Chapter 8: The Seeds
-----It took a while to finally gather up the horses and by the time they were mounted, the better part of an hour had passed. They left the old Lathanian ruins behind without any further incident and began the ride northward. The day was pleasant enough except for the breeze coming down from the northwest, which added a chill to the air.
-----As they began their ride, they lost sight of the two men who had fled. Perhaps they had hidden in one of the small marshes dotting the area.
-----Ahead of the riders were mostly open plains. At one point, they skirted the edge of a small bog on their left. Far to the west, they could see the occasional wagon or group of travelers on the trail road.
-----After an hour’s ride, they came in sight of the small shell keep used by Broactor’s people as the Temple of Thales. Raven, in the lead of the galloping riders, waved to someone atop the stronghold. To the north of the keep, the heroes made for the far side of a wooded hill.
-----After riding another half-hour, the party finally stopped on the north side of the hill. Raven quickly dismounted and after a few moments, he found the remnants of tracks leading on toward the forest. In the distance, the heroes could see the forest stretch out before them.
-----Raven mounted up and led the rest, heading off to the northeast riding parallel to the trail. After riding about a half mile, they found themselves in front of one of twin hills. The tracks still showed up plainly in the soft ground, and at this point turned slightly to the east to skirt the hill.
-----After about an hour, they stopped to the east of the hill and saw that the tracks lead past a large pond. They headed on again to the northeast making for the Wesgol Forest.
-----About a half-hour later, the heroes approached the edge of the great forest. All seemed quiet within except for the usual busy sound of birds. As they entered the forest, they descended into a valley. They kept an eye on the surrounding slopes and trees, but the presence of birds and squirrels soon let them know that no ambush was waiting . . .
-----Now, toward the middle of the valley, they see a partly stone structure. As they approach it, they see that it is some kind of rock cairn with multicolored natural rocks. It looks as though it has been recently maintained. Raven also notices the tracks lead past here. He looks hard into the trees and detects no sign of anyone.
-----The party dismounts and Raven walks to the edge of the valley grove. What is frustrating is the fact that the trail seems to thin out as those that made them headed deeper into the forest. It would be much harder to track whoever made them now.
-----All is quiet in the tranquil valley. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a voice shouts, "Ahhhh . . . la . . . la!" All five heroes spin to see an average-sized man standing behind them among the trees with his arms extended. In one hand, he holds a great oaken staff. His head looking skyward is mostly covered by wild and long brownish hair. The beard, which covers his lower face, looks equally unkempt. He wears a long, layered tunic sporting colors of green and brown.
-----Slowly, he opens his eyes and lowers his head. Bringing his staff down, he calmly leans against it. With a wild look in his eyes, he gazes at each of the heroes. Finally he says, "Hey, . . . ya got any seeds?"
-----Startled Raven growls a bit and says in a low voice so the man won't hear him, "You want some seeds? I got big old seeds for you..." Raven tries to smile as he steps forward, "I have no seeds. What do you need to grow? Maybe we can help. We are new to these woods, but have heard of strange happenings here. Have you seen anything odd..." Again in low voice, "...like a comb." Raven watches the man closely and looks for any sign that he's a priest.
-----Sol chuckles lightly at Raven's words. Standing calmly, he waits for the peculiar old man to answer Raven.
-----"Grow?" the wild looking man grabs his beard as if thinking, "Grow?" He then looks skyward with a contemplative look, "Grow!" He says looking back at Raven, "No, my friend, the word is not grow. It is maintain." He says this as he sweeps his hand in a slow horizontal motion.
-----"Have I seen anything odd?" he says as he looks around at the surrounding grass and trees. "Odd?" he again grabs his beard as if thinking, "Odd?" He then looks skyward with a contemplative look, "Odd!" He looks at Sol with big eyes. "He asks if I’ve seen anything odd!" He says this as he points at Raven’s bloodied leather. He then turns back to Raven, "Say yore losin’ sap there! Where does it hurt?" He points at Raven’s injured arm.
-----He then turns quickly to Sol again and says with a slightly different tone in his voice, "He’s the oddest thing I’ve seen so far, since the bone men, but they don’t laugh much!" He walks around Sol and looks back at Raven over the young man’s shoulder. "No offense, my friend," he says to Raven, "but we may have to do some heavy graftin’ to restore that limb o’ yours!"
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