"That's a picture of King Aeron, the last ruler of Haernwlad," Teleri tells him.
"Thank you, Mr. Trenton," she says. "We'll attempt to locate and speak with the fey as quickly as possible."
As they walk out, she says "I think that went pretty well. But I confess, I don't quite know how to find the fey. I guess they're ..." she gestures in the general direction of the forest, "... out there? Someplace?"
Mr. Trenton waves to the pair as they depart. "Report back soon!"
Teleri and Ives consider their options. It does strike them as somewhat odd that the non-human vandalism targets were accessed via the dock, not the conveniently gentle river bank.
Teleri laughs gently and fixes his turban. "Yes, Ives, that's plenty for candy. For that much you could buy a lot of it. Probably something on the order of five piles of candy, each pile weighing as much as you do."
Then she pauses, and raises an eyebrow. "So, forest-boy -- how is it you know about toffee? Does it grow on trees out there? Because that would be something to see!"
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"Well....ah....."
Do I tell Miss Teleri? She is very nice. Will she keep my secret?
"You see...ah..when I was little, my family lived here in town. I don't remember a ton anymore. But I remember those couple of times pa brought candy home. Mostly my older brothers ate it all. He would just throw it on the floor and we would wrestle for it, you see. Pa would stand back and laugh and laugh. My older brothers were stronger than me of course and got it all. But once my little sister found an extra piece lying in the corner and I stole it from her when no one was looking."
"Oh," Teleri says, awkwardly. "That sounds ... awful, actually. So ... you ran away to the forest?"
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"Yes. I left town when I was eight. I don't think they missed me. If my parents looked for me, they didn't find me. I'm sure they are still here. But I don't want to find them. Actually... ah... maybe we should just go? Back to the woods."
"I see," says Teleri, and Ives gets the sense that she does.
"Well ... do you know where to go in the forest? I have no idea. Do you think we could find this fey creature today, or will I need to be ready to camp out?"
Teleri colors a bit. After a moment, she says, "If our travels take us in that direction, I should be happy to pay a visit to your ... err ... Mother Tree. But I am disinclined to ... impose on her hospitality overnight."
Sighing, she turns and begins walking in the general direction of the river. "You live in the forest," she says. "Where should we go to find the fey?"
"And how far is it to the Mother Tree?" Teleri asks. "An hour's walk? Two? More?"
Ives sees a very familiar middle-aged man walking down the street carrying a sack of flour. He glances briefly at the strange pair walking past.
He continues walking past.
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Don't look up... don't look up... don't look up... Ives waits until his father is passed before looking up again. He sighs sadly, but then remembers the candy.
"I would like 10 of the pink ones, 5 of the green ones, 8 of the orange ones... an uh... then 20 of the red ones, 15 of the purple ones, and 3 of the blue ones. After that, give me 10 of those big round balls, and 5 of those long sticky things." With a big grin on his face, Ives hands over a coin and get a bunch of change in return.
"This is great! I am ending up with more coins than I started with! This is the best thing in town so far, Miss Teleri!"
Eventually, they head back out into the forest, and start following the stream downstream again. It is a long walk, and starting to get dark. Ives keeps glancing over at Teleri, trying to figure out if she could handle sleeping outside at night.
While Ives indulges in a candy shopping spree, Teleri pulls out her journal, flips to a new page, and begins jotting down a list of supplies.
10 gp - small tent (accomodates 1 person, 20 min setup, 10 min teardown)
2 gp - canteen
10 gp - compass
3 cp - chalk (3 pcs)
5 sp - hammer
1 sp - lamp
1 sp - sack
5 sp - trowel (had to invent a price for this, it's not in any of the books)
5 sp - one day's trail rations
That uses up the store credit. Everything from here on down is coming out of her own funds.
2.5 gp - 5 more days of trail rations
6 gp - handaxe (non-proficient, but this is not for combat)
150 gp - 3 potions of cure light wounds (if available)
And, after all is said and done, that puts her at 57.5 lbs of gear. A light load would be 30 lbs, medium is up to 60, and heavy goes up to 90. And that's if she leaves a bunch of stuff with Molly. So her speed is reduced to 20 feet and she takes a -3 armor check penalty on bunch of skills. Ugh.
