001 — Fruits of the Harvest

[hengest]

The town of Moonbloom is a true town, large and walled, easily seen quite a ways off. The houses are sturdily built, some of wood, some of stone, many still in the hands of the families that built them. For Moonbloom is not an old town, but was founded only some 50 years ago by a group of folk who found themselves cast together from different parts of the world, each with a story so unusual, it would not have been believed save that all the hearers had such stories of their own. A desire for peace and a settled life helped to bring about the spirit of cooperation that still (most days) is found in Moonbloom.

Many are lettered, a few have much more than they need, and very few are without shelter. The seasons are mild enough here, but in the winter, the ground often stays covered with snow for weeks on end, as it is now.

"Anne's," an inn, is better known for its food and drink for locals than for the few beds upstairs that it offers to travellers. On the ground floor, a swinging door separates the kitchen from the gathering area, and a large trapdoor — usually open — by the far wall opens onto a stairway that leads down to the cellar where the ale and potatoes are kept.

This night, Ethan Greyback, still hale and hearty, and known as a lover of books as well as adventure, is telling one of his tales to a group of the young. Several older folks around are half-listening, but the children and young men and women are rapt.

Ethan's wife, Anne, is the head cook and the face of the inn, as her mother was before her, when it was known as "Daisy's."

[hengest]

At another table, long and well-set with food and drink, folk are heatedly discussing the strangeness of late, a disturbance of the peace in Moonbloom such as has not happened in some time.

Baskets of fruit and vegetables, fresh as if they were just picked, have been appearing overnight at the doors of various houses, most of them on the east side of town, well away from the gate, which opens to the north. A few of them are of unknown kinds, but even the strangest-looking — long, curled, and black — have turned out toothsome, but Anne has refused to cook with them thus far.

"It must be some trick the children are playing, revenge for all our stories!" says Dowen, a man of some fifty years, his short beard and long hair both silver and black.

"And where do our own children get what we've never seen before on our own plots or in the wild? Answer me that and I'll see to it you sleep well for a week!" replies the widow Eve, her nut-brown hair still untouched by frost, though she is old enough to have a grown son. At her words, a wave of laughter tears across the table. No one laughs as hard or as long as Dowen.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin Greyback is sitting at a nearby table in Anne's dividing his attention between his father's tales and the gossip of the local folk. He laughs in response to Dowen's comment and shakes his head in amusement. Gathering his thoughts and running through the chatter in his brain, Edwin considers that there must be some sort of reasonable explanation to these baskets of fruits and vegetables appearing on doorsteps. Edwin determines that there are some questions that he needs to look into answering.

Are these baskets showing up at different doorsteps?

Has anyone ever seen anyone place the baskets?

Has anyone eaten any of these fruits and vegetables?

Has this happened before?

Edwin decides to let the tales play out for the evening and then try to find some quick answers from tonight's patrons of Anne's.  He sits back in his chair and listens so he can let the internal chatter in his head die down.

[hengest]

In the midst of Anne's on a night like tonight, the sounds of the town outside muffled by the blanket of snow, the laughter, shouts, and talk inside become a hearty stew for anyone with mind to listen.

Edwin sits back and lets his ears pick out some of the familiar voices...

"...and she cooked it, my Emma did, roasted it right over our own fire! Looked like some mad snake! Cut it up and she and my Aetheling ate it! Neither of them a bit worse for it that I can tell, but they looked mighty pleased with themselves! I'd sooner die than eat that fairy food, I would!" Edwin knows that Goody Andra always thinks folk look pleased with themselves.

The sounds of young children responding to the eldest among them come from nearby. They laugh and squeal as the somewhat bigger boy goes on: "...and I've seen them leave it! Little men the size of cats! Must all be poisoned, my dad says! I went and buried it myself and left the handle sticking up out of the ground!"

Some of those present, naturally, have other topics on their minds. Off to his right is a group of young women, all known well to him, standing at a table, the older ones pulling at ale as they talk over each other in hushed voices, looking close into each other's eyes and then glancing around in excitement. He cannot quite catch enough words to follow the thread of their conversation. One of the eldest among them, Mary, his own age, catches Edwin's eye as she looks around, and he fancies that her smile widens for a moment before she looks back to her friends.

