It was late evening. The sun was setting for the day, and I was busy at the Ol' Quartz, collecting stone dust into a basket below. But my mind and heart wasn't in my work. As I was meticulously chipping away at the stone, my mind continued to drift to the event that happened that morning.
Skeletons... Giant skeletons... I couldn't have just imagined that right? How long had they been in this forest, and I didn't even know? How close have I gotten to encountering one of them before, without even realizing it? Are they dangerous? Do I want to risk the chance finding out?
Okay [Y/N], calm down, I tell myself. Running my mind in circles isn't going to get anything accomplished. I wipe the sweat off my brow, with my hand, and look down at my work below. The basket is over flowing with stone dust... woops. Must have gone a bit over board when I wasn't paying attention.
I carefully climb down the rock, down to the basket. I grab it and start slowly dragging it towards my wagon. It was a struggle getting it into the wagon, with how over filled it was, but I managed. With that done, I grab the wagon and start heading back to the village.
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It was later in the evening than usual, when I finally make it back to the village. Just barely making it back before dark. A lot of the bitties I passed by seemed relieved to see me, I guess they were worried when I didn't show up at my usual time, which was understandable.
I make it back to my goosepen, get cleaned up, and get to work preparing the food and silk. Everyone lined up to get their share as usual. And as usual, Alvin probed me with questions, when it was his turn in line.
"Did anything cool happen today!?" he asks excitedly, "Did you fight off anymore squirrels? Or a fox? Or a crow?"
"One question at a time kid, jeez." I berate them, "And no. Fortunately I didn't have any mishaps with predators today."
"Aw man..." he wines, "No cool stories today?"
"Now, I didn't say that." I said mischievously, as I handed him his food, "I was out earlier today than usual, and you would not believe what I saw."
Alvin gasps, "What!? What was it!? What was it!?"
"Giant skeletons." I reveal, moving my hand dramatically.
Alvin's eyes grow as big as saucers as I continue, "And not just any giant skeletons. These skeletons could walk and talk."
"No way!" Alvin cries with disbelief, "You're messing with me."
"Nope," I say with certainty, "I'm telling the truth. Trust me, I could barely believe it myself when I first saw them. Scared me half to death."
"Whoa." he says in awe.
But I shoo him away, "Okay, that's enough story time. You're holding up the line as usual. Now get."
Satisfied, Alvin doesn't protest this time, and scurries off with his goods. I continue servicing the line as usual. The glass making bitties were especially happy with how much quartz dust I had brought, so I guess my slip up was a good thing.
Once that was done, I closed up shop, got out my loom, and started working with the silk, to make Elisa-mae's dress. I had been working on it for a while, when there was a knock at the entrance.
"Come in." I called out.
And in came the Elder with his daughter.
"Good evening [Y/N]," the Elder greeted, "Was today a successful harvest, as usual?"
"Yes, Elder Elderwood," I confirm, "All the leftovers can be found by the entrance."
Elisa-mae steps closer and glares down at my loom disapprovingly, "Is that supposed to be my dress? Are you not done with it yet?"
I sigh with frustration and reply, "Of course not, it's going to take me days to make an entire dress out of silk. Not to mention the time to gather enough materials to make it."
"But my birthday is just in a few days!" she complains, "And I want to wear it on my birthday! Daaaaad!"
The Elder flinches at his daughters tone, "Um... [Y/N] is there any way you could finish the dress sooner...?"
I sigh before turning to the Elder, "I don't know. The time I get to actually work on it is very little. It takes me all day to forage for materials and food, and on top of that, I still need to eat and sleep."
Elisa-mae scoffs, "Can't you just take a day off, to work on the dress?"
"No," I state firmly, "I'm not letting the entire village go hungry for a day, just so you can get a dress, that you don't need, faster. Plus, I still need to gather more silk, to finish making it anyways."
"What about my suggestion?" the Elder inquires, "To get someone to help you gather materials."
"And who is going to help me?" I ask tiredly, "You've seen the reception. No one wants to leave the safety of this village."
"Except," Elisa-mae ponders, "that weird kid, who keeps trying to sneak out. What was his name...?"
"Oh, Alvin!" the Elder says upon remembering, "Why not let him help out, [Y/N]?"
I stare at the Elder with bewilderment, "Elder Elderwood, you can't seriously be suggesting that I take a child with me?"
"Why not?" Elisa-mae asks, "He's practically the same size as you, little [Y/N]."
"This is not a matter of size!" I shout in anger, "He could be the tallest bitty here, but that won't change the fact that he is young and inexperienced!"
