Mood: blank
Listening to: Tong Hua - Guang Liang
Continuing from where I left off. But before that...
To Nadine: I'm not going to say anything, coz the identities will be revealed in this part. Hope you like it too. :) And thanks very much for all your time reading my draft.
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He woke the next day, refreshed in mind and body, only to find the sun shining high in the sky through the canopy, several large bags of food and no signs of the Stranger. Darick pondered the strangeness of the missing Stranger for a while, but because he was a simpleton, he shrugged it off as a dream, ate his fill from the bags of supply that had appeared overnight, shouldered the remaining food and his sword, set off humming softly under his breath.
By now, we all know that hero-wannabe Darick Boyne was a simple-minded, good-for-nothing, unbelievably-lucky guy, but the fact that he knew how to head north was probably a miracle. He figured that since the sun rose in the east, directly above him at noon and set in the west, he would continue on his journey with the sun on his right in the morning, and later on his left in the afternoon. The only problem was that he could not differentiated when morning turned into afternoon. Hence, more often than not, he walked on an invisible zigzag path through the fields and forests of the Plains, nonetheless still heading north.
It was strange, but somehow, the bags of food that the Stranger – whom Darick had conveniently forgotten – lasted for three whole months, though Darick dipped deeply into them three times a day. When he finally threw away the last empty sack, it occurred to him that he would have to either forage or hunt for his food, for he was deep into the northern forests with no sign of civilization in sight.
Darick pondered the problem as he walked, one hand stroking his chin thoughtfully, the other clasping the sword. So deep in thought was he that he almost stumbled into the garden of a cottage that seemed to have appeared magically out of the nowhere. As it was, his feet had crushed more than several flowers and plants, leaving destruction in his wake. The frown on his forehead deepened as he stared in perplexity at the oddly out of place cottage. Thus he was very shocked when a shout came from behind him.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” railed the voice, and when Darick turned around, he saw a nasty little old woman dressed in a hideous mix of yellow and orange glaring at him. “Get your feet off my garden!”
Darick obliged, and faced the woman squarely. He towered about more than twice over the little woman, and looked down at her apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
“Like right you’re sorry. If you’re really sorry, you’ll be groveling in the dirt right now! Have you no eyes in that monstrous thing you have on your neck? Or maybe you did it on purpose?” screamed the woman, squinting up at him.
The man was taken aback by her ruthless accusations, and cowered under them. “I’m sorry, I really am sorry,” he babbled, going onto his knees so that he was at eye-level with the dwarven woman. “I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice your cottage and garden until it was too late.” He bent at the waist – a ridiculous sight considering that he was already kneeling – and was all ready to grovel for mercy but the old lady stopped him.
“All right, all right, that’s quite enough. You’re sincere, young man, that’s clear. You don’t really have to grovel. A man should have pride and dignity! Don’t you feel ashamed, groveling to an old lady in the middle of nowhere?”
“What are those?” he asked blankly. “What pride and dignity?”
“You mean you don’t know?” the old lady was incredulous. “Pride! Dignity! Two of makes a man a man! Without them, how do you stand on your own two feet and face everything fearlessly and bravely?”
“Bravely?” Darick perked up at the word. “Like a hero?”
“Precisely! Stand up, Man, and stand up tall!” Darick did so eagerly. “That’s better. Now, square your shoulders and look up straight. Have some confidence in yourself, and we’ll be talking in my home.” She was surprisingly agile on her feet, moving quickly past him and into the cottage, with Darick trailing behind her.
Once inside, the old lady set about making tea, leaving Darick to take in the surroundings. Everything in the house was scaled down to a size comfortable for the Old Lady, save for a chair that strangely was just right for Darick. He leaned the sword in its scabbard against a wall, and sat down gingerly in the chair, feeling oddly like a giant in the little house.
“Here.” The Old Lady set a steaming cup of tea in front of him. “Hungry?”