The shopkeeps eyebrows go up as the stack of purchases mount up. "Goin' off into the woods, Miss?" he asks.
"So it seems," Teleri replies, adding a small handaxe to the pile. "I'll need six days rations. At least, I hope that's all I'll need."
"If yer don't mind me sayin' so," he says, "The woods is a mite dangerous, 'specially if yer on yer lonesome."
"I have a ... err, guide," Teleri says, glancing over where Ives is excitedly looking at all the jars of candy.
The shopkeep follows her gaze. "Well, it don't be no business o' mine," he says, "But yer might want some healin', yer might. Jes in case. I've got these ..." and he pulls out a small box full of stoppered vials. "Healin' in a bottle," he says. "Brewed by me own granny what lives jes' outside of the north edge o' town. They taste awful, but if yer hurt they'll fix yer up lickety split."
Teleri thinks of the frog, biting Ives; and of the naiads shooting at them. "How much?" she asks, and pales a bit at the price he quotes her.
"I'll take three," she tells him. You can't spend the money if you're dead, Teleri, she tells herself.
The transaction done, Teleri bundles up her purchases and turns to leave. "Mr. Tunn," she calls, "I'll be right back. Just going to go pack up."
Before going, she says quietly to the shopkeep, "Listen, do me a favor and ask Mr. Tunn there if he wants any of these potions as well," she says. "And ... he's apparently lived in the forest his whole life, and doesn't really understand how much his coins are worth. You look like an honest sort to me. I trust you'll give him a fair price, same as you gave me." She flashes him a winning smile, and departs to Molly's.
---
Hauling her purchases awkwardly to Molly's, Teleri comes in the door dumps them out over the bed.
"Lawks, dearie, what's all this then?" Molly asks.
"Well," Teleri says, wiping he heel of her hand across her brow. "It seems I need to go out into the forest for a few days."
"The forest? Whatever for?"
"It seems the runoff water from the mine is poisonous to the local fey. It's killed at least one of them, and it's slowly poisoning the wildlife in the river and the plants around it. Anyway, they're responsible for some of the damage lately, and the attack on Mr. Anderson. Mr. Trenton has said he'll address the issue, but he wants an assurance that they're going to stop attacking while SMC works on it. So ... off to the woods to find the fey and talk to them."
Molly seems agitated. "The forest's no place for lady like yourself," she exclaims. "'Specially not alone!"
"Well ... I won't be alone," Teleri says, working on packing things. "That wild boy, Ives Tunn, is going to be acting as a guide. And ... that's a problem."
Teleri sits down on the edge of the bed and puts her head in her hands. "Molly, if I just go trotting off into the wilderness with this man, everyone is going to assume that we ... have an understanding. Nothing could be further from the truth. But truth doesn't much matter in this case. I could deny it until I'm blue in the face and still never live it down. This little unchaperoned forest expedition is going to ruin my reputation. And I don't see any good way out of it, short of quitting the job, admitting defeat, and going home. What am I going to do?"
The shopkeep smiles quizzically as the odd young man with the pseudo-turban exclaims over the price of simple candies. When Teleri arranges for him to sell Ives some potions, he agrees and gives him the standard price.
Molly looks surprised and concerned as Teleri expresses the tension between her anxieties and her ambitions. Worry wrinkling her brow, she leans over and advises "Miss Teleri, are you sure nothing will happen between you and this boy? No offense. I've just taken a liking to you. So I talk to you like I'd talk to a daughter." Her eyes grow somewhat distant for a moment. "If you have a dream... a goal that's worth fighting and working for... don't stop just because you're worried about what a few people would say."
"Quite sure," Teleri says with a wry smile. "For one thing, he's definitely more a boy than a man. For another, although he's reasonably pleasant, he's also an unkempt hermit from the wilderness with plants growing in his hair. This does not set my heart a-flutter."
She finishes packing and sighs. "But I suppose you're right," she says. "I shouldn't care so much what others think. It's not as if they've any shortage of material anyway," she finishes, muttering under her breath.
Standing, she hoists her pack off the bed and settles it on her shoulders with a distinct oof. "Would you mind if I left the rest of my things here?"
Molly nods, though her expression remains unhappy.
"Thanks, so much. Now I only expect to be gone a short while," Teleri continues. "I bought food for six days, so if I'm not back in a week things may have gone ... badly. If I'm not back in a month, well ... let's hope it doesn't come to that."