"...swear I've seen one fall, not placed but dropped, and some of what was in it plopped out. Well, we ate everything we knew and not what we didn't, that's the way my mother and I made it to this town all those years ago, may her heart be forever remembered, stay close to what you know and anything you don't, well, send it right back where it came from..." The mother mentioned is the late old Helga, who Edwin found to be old even when he was young. She came with her daughter in the early days, before even Ethan, his father, found his way here.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Taking in the bits of information flowing in the conversations around him, Edwin becomes determined to gather up all the knowledge he can and find out what is going on with this mysterious food being left at the doorsteps of the town's folk.  Glancing around, Edwin decided to start with Goody Andra, so he turns and approaches her at the nearby table.

As he walks up to her, Edwin waits for a lull in the conversation and begins, "Goody Andra, pardon my interruption but I would like to ask some questions of you and Emma.  I overheard you speaking of what's become known as the fairy fruit around here.  It seems to be the talk of the town and I would like to find out everything I can so maybe I can get an answer for all of us." Edwin pauses momentarily before continuing on.

Holding he palms up before him and spreading them out Edwin says, "Everyone wants to know where the fruit is coming from and why it is being left at the doorsteps. Is it safe to eat?  You seem to have an answer for that.  I wasn't trying to listen, but I couldn't help but catch some of the nearby conversations.  Would it be acceptable for you and Emma to speak with me on this matter?".

[hengest]

Andra opens her mouth to reply to young Edwin, then looks off to her her right and breaks into a laugh of uncertain quality as Emma, a girl of thirteen, crashes into Edwin almost from behind, having caught his question to her mother. Before he can turn around, Emma is talking in a manner her knows well, although he has not spoken directly with her in some time. She seems older now than he expected — perhaps she's at that age. "Oh, that snakefruit is safe to eat, for sure, for sure! My dad ate it, too, no sickness and it's good with just a bit of salt, its own flavor is all you need," she pauses for half a breath, brushing a bit of her red-brown hair out of her face, as if remembering just how it tasted, "next time I'll cook it up in a bit o' fat with garlic and rosemary and you can have some, too, Edwin, you truly can! We have another they left us and I can cook it anytime, mother won't touch it but I'm to have my own hearth someday and mother knows I'll choose what's good to eat then!"

Edwin is still taking this in as he hears Andra, now just behind him and to his left, muttering about how pleased with herself Emma will be when she has a man and a fire of her own. "Heh!" he hears in a tone of pride swamped by resignation and a touch of resentment.

Just before Andra's words come to their end, and before he can reply at all to Emma. Edwin hears from another table a name-day song for Fist, a boy some years his junior, but fast becoming a man. Emma has fallen silent but has her eyes still on him, her smile of excitement slowly fading on her face.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin is amused at all of the excitement in Emma's voice as she flies through her tale of the fairy fruit.  He makes a mental note and physical effort not to show any sort of amusement at her rushed explanation.  In the pause of the current moment Edwin realizes he has the opportunity to speak.

"Emma, you called it snake fruit because it writhed about while being cooked, right?  How did it taste to you?  You said you have some left?  I could try it?". Pausing briefly to momentarily contemplate on his thoughts, Edwin continues.

"Just a moment, " looking towards Goody Andra Edwin inquires, "Would you mind if I tried the fruit?  Would you mind if Emma prepared it like she did the last time?".

Waiting for an answer, Edwin notices that Emma has her attention on the nearby celebration with Fist.  Edwin laughs inside as he thinks that maybe Emma has her mind on something else at the moment.

[hengest]

"You're a grown man, Edwin! If you want to eat her poisoned fairy food, it's no business of mine! And I don't feature your own mother has the time to worry about your next meal, not tonight, anyway!" Andra waves her hand as if dismissing the topic that she herself brought up. Emma is already speaking in reply, overlapping her mother, her face jutting towards you a bit and the rest of her body bending back: "It didn't writhe about, no, I call it snake fruit just because it's so long and curly like a coiled snake! But it doesn't move when you cook it, not any more than any other food does! I can fix it for you anytime, I can!" She does not, in fact, seem to be paying attention to Fist's celebration, at which the song has now ended. Those present sound like they're breaking into generally congratulatory muttering.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin is taken back and a little confused trying to figure out who to listen to as Andra and Emma speak almost simultaneously.  The ebb and flow of the conversation is just enough for him to make out who is saying what and understand most of everything.