"And what better way to get experience, then to go out there and do it?" the Elder states with resolution, "It's settled then. Starting tomorrow, the bitty Alvin, is to start accompanying you outside the village."
"What!?" I say, taken off guard, "Now, wait a minute, I didn't-"
"Now [Y/N]," the Elder says firmly, "are you going to go against the decree of an Elder?"
"But-" I try to interject.
"Yeah, [Y/N]," Elisa-mae says smugly, "are you going to go against the word of an Elder?"
It takes every bit of self-control I have in my body to not explode from frustration and anger. But what the Elder's say is practically treated as law in the village, and challenging their word is viewed equal to blasphemy.
"... Fine." I reluctantly concede...
Out of nowhere, Alvin burst through the entrance shouting, "Woo hoo! I get to go! I get to go!"
"Alvin!?" I shout with surprise, "What-? How-? How longer were you standing out there!?"
Alvin stops his mini celebration and turns to look at me sheepishly, "Um... the whole time...?"
I facepalm before saying, "Okay... Okay, fine! It's not like I'm being given a choice. But I'm going to need you up bright and early,
you hear? Before sunrise!"
Alvin salutes, "Yes ma'am!"
And then he runs off cheering. Hooting and hollering loud enough to probably disturb the entire village... What have I gotten myself into?
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True to his word, Alvin arrived before sunrise. I almost wonder if he had gotten any sleep at all... I share some of my dried berries and nut with him, for breakfast, and after putting on my own safety gear, I get him fitted into his own. I didn't have any walnut shells to use or a helmet, so I strap a small, king bolete(mushroom) top instead. That should at least be able to cushion any falls.
I check to make sure I have everything we need before leaving the goosepen, wagon in tow. I was surprised that we were able to leave the village in record time. Alvin is hyper as usual, but not to the point of being distracted. He is determined to do his best on this 'mission', as he called it.
But that doesn't last long...
"How much farther...?" Alvin wines...
I sigh, "We're only about half way to our first stop..."
"But we have been walking for forever..." he complains, "My feet hurt."
"Well, too bad, cause we aren't stopping for a break." I state firmly.
Alvin huffs, "But why though...?"
"Because it's too dangerous." I explain, "Plus the longer it takes to get to our stops, the longer it will take to get everything done. And the longer it takes to get everything done, the later we will be outside the village."
Alvin groans and continues to drag his feet as he follows. I sigh with exasperation. This is why I didn't want to bring a child with me. This is not a job for someone his age... But he's here now, and I can't just send him packing. Not only would I get an earful from Elder Elderwood, but that would just put the kid in more danger...
So I stop in my tracks and turn to face him before asking, "Do you need a ride?"
"Huh?" Alvin says as he looks at me with confusion.
I gesture towards my back, "Do you need to hop on, so I can carry you?"
"Um..." he looks un certain as he gives me a onceover, "You do realize I'm practically the same height as you right?"
I level him with a deadpan look, "And I think you're forgetting I'm an adult bitty. If I couldn't lift heavy things, how would I be able to take enough food, to feed the entire village, back to the village?"
"Oh yeah." he says with realization as he hops on my back, "Okay, I'm ready."
I just shake my head with disbelief before continuing our trek through the forest. The early birds were singing, and the morning dew was still clinging to the surrounding foliage. It was a pretty peaceful morning so far. And after a good hour and a half of walking, we made it to the mulberry tree.
"We're here." I announce as I kneel to let Alvin off my back.
"Here?" Alvin asks as he looks around the place with curiosity.
"Yup." I confirm as I search through the wagon for what I needed.
"Okay, arms up." I command as I approach the boy with a cord of silk string.
Alvin looks at me with confusion, but complies. As soon as his arms are up, I start tying the silk around his torso.
"Uh, what's this for?" He asks as I start tying the other end around my own waist.
"Precaution." I reply, "This will be your first time climbing a tree like this. Hopefully this will be enough to prevent you from
falling."
I strap an empty basket onto his back, and hand him two quills, before equipping myself. I walk up to the base of the tree before instructing, "Alright, do exactly as I do."
I start to slowly climb the tree, but I stop when the tether of silk snags. I look down to see Alvin still standing at the base.
"Come on, I can't get very far with you standing there." I encourage.
That snaps him out of his daze, and he hesitantly starts climbing up the tree. He's a little shaky, and his feet slip a few times, but he does catches himself before he falls.