She pats Molly on the shoulder, and rejoins Ives in the store. As they leave town, she glances back, uneasy. Though the roofs of Pentrefan are fewer and far humbler than those of the City, in that moment they look as safe and familiar as her own childhood room. For a moment she has a faintly panicky urge to flee back to the safety of the town and its people. But she masters it, turns her face away, and walks slow but steadily after Ives into the empty wilderness.
You trek through the woods, Teleri laboring slowly under her heavy load. Ives leads you south into his home where the three tall, ancient trees stand.
The old spruce and hickory stand near the massive, ancient white fir. The only motion or noise is that of the wind whispering through the leaves as it stays the branches.
Teleri's feet ache despite the new boots, and the exertion of carrying her pack for hours leaves her flushed. Noting that Ives has slowed to a stop, she looks around.
"Is this it?" she asks. "We're rapidly running out of daylight."
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"This is it, Miss Teleri! You are looking at the oldest, smartest, wisest tree in the forest. The Mother Tree..."
White firs don't always grow to be the largest of trees, but this tree is certainly an exceptional one. With a diameter wider than several men reaching around it with hands linked, and a crown that seems to go above all the other trees and nearly go out of sight, this tree is one that makes all others pale in comparison. Almost as if it was touched by some first world magic.
Ives touches the Mother Tree and closes his eyes. Teleri sees his mouth move wordlessly.
"Well, Mother, I brought a friend here. I told her she could sleep inside you tonight. She seems worried, and she is certainly worn down. I don't think she is used to walking and walking and walking."
Teleri feels a slight tingling at the tips of her ears as a breeze moves through the Grove.
Mother Tree rspends to Ives "You brought her here, Ives? Why? Of course she may stay inside me but... What is between you and this girl?"
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"Hmmm? Oh, she's very smart, and she wants to stop the bad water too. I think she is pretty, isn't she? She nice, too. But I think she feels funny about being here for some reason. She didn't really want to come. I think I'll just sleep over there by Uncle tonight."
"Miss Teleri, I'm really tired. I think we should get some sleep now. You go in here, inside the Mother Tree. It is nice and warm in there. I've never even needed to light a fire in Mother Tree's grove, even in winter! I'll go over here by Uncle Spruce."
Ives drifts over to the old Spruce.
"Say hey, Uncle Spruce! I'm gonna put my head on your roots tonight, hope that is okay. And if it isn't... too bad! Ha ha!"
The gloaming light lends the grove a hushed, solemn air. Like a cathedral, but one unaccountably empty of people.
"Oh. Um ... hello. My name is Teleri ver Rhosyn," Teleri says, feeling entirely out of her depth. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
I hope it ... she? ... can understand me, Teleri thinks.
The mother tree responds to Teleri but only you can understand her "I hope it is a pleasure to meet you, little one. My boy says that your kind has been souring our water. Do what you can to end this."
Teleri passes the night inside the unaccountably warm and comfortable hollow in the great white fir, the tips of her ears slightly tingly all night long.
Uncle Spruce is sullenly silent toward Ives, who falls asleep at his roots. But as soon as Ives is asleep, a spruce cone falls on his face. This process repeats itself for as long as Ives will try to sleep beneath the ornery old tree.
You both awake as the sun streams into the grove the next morning.
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earlier
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"Uncle! Stop! It! Ugh!" Ives ends up moving over by Aunt Hickory, and hoping the nuts don't keep him up.
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The next morning.
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"Mother, Miss Teleri and I have to go talk to someone in the woods who might know about fey attacks on the human town. We talked to the naiads already...they suggested something called...Vold... could be behind it. This could just mean violence, of course, but it filled us with such dread that it seemed like something more..."
Aunt Hickory drops a few nuts during the night but they all manage to fall a few feet away from Ives.
Mother Tree responds to Ives "It is possible there is a double meaning of the word, Ives. But I do know the naiads would be loathe to resort to violence. Any of them. One of them spoke to me in sorrow yesterday, mourning the pain caused their people. She let slip that 'their friends in the swamp' had taken action and the naiads were trying to calm them down."
You could find your way to the swamp on the other side of the river.