Turning to Andra, Edwin says, "No worries.  I take full responsibility. It doesn't seem to have had an adverse effect on anyone that has eaten it.  Maybe this is simple generosity?". 

Speaking to Emma, Edwin says, "Thank you for the information and clarification on the details.  We will work out a time that's convenient for the both of us.". 

Edwin glances about the dining area and returns his gaze to the pair before continuing, "Now, I need to talk to some of the others around here about this mysterious fruit.  Accept my leave as I pursue this further.  We will meet soon if that pleases you.".

Edwin waits for an answer and lets his thoughts flow.  

Maybe I can find out where that one piece was buried?

I need to talk to the ones claiming to have seen small people delivering this fruit.

Andra's girl seems in a rush to get me over there to eat. Hmmm....I've got to make sure there are others there as well.  I'm doing research at the moment and not courting.

[hengest]

Andra is already engaged in some other chatter and does not even hear Edwin's words this time. She does not seem too worried about who eats the snakefruit. 

Emma replies instantly, breaking away for a moment from a lively talk she's already begun with someone else on the side. "Oh, for sure," she says, turning back to Edwin, "but make it soon! I can't save you any! Everyone should try the snakefruit!" She turns away and goes on to someone else, seeming somehow shy and outgoing at the same time.

Edwin is swamped in chatter now, his curiosity bettering his hearing. But there are too many folk, too many voices in laughter, gossip, remembering, and planning, for him to sort them all out, even with effort. He can pick out only bits and pieces as all the words rise into the air and mingle before he can make them out:

"—two forks, I said!—"

"...but I've seen stranger things, so I..."

"—he doesn't like you, he likes me, or that's what—"

"Edwin, will you..."

"—and this fantastic pair of boots that..."

"Goodman Edwin..."

"—and sure you're a man grown now, and—"

"Goodman Edwin, will you give your own mother a hand in the cellar?!"

At last Edwin sees his own mother standing before him, her eyes wide as if that will help her reach his mind through his obvious distraction. Her left hand, rough with work, sinewy, looking as if its own bones are too big for it, is propped against her hip. Both her hands are like that, not aged, but worn, though her face is almost like those of the younger women who have no children.

Just at that moment, there is a chluffing sound from outside the door to the inn. Edwin notices, but it seems no one else does.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin attempted to follow the conversations but realized that was a futile effort.  As his head rotated from side to side in his efforts, he decided it would be best not to show his amusement at his situation.

I think one speaker might be the one I want to pay closer attention to.

At that moment, there was a faint noise outside the door on the Inn that he heard only because there was a quick lull in all the commotion.

Oh, that's my mother and she needs help!

"I'll be right there, Mother, but give me just one second.  I just heard something outside the door.", Edwin explained as he was already stepping towards the door and reaching for the handle. 

[hengest]

Opening the door, you look out into the all but silent street, white as it was when you came in. A heavy snow is falling with no wind. All along in front of the entrance is a small broken heap of less fresh snow that must just have slid down off the roof. The air is remarkably chill, colder than before.

"Hey, block the door!" you hear from a table of some of the oldest in town, those who were men and women when the place was founded. They always seem like a breed apart to you. Another voice among them, a woman's, mumbles "...don't know what cold is, the ones what was born here..."

"Edwin! Oh..." You hear your mother's half-shout, her sound of derision and sense her moving off from where she stood.

[hengest]

"Put a board in the hole, Moonborn!" A bit of gentle laughter follows from the same table over the din of voices and sounds throughout the inn.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

As he observes nothing but snow, a look of disappointment washes over Edwin's face.

Well...THAT was unfruitful. Edwin thinks as he shakes his head in slight disgust as he turns around to go back in.

As he takes his first steps back inside the dining room, Edwin mumbles, "Sorry about the cold.". He looks to see his mother's back as she starts to head back down the stairs.

Raising his voice Edwin proclaims, "I'm on my way. I let my curiosity get the better of me.".

