"Come on, Pafy, hurry up!"
Nellna muttered to herself as she waited for her sister to catch up. "What's taking her so long? I thought she was excited to come with me today..."
Pafy jumped down from the rocky ledge above.
"Sorry, Nell. I found some monkeys. You know how much Mom loves monkeys."
"I told you to stay close. I want to get there while he's still asleep."
It was dark in the Valenwood - a cloudy night. Barely a hint of stars could be seen at all. Still, Nellna knew her way around this part of the forest better than most wood elves, and Pafy was learning quickly. It was Nellna's favorite place to fish - an old lake to the west of her home where her good-for-nothing cousin Rininion had begged the spinner for his own secluded pod.
"You know, Rin would probably let us fish here all we wanted if we just asked him nicely," Pafy stated, trying to come up with something to say.
"Yeah, but I love the smug look he gets when he goes on about this place," Nellna said with a chuckle. "He goes on and on about his 'own private pond' where he can fish endlessly day or night. And the entire time I've been coming here and getting my fill too! It's too good to pass up."
Pafy sighed. She was happy that her older sister was finally taking her along with her. She always felt like she was still just a kid, but she really wanted Nellna to see that she could look out for herself in the forest, too.
It was beautiful by the lake. So peaceful and green. Nellna and Pafy caught more fish than they could carry. Some had to be put back for another time. After a few hours, they decided to go back home.
"Mom will be really happy with all these fish, huh, Nell?"
"Yeah. And the monkeys too. That was really thoughtful of you, Pafy."
They climbed up the rocks to where the old ruins were, but when they got to the top, they noticed something strange.
"The trees! The trees are on fire! What's going on!?"
Nellna took off like a shot, Pafy racing to keep up. They ducked between two stones. Everything was on fire - all of Cormount!
"Nellna, what's going on?" Pafy whispered. She was crying.
"I don't know, but I think we should get out of here. Let's go around back and see if we can't get help from Karthdar."
Nellna and Pafy made their way to Karthdar without much trouble, and Nellna was at least able to find them someplace safe to sleep for the rest of the night. She had heard rumors about trouble brewing around town for weeks now, but burning down the Valenwood? What could possibly warrant that?
 beidoll · Tue Nov 02, 2021 @ 08:15pm · 0 Comments |
