into the village and headed along the main street towards the square, wondering why my family always got so angry. One would think that with they would be used to it, what with all the time I had spent in the woods already. But these thoughts were put out of my head a moment later, for something was happening in the square. A great crowd had gathered in the center and I was curious enough to join the throng, pushing through the crowd slowly to see what the commotion was about. I would find out a few moments before I saw it. A loud voice boomed out and I listened with growing sadness to the pronouncement.
"Feast your eyes ladies and gentlemen, on a genuine Forest spirit." A man called out and I pushed with more urgency to the front of the crowd. "Caught her this morning."
When I finally reached the front, I found a hunter dressed in deerskins standing before a cage of iron bars. Bound within the cage sat a forlorn creature. There could be no doubt that it was a forest spirit. It had the limbs of a human and a bushy tail like a fox. Its fur was all the colors of autumn, but it seemed that the colors were subdued within its iron bound prison. It had black gloves and socks of fur and it had its eyes closed. I could see from there that it was bound to the bars of the cage with thongs of leather. I shook my head sadly as I saw that it was sitting in such a way to preserve its modesty, for it was naked. I had never seen anything so beautiful or so sad in my life. It wrenched my heart to see the indignities that had been heaped upon so beautiful a creature. Even from where I stood, I could see the tears that coursed down its face. The entire crowd cheered and touted the hunter's accomplishments amid jeering the creature in the cage. I simply stood in complete silence, my own tears matching those of the spirit. Then, as if some signal had been sent, the spirit opened its eyes and stared right at me.
The moment her mismatched violet and gold eyes met my own, I knew that she had been the one watching over me in the forest that day. I decided that I would not stand to see such a creature imprisoned by so vain a hunter. He didn't deserve accolades. He deserved scorn. The spirit and I stared at each other for a long time, then she nodded slightly to me. I returned the nod and slipped away into the crowd. The hunter would be staying the night in the village and leave in the morning. But, I made a silent vow as I walked to my home that he would leave alone, no matter what it took.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I reached my house before I realized it and actually walked right past the path leading to the front door. When I realized my mistake, I pushed open the door and braced for the storm that always came. My foster father shouted at me for about a half hour then left me alone as he always did. I paused just long enough to say hello to my mother before going to my small room. Setting my pack on the bed, I quickly began to stuff things I would need into it. I knew somehow that I would never be returning to this place. I felt strangely elated at the prospect and continued to pack. My spare buckskin clothing went into the pack beside the hides I had yet to use.
I grabbed my long doeskin cloak from its peg on the wall and swirled it around my shoulders and then stuffed some cured meat into my pack. My tanning supplies went next as well as the supplies I needed to make arrows. I closed the top of the pack, lacing it closed with the leather ties. I then went out of the backdoor and into the forge, selecting a pair of finished thin metal picks. They had been meant to serve as cleaning tools for the town's engraver. After I looked at them, I decided that they would serve as lock picks well enough. Then, I walked back into the house and waited anxiously for the sun to set.
Finally, as the light outside turned red with the sunset, I slipped my pack onto my shoulders, grabbed my bow and quiver and then headed out of the house. No day had ever lasted so long as that one did. I walked to the edge of the square in silence and then sat down on a low wall, awaiting my chance. I waited for hours, watching the villagers congratulate the hunter and waiting for the right time. None of the villagers paid me much mind; they never did. But finally, the hunter went with some of them into a nearby tavern for drinks and the crowd followed him, leaving the spirit alone. I knew that my chance had come and I sprinted from where I had waited. The spirit was awake and I whispered to it when I got near.
"Don't worry, I am going to get you out of there." I stated and the spirit whispered back. Her voice was beautiful, like an enchanting melody.
"What is your name?" She asked as I started work on the lock, digging the pick around inside it until it clicked as each pin was released.
"Colos." I said and she nodded slightly. "And yours?"
"My name is Shae." She said and jumped slightly when I released the lock and pulled it from the door. Once the iron door was open, I took out my knife and sliced through the leather that bound her. She rubbed her wrists when she was free and then stepped out of the cage. "Thank you Colos."
"It is the least I can I do for one who has saved my life." I answered and she smiled at me in amazement. I was stunned at what a change that made. Her beautiful face lit up with a strange light as she smiled.
"You remembered." She said.
"Of course I did." I replied and I was totally surprised when she embraced me. I returned the warm embrace a moment later and we stood in each other's arms for a time. Without warning, our reverie was broken by the sound of the inn door opening.
"Come on." I whispered and led the way down the back alleys to the east, headed for the woods.
Moments after we left the village, shouting echoed among the houses and I knew that my deed had been discovered. I looked at Shae and she nodded. We redoubled our pace, sprinting out into the plain, headed right for the distant woodlands. As we reached the treeline, I paused and looked back. A crowd bearing torches was swarming out of the village, following our trail into the trees. I knew then that my feeling was right. I would never go home again. I turned to look at Shae and when she smiled at me, my heart soared. When I felt that, I knew that it was worth it for the friend I had never met before. After another moment, we turned and ran together into the deeper woods...
To be continued...