Mother Tree allows some of her branches to sway with the wind. "It is like the woods, Ives. Some creatures there are dangerous. Many will befriend you if you approach them correctly. Or so I have heard. I, of course, have never been there either." She says this last bit with a teasing lilt in her deep, feminine voice.
Teleri approached the tree with trepidation, feeling it somehow disrespectful not merely to show up uninvited, but then to sleep inside her host. But ... it didn't seem to bother Ives, and in all honesty she wasn't entirely sure how to set up the small tent she'd purchased.
And so she crawled awkwardly into the tree, and spent the night dreaming of the wind soughing endlessly in the branches ...
Waking to find the sun risen, and Ives apparently engaged in conversation with the Mother Tree, Teleri pulls herself out of the tree and stretches hugely. She hadn't disrobed the previous evening, instead simply loosening the stays on her dress; she reties those.
She opens her mouth to speak, and then shuts it again, not wanting to interrupt the strange wild boy in the midst of his odd, almost inaudible conversation. And so she takes out a hair brush and begins brushing her hair, her ears tingling slightly.
Mother Tree's branches quiver slightly in amusement. "Oh Ives, my boy. So hard for you to remember how different you are, sometimes. Be careful as you go."
"I was perfectly warm, thank you," Teleri says, omitting to mention her aching back. "The Mother Tree is impressive. Did she have any suggestions as to where we should look for the fey?"
She finishes brushing her hair and ties it back in a loose knot for the day. "Err ... would it be all right to light a small fire to make breakfast? I'd be happy to do it elsewhere if Mother Tree prefers."
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"That's okay, Miss Teleri. I never do it too close to the trees. Come over in this place over here."
Ives leads her just a bit away to a cleared out area, and sure enough, there is a little firepit.
"When you are ready, Miss Teleri, I will lead us to the edge of the swamp. The Mother Tree said, that the naiads said, that there is something in there that might be responsible. I've never been in the swamp before but I know I can get us there, and then we will just have to be really careful. It is wet, and probably with deep mud."
"Oh, wonderful. A swamp," Teleri says, grimacing. She looks down at herself. "Skirts are terrific for mucking about in swamps."
She sighs heavily. "All right. Let me cook breakfast quickly and then we can get on with it."
Twenty minutes later, full of uninteresting but hearty oatmeal, Teleri is packed and ready to go.
She turns back to the Mother Tree and gives a brief curtsy. "It was a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," she says. "Thank you for your hospitality. All the best to you and yours."
And with that, she shoulders her pack once again, and begins trudging after Ives.
Ives and Teleri set off towards the river to search for the swamp on the other side. Ives brings them to a narrow place where a fallen tree provides a crossing. Then they head north somewhat toward Pentrefan until they encounter a distributary that winds off away from the main branch and spreads out into a swamp. Ives and Teleri keep to solid ground until they reach an area of particularly watery ground. On the other side of the water and small patches of solid ground, another stable land mass can be seen. As the two adventurers consider crossing the area, they hear a droning noise. They look to the west and see a large, mosquito-like creature approaching.
"Is that a ... stirge?" Teleri asks. "I've never seen one before. They sound like horrid creatures. And dangerous!" She sounds mildly panicky.
She fumbles around, pulls out the light mace she bought back in Dinas Diwydiant, and backs away from the buzzing menace as far as she can.
Teleri knows these creatures suck blood from their victims, weakening them. Ives knows that they attach when they bite and can transmit diseases. He also knows that there are likely to be more around here. But thankfully, these look like they aren't quite full grown, since it is spring. Ives barely manages to land a blow and kill the stirge but another can be seen approaching.
The water doesn't look dangerous but it does look like it would slow them down a lot! Ives does notice some narrower gaps that could be leapt across.
Teleri follows Ives' gaze. "So I guess we go through there, then?" She bites her lower lip pensively, and moves back a bit, getting ready to run and leap.
Another stirge comes buzzing toward the group but doesn't fly too recklessly into striking distance.
"Let's not hang about," Teleri says. "There may be more of them."
All right, here goes, she thinks. Running forward, she leaps for the next island, giving a slight "Hup!" as her feet leave the ground.
Her feet land firmly on the next hummock, sinking a bit into the soft earth. Keeping an eye on the stirge, she maneuvers to position herself for the next jump.