“A little,” he answered honestly. His eyes widened when she removed an enormous plate of food from behind a door. “How…”
The Old Lady grinned. “I have my ways. Not that you Man would understand.”
“I…Thank you very much, urm…what should I call you?”
“Old Lady would do. My other name is too widely known.”
“Thank you, Old Lady,” said Darick sincerely. “I’m Darick. Darick Boyne, son of Brendan Boyne, cow-herder.”
“Well, that’s obviously where you got your muscles from. Go ahead, eat. I’ll be out in the garden,” she said, and exited the room.
Darick gobbled up the food with a speed that suggested that he had not eaten for days – though he just had his morning meal – gulped down the steaming tea and went outside, where the Old Lady was loosening the soil with a plow. She soon stopped, a hand held to her waist, obviously in pain. It was then that Darick leapt to her aid.
“Here, let me do it. In return from the sumptuous food.” The Old Lady looked pleasantly surprised, then gratified, and handed the plow to him. She watched from the open window as Darick opened the ground for her. After a little while, Darick stopped to take off the leather tunic he wore, and really got down to work.
By the time he was done, the sun was setting, and the mouth-watering aromas drifting from the cottage had his stomach growling. The Old Lady appeared in the doorway.
“There’s a well on the other side of the cottage,” she said, gesturing to her right. “Clean up and come in for dinner.”
Darick grinned his acceptance and did as she asked.
After a dinner that was flavorsome as the lunch before, Darick leaned back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction. The Old Lady cleared the dirty dishes away, and settled into an armchair by the hearth, nursing yet another cup of tea.
“Your name’s Darick Boyne, right?” she asked, staring into the fire.
“Yes.”
“Where do you live, before you came here?”
“Down south. Our village is right at the tip of the Southern Plains.” He said with a certain pride.
“Hmm. You’ve come a long way to reach this far, young Darick.”
“Well, I wanted to visit Winter, and a friend of mine told me that he lived in the North Peak of the World.”
The Old Lady snapped her head around to look at him. “You want to look for Winter.”
“Yes. Is that wrong?”
“It’s not wrong, but… Are you sure you know the dangers involved? It’s not an easy road to Winter’s home.”
“Dangers? From the cold, you mean? I’ll get one of the furs of the sheep before I climb the mountains. It’ll be fine,” replied Darick confidently.
“There’s that, but… It’s a foolhardy journey, boy. Best give it up before it’s too late.””
“Why? Is there a monster or something guarding the mountains? Or some terrible snowstorm?”
“It’s much worse than that. Really, my boy, you shouldn’t ask so much. Just go back to that village or yours, and live your life out as a simple cow-herder.”
“I won’t be a cow-herder. All my brothers are cow-herders. I won’t be any different. Instead, I’ll probably be a lot worse at it that they are.” He paused. “But why are you so against the idea? Is there some terrible danger ahead of me? Will there be terrifying monsters to defeat? Or harsh elements to overcome? I’m not afraid of those.”
“There are many things in this World a lot worse than monsters and elements.” Her face was grave.
“Then let me face them, and overcome them, for the sake of everyone on the Plains, I will go forth, and I will succeed!” His voice rose with his confidence, until he was on his feet, a determined look on his face.
“Do you really think so? Success does not come easily,” said the Old Lady somberly.
“But I must at least try, right?” Darick turned bright and hopeful eyes on her. “If I turn back now, all that I went through would be for nothing.”
“Not that you’ve been through much,” muttered the Old Lady under her breath. “Then I won’t try to change your mind any more. Go forth as you please, but do take care, and be wary of everyone and everything, and may Lady Luck stay with you.”
“Thank you, Old Lady,” replied Darick sincerely.
“Now, you must be tired after all that exertion earlier. Come, I’ve prepared a comfortable bed for you. Sleep well, and you’ll continue on this journey of yours come morning.”
Gratefully, Darick followed the Old Lady to a bed by the corner, laid down on it, and fell instantly asleep.
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The next 1500 words or done, but I need to read them over again. Will be out in the next entry. :)