Edwin takes a few quick paces across the floor and starts to descend the stairs.

[hengest]

Heading down the stairs, Edwin finds his mother well ahead of him, already skipping down the last few steps into the cellar, bearing a lantern. Without that light, it would be blacker than night down here.

She knows Edwin is not far behind her and starts talking to him without waiting for him to catch up. "Here, strong-man, your father is too busy with his tales tonight. Two of these kegs upstairs to Willa immediately. Then all the the regular spices, enough for two cold nights like this, also to Willa. Then see if the boys are on top of their work and make sure no one's so far gone he's a danger to anyone. Tend to your room and that's it for the evening." Anne is already attending to something else down here, the light of her lantern moving swingingly away from him.

Already down here the sounds from upstairs are muffled, but Edwin hears a fresh round of laughter from some group fairly near the cellar. The air down here is much cooler without all the bodies and fire. It seems always to be the same kind of cool down here, regardless of the time of year.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"No problem and sorry for the delay. I will get this taken care of immediately." Edwin states to his mother's unseen form on her way.

I wonder if it's going to be a short cold spell or the actual start of winter?

Edwin goes to the kegs to pull them down and get started on his duties.

[hengest]

Edwin goes about his tasks, barely bumping into his mother, who has her own business to see to. Toting the second keg up the steps, he hears some of the folk break into a song of the before times, a song as old as the town:

When the snowflakes were fallin'
and the trees were long bare
thought I heard your voice a-callin'
but your self was not there

Tell me, where have you gone, dear?
Have you passed quite away?
Will you be back with the dawn, dear?
Will you be back with the day?

Now the spring time comes a-callin'
but the skies are still grey
and the raindrops start fallin'
and it's I've gone away

To the strains of this tune, Edwin hauls up to Willa what she needs for the evening. He sees a few leaving already, their voices sounding otherworldly for a moment in the air outside the inn.

Emma has gone, too, perhaps to cook her snake fruit for some new taker. Mary is still there with two of her friends in a corner, talking more coyly now, but with much feeling. Their eyes are steady on each other and they pay Edwin no mind as he passes by.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

OOC - tired but will post tomorrow.  Don't think I've given up yet. 

[hengest]

Mar 27, 2024 18:02:25 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

OOC - tired but will post tomorrow.  Don't think I've given up yet. 

OOC: Oh, you'll get this from me some days, too. As I said, we're not on a schedule. It's a game. 

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin hums along to the tune he hears the townsfolk singing as he goes about his chores. Finishing up all of the lifting and moving of materials, he heads back to the main hall to check the conditions of the patrons to ensure no one has celebrated too much.

[hengest]

On his last trip out of the cellar, Edwin hears a tiny squeak coming from off in the darkness. Sounds like a mouse for sure.

Coming back to the main hall, he finds the remaining patrons are settled, more or less, a few sounding a little drunk, but doing no misdeeds at present. Willa appears to be on top of everything that falls to her. Mary is headed out the main door into the snow and seems to catch his eye for just a moment as she turns away. As she does so, a moggy cat darts in through the doorway, its tail slipping in just before the door closes. Edwin gets a glimpse of the snow out that door and guesses that it's falling very thick now, though he hears no wind.

No one pays him any mind, as he's always here doing something or other. There are no obvious needs at the moment. His father is no longer here, must have gone up to peruse one of his books or head to bed.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Sounds like a mouse is down here.  That's something the cat can take care of...

Content with the state of their patrons in the main hall and seeing that none of them will most likely be no hassle at all, Edwin notices the cat sprinting inside the door and nods.

Looks like the cat will be taking care of that mouse problem shortly...

Edwin takes one last glance at the patrons still socializing.

I wonder if Dad is already in bed or if he's still up?  My room has no big requirements at the time so I could walk by his room to see if he's still up so I could ask him about these deliveries of fruits at some of the doors.  Of course, he might be asleep.  I'll just walk by and see.  I won't stop if I can't tell that he's awake.

Edwin turns to go find his mother and tell her good night before going off in the direction of their room before going to his own room.

[hengest]

Edwin finds Anne as if by a sixth sense, once he chooses to seek her out. Her manner changes for a moment, shifting from business to mothering. She touches him lightly on the chest, then makes a quick sign over him, a sign she has never explained, and turns back to her work. He knows she will see to everything tonight before going to bed herself.

