Rhistmaege

Tuck Sooth

Tuck Sooth's stone cottage radiated with a soft-blue hue, echoing the serenity of the tranquil outdoors. A gray flagstone hearth banked in the right hand corner warmed the cozy, single room abode. Stacked stone walls held narrow nooks and long rocky crags weeping with vivid clumps of red-stemmed Feather Moss and sprigs of Green-Dog lichen. The highest channels bustled with dewdrop strings of Whispering-Bluebells, while the lower gaps bulged with emerald tufts of Broom-Fork Moss, and lean, whips of golden Leadwort creepers. A simple table of rough hewn maple and two matching rack-backed chairs anchored the center of the room. Off to the right, a checkered coffee brown and parchment white throw lay across a cradling, nut-brown, leather lounger. The other side of the room was in disarray. Stacks of wood crates, small bellied barrels, and slumping canvas sacks of red and black surrounded a narrow bunk of faded cottonsail canvas.

Dovi sat upon a three-legged stool. What is taking them so long? He tapped his heels upon the pine floorboards and pushed away thoughts of snooping about. Finally, the door swung open. Tuck Sooth and Bisby Wroughton carried trays laden with plates and bowls and tall sweating glass decanters. They set the trays upon the table.

"Come, come. Eat, drink, be merry," said Tuck with a quick smile. "Well, merriment may be a stretch, based on your sour look. Here, fresh, succulent Gravenstem apples picked just a moment ago, Red Seckel pears, some chilled Autumn-Sweet plum cider. I do hope you like cheese. Sharp Imsilian, blue-veined Kashkavic and I nearly had to knock Bisby senseless to part him from his Scamorzagan."

Dovi's mouth watered as pungent whiffs of marbled white and shocking yellow cheese tickled his nose. He grabbed the diced cubes with both hands and popped the savory delicacies in his mouth. Despite his desire to savor the taste, he greedily wolfed them down. He bit into velvety smooth pears and chomped down of blush red apples, then licked the sweetness from the tips of sticky fingers. He quaffed down glass after glass of the ambrosial plum cider, as if drowning all worries away. Worldly problems vanished and he reveled in the rightness of the moment. I don't care if I die on this very spot. It was all worth it to just to find this taste of heaven. The thought hung in his mind like an executioner's axe. I'm not actually in heaven, am I?

"Um, just confirming, I'm not dead, am I? This isn't my version of heaven, is it?" asked Dovi through purplish-blue stained lips.

"I can indeed confirm you're not dead, and based on what Bisby has told me, it seems a miracle you're not. Let me explain while you finish up," said Tuck.

A small clock hanging above the bunk chimed with melodic, whimsical whistles and bells. Thin strands of blue light swirled about the whitewood clock face, then raced in all four directions, drawing Dovi's attention away from Tuck. A wide, network of interlocking, shimmering blue light blanketed the thatch ceiling. Dovi gave a startled cry and shrank away. Something rustled amongst the highest rafter.

Then he saw it. Hideous. Foul. By the gods, look at that thing. A black spider, the size of a small dog wandered among the rafters. Tuck and Bisby glanced up and seemed not to care at all about the deadly fiend who lurked mere inches above their heads.

"Uh, is anyone going to DO something about that?" asked Dovi, circling away from its path.

"Easy lad. It's a Rhist Renge. Gearda, in concert with our Rhistwatch-clock, has maintained every speck of moss, green leaf, and fragile flower bloom on these walls. She's the best gardener and guarder I could asked for. Watch how she waters," said Tuck.

Dovi watched the spider climb its way to the highest corner of the room. It's bulbous undercarriage pulsed bright blue as it passed back and forth across the walls; small dripping trails of blue soaked into the plants. When it finished scurrying across all four walls, it climbed back up and burrowed into a black nest. The blue constellation-like coverings of light faded away, leaving the slightest hint of blue hanging in the air.