"That's it. Be sure to climb with your feet, and keep your arms straight." I call out before resuming my own climb up the tree. The climb is slower than usual, having to stop frequently in order for Alvin to catch up, but there aren't any mishaps, and no body falls, so that's a plus. We make it to the first branch, where I suggest we take a break.
"We can rest here for a bit, before we continue climbing." I suggest.
"What!? We have to go higher?" Alvin asks between gasps of breath.
"Yeah, sorry..." I say apologetically, "I've already harvested all the mulberries from this branch, so we will have to go higher up to get more."
Alvin groans as he slumps back against the tree's trunk, "Aw man... Can we at least have lunch first? It's been forever since breakfast..."
As if to emphasize his point, his tummy rumbles loudly.
"Growing boys and their appetites." I sigh, "We will get lunch, after we collect the mulberries. It's not like I have anything on me right now."
"Aww..." Alvin pouts.
"Huh... I've never been this high up before." he points out as he looks around, "Hey! I think I see the trees that make up our village from here. Hello~!"
Huh... I never noticed that you could see the village from this far up. From the ground you wouldn't even know it was there at all. Guess I was always more focused on gathering food, than sightseeing.
"Okay, I think that was a long enough break." I proclaim as I get up to start climbing again, "We don't have all day."
"Oh okay." Alvin replies before following me up the tree. It doesn't take as long to get to the second branch as it did the first branch. And as soon as I finish instructing Alvin on how to harvest the mulberries, we start filling our baskets. Our baskets were about halfway full when there was a rumbling sound. I recognize this sound. I even recognize the voices that were shouting in the distance.
"What is that!?" Alvin asks, wringing his hand.
"Shhh-" I hush him and whisper, "Follow me."
I guide him towards a branch full of thick leaves, great for camouflage. I order him to stay quiet while we hide. The noise got louder and louder, as what was coming got closer and closer. And soon they appeared! The giant skeletons were back, just like yesterday. Alvin gasps at the sight of them and looks at me in question. I merely nod in answer, which only causes Alvin to squeal and vibrate with excitement. I have to hold him down, in order to get him to be still.
"WHO ARE THE GREATEST SKELETONS AROUND?"
"PAPYRUS AND BLUEBERRY ARE THE BEST IN TOWN!"
"STRIKING AWE INTO THOSE WE MEET!"
"OUR COMBINED GREATNESS CAN'T BE BEAT!"
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF TORIEL, SHUT UP! YOUR CHANTING IS RUINING MY CONCENTRATION."
"YOUR JUST JEALOUS CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A COOL CHANT OF YOUR OWN."
"I DON'T WANT A STUPID CHANT!"
The skeletons were loud like last time too... And most of them didn't pay us any attention as they past. But the tall, red eyed one stopped in their tracks just like last time and looked towards our tree.
Again the other tall one took notice and stopped to ask, "EDGE? WHAT'S WRONG? DO YOU SENSE SOMETHING AGAIN?"
This causes the two shorter ones to stop and double back as well.
"AGAIN?" the one with purple eyes inquires.
"YES," Edge confirms, "ONLY THIS TIME, THERE'S TWO OF THEM."
"TWO?" the other tall one repeats.
"ON OUR TERRITORY?!" the purple one shouts angrily.
The tall one sighs, "HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS THAT THESE MOUNTAIN TRAILS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC...?"
"STILL TOO CLOSE FOR MY LIKING!" the purple one argues.
"I FOR ONE AGREE." Edge says as he crosses his arms.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA, CALM DOWN GUYS." the small blue one tries to placate, "THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HURT ANYONE, SO JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE."
"BLUE IS RIGHT." the other tall one agrees, "THERE IS NO NEED TO CAUSE TROUBLE FOR ANYONE. LET'S JUST CONTINUE OUR RUN."
Edge and the purple one don't seem too happy with the idea, but the reluctantly follow the others. When the skeletons were out of sight, we came out of our hiding place.
"Oh my gosh!" Alvin shouts, no longer able to keep in his excitement, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Skeletons! Giant, talking skeletons! They are real!"
"Yup," I confirm smugly, "what did I tell yah? Strangest thing I've ever seen out here."
"And I got to see them in person!" he exclaims, "Oh, I can't wait to tell everybody."
"Uh, no." I state as I grab hold of his shoulders to make him look at me, "You are not telling anybody about this."
"What!?" he says shocked, "But, why not...?"
"You know how much of a big scaredy-cat the entire village is," I explain, "we don't need them worrying about the unlikely scenario of our village getting invaded by giant skeletons. Capiche?"
"Fine..." Alvin reluctantly agrees.
"Good. Now help me finish gathering these mulberries." I direct.