Heading upstairs, he sees a light flickering in his father's room that adjoins his mother's, and guesses that his father is awake. Edwin pokes his head in and finds his father standing and reading what appears to be a letter. The room looks as it always does: his father's simple pallet that recalls to mind his days of wandering, a long and somewhat deep chest on the left-hand wall, and a few odd things, only some of whose stories have ever been told—to Edwin, at least. As always, behind his father on the wall across from the door, there stands the great treasure: a shelf with a score or so of books held up by a pair a weights, each shaped like the head of a half-dragon, half-man. Edwin remembers when those weights appeared when he was little, but has never asked his father where they came from.

As he looks up and over to the doorway, Ethan's expression changes, but not all at once, from mild puzzlement to fatherly or friendly welcome.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"Dad, I just wanted to ask you a question or two before bed, if that's okay." 

Which reminds Edwin that one of these days, he needs to ask his mother about what that sign she makes is all about. 

Maybe it's a ward or something?  

[hengest]

"About what? And have you seen to whatever your mother needed this evening?" Ethan turns and places the paper atop his beloved books on the shelf behind him.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"Oh, yeah.  I have all of that done." Edwin replies.  Pausing momentarily before going on.

"I've always meant to ask about these two things.  That sign mother makes with her hand over me.  I don't know what it is, do you?  Oh, and where did those weights come from?  I remember them showing up but I know nothing else about them.".

I'll see how that goes before asking about the fruit.

[hengest]

Ethan narrows his right eye a touch and raises his left eyebrow, just a hint of a younger man's smile playing on one side of his mouth. "Question day, is it? I must be looking unwell and you think you should ask your questions before I'm gone." He laughs a quarter-laugh through his nose. "That sign...she used to do it to me, too. After you came, she only did it to you. Something from her mother's people. I asked her about it once and didn't get much of an answer. You may have better luck," he says, turning to the bookweights. "As for these," he begins, touching the right-hand dragon-man, "you were a boy when they came to me. From a friend, a smith, who settled in Helpston. Sedge. These were in memory of our last...deeds. Before we found this land. You met him at least once. He came here a few times. Never did marry. Here." He adjusts the book nearest that weight, picks up the latter, and hands it to you. It has a good bit of heft.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Surprised by the weight now in his hands, Edwin exclaims, "That's heavier than I imagined!". Giving it a few experimental hoists up and down before continuing, "Oh, Sedge...yeah, I remember him.  Have you heard from him lately?  Oh, and by 'deeds' do you mean the last bit of exploration you had together?".

Edwin lifts his eyebrows up waiting for an reply...

[hengest]

"Yes, those days," Ethan replies, looking distant for just a moment. "Sedge has been gone for some years. And yes, I mean the exploration. We travelled together for a time. Those deeds were...well, they were like some of the stories are around here. But they were all true. Sometimes, in this town, I wonder about what people say. Although I guess they say the same about me when I get to talking downstairs." He pauses. "He sent word he was looking for some stout fellows to go with him on...I don't even remember what the aim was, if I heard at the time. I didn't go, having you and your mother here. I might have, if...or maybe I wouldn't. I thought he just wanted another bout of wandering. I wanted to keep what I had. Thought they would be away for a month and then I would hear some tales over ale downstairs and see a keepsake or two. When I heard he hadn't come back, I hoped to go to Helpston and talk to those who went with him, but never did."

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Edwin listens with great interest as his father recounts a short excerpt of the old days when him and Sedge undertook their great adventures and then remarks, "I guess any of these tales would make people wonder from time to time.  I would like to think all of them true but who knows? I don't doubt yours, but some of these people seem to enjoy spinning a good yarn regardless of truth or not."  Edwin let out a short and soft chuckle.

I'm going to put the fruit deliveries on the back burner if he answers in a certain way...

"So...you never found out what happened to Sedge?", asked Edwin while looking at his father and continuing, "Do you want me to go to Helpston and see if I can find some answers for you?".

Waiting for a reply Edwin thinks if he says no, I will respect his wishes but maybe I can go in search of the answers to the fruit...