After realizing that I haven't added anything to the blog for a while, I decided I would write about Adoven and use him as a means to introduce the Q'em Tal which will probably show up in later books as well.
So without further ado, here is a short tale about Adoven and his journey through Ith Il'Nasa...
Adoven Silentread Meets the Q'em Tal
This place was further than he had ever been. Adoven found himself aimlessly wandering through a forest at the Southern reaches of Arrotha, southeast of the Collapsing Summit. This forest was called Ith Il’Nasa, and it was a very strange forest. Otherworldly globes of light like giant fire bugs hung lazily in the air, occasionally dancing about the handsome young half-elf as he passed by, as if they were greeting him, or getting some measure of him, perhaps. At first Adoven thought these strange orbs to be a fairy, or some similar creature not common to the prime material plane, but he had seen fairies before, and these were not like those he had seen.
That was not the only strange sight in the forest, however. As he moved through the forest, he occasionally caught a glimpse of a strange-looking deer. It had three large horns on the center of its head, two smaller horns to the side of the trio, and fangs long enough to hang over the creature’s bottom lip. They scampered away as Adoven got close, and he only saw a glimpse of the beast before it got far.
The frogs here were strange as well. Except they weren’t frogs, but llamhigyn-- a bizarre mix of bat and frog features. The creature had a frog-like body, bat-like wings, and a long barbed tail like that of an imp. The sight of the creature gave Adoven pause. He was familiar with these strange creatures-- he had in fact written a song about them once.
“How strange,” Adoven said. His tone was flat and unexcited, inquisitive even. He certainly had never seen any creatures like this before in Arrotha, and one would expect him to be more surprised by it all, especially considering that llamhigyn were known to come from Farui, the world inhabited by fairies and other such mischievous creatures, but Adoven’s reaction was no more surprised than one who had run into an old friend unexpectedly.
“Come here, little guy,” Adoven said, holding his hand out nonthreatening towards one of the llamhigyn. The frog-like creature was balancing its body on a tree branch, its weight evenly distributed on its tail and the bend of its wings. It turned its head sideways, its slit-like pupil moved back and forth observing the intruder. “Come on, I won’t hurt you,” Adoven pleaded. He took a step forward, and the llamhigyn shifted nervously. Adoven stepped forward once more, excitement growing as he reached his hand closer, but just as he was feeling that he was almost there, the llamhigyn lifted off its body and flew away.
Adoven watched with earnest curiosity as the creature fluttered off through the branches. It was gone. A sense of disappointment set in, and he sighed. He profoundly wished the llamhigyn would be his friend. He stare off in the direction the creature went and shrugged to himself.
“Oh well,” Adoven said to no one in particular. He trotted off in the same direction the llamhigyn went, cheerfully whistling a jaunty tune as he went. The words played in his mind as he whistled the tune. It was an old sailor’s song about a drunken pirate that fell overboard and was lost to see for many years. Adoven loved that sort of song. It had an upbeat melody and a fair bit of humor.
The strange forest did not get any less strange the further he went in. He saw strange plants with snapping teeth that tried to stretch out and bite him as he passed. He thought it was fun and tried to see how close he could get without getting bit. Multi-colored flowers were being munched on by small pig-like creatures with a trunk-like snout, and pretty butterflies kept stopping on trees and turning into a small block of ice every time a llamhigyn flew too near. The trees themselves seem to move ever-so-slightly, and the floor was littered with tiny mushrooms that grew furry caps like they had a head of curly hair.
Adoven observed all of this, unconcerned. He thought it was quite nice, as a matter of fact. Much of the world was much too much the same, and this was all something different.
As he walked deeper into the forest, it seemed that the trees were moving out along a path, clearing the way for him to pass. In the distance, along the exposed forest ground, he could see the flickering of light off in the distance, and he only then realized it was quite dark. Half-elf, half-human, Adoven’s eyes adjusted easily to changes in light. His low-light vision enhanced what little light was available, reflecting shades and hues more than color, and Adoven rarely noticed when the color slowly faded from the world. He was always dreaming, and those thoughts kept him from noticing such unimportant things.
He moved towards the flickers of light and noticed a tiny form off in the distance. At first he thought it might be one of the strange piglets feeding on more flowers, or perhaps it was some kind of monkey, but as he got closer, he saw the truth of it-- this was something entirely different.
Two stout figures, humanoid in appearance, but unlike anything Adoven had ever seen, stood in the clearing with man-sized spears leveled his way. Though the spears were of the size typically expected to be carried by human soldiers, the humanoid creatures were not. They weren’t even the size of a dwarf, and if Adoven had to guess, they would have barely come up to his knee cap.
They spoke in a strange, choppy language, similar to elvish but more primitive. That gave Adoven an idea…
“Good day,” Adoven said in his best elvish. He pulled off his extravagant plumed hat, so full of feathers he might have had an entire peacock sitting atop it, and he bowed in an over-exaggerated sweeping gesture, bring the hat so far across his body that it swept the dirt of the forest floor. He was charming and handsome, his features were young, thin and very disarming, and his clothes were made of fine fabrics, brightly colored, and decorated with laces and frills like those worn by the magistrates of the most impressive cities.
The two humanoids exchanged looks, chatting with each other in their own language for a moment, then turned their attention back to the intruder.
“Good day,” the one of the right said in elvish, but neither moved to lower their spears.
Adoven smiled, looking the two creatures over. They were oddly plump, their lower bodies fatter than the rest, giving the creature the general shape of a tear drop. Their heads were perfectly round, and their eyes were small and long in a elvish sort of way. They wore robes-- black for the one on the right and a teal-colored robe on the one on the left, and their hats were perfectly round, wide-brimmed, and came to a point in the middle.
“Have any drink?” Adoven asked casually, moving forward and ignoring the spears.
“Hault!” the creature on the right called. “Why have you come here?”
Adoven shrugged. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve never been here before.”
The creature on his left made a gesture to the creature on the right, and he seemed to be saying something about the lute strapped to Adoven’s back.
“Ah, you look music?” Adoven asked. He moved to grab the instrument, and the creature on his right moved the spear threateningly but was stopped by the other with an outstretched hand. Adoven smiled. “Here’s a tune I’ve been really into lately,” he said.
His fingers pressed against the strings, all spread out, and his other hand strummed gently across the strings, letting out a reverberating sound that was pleasant to the ears. He closed his eyes, strumming and humming, and occasionally throwing in a quick variation of the chords that sounded like an overlaying melody over the harmonious chord.
He began to sing--
Pilos, oh Pilos,
You fell out to sea;
You drank up the wine,
And left no more for me.
I guess it was time,
That we parted ways;
Good luck to you Pilos,
For the rest of your days.
The currents they pull,
And your journey began;
You felt like driftwood,
Until you hit the sand.
Now you live alone,
With the monkeys and pigs;
On an island off Zabrun,
For as long as you live.
Pilos, oh Pilos,
You fell out to sea;
You drank up the wine,
And left no more for me.
We would have found you,
But you left us none;
Good luck to you Pilos,
Farewell and so long.
When he was done singing, he saw the two creatures staring at him strangely. Several other creatures, similarly dressed, came to see as well, and they were all talking amongst themselves now.
“What a fun little tune,” Adoven said. “Would you like to hear the rest?”
“You are a wanderer,” the black-robed creature remarked.
Adoven shrugged.
“We have met one like you before,” the creature continued. “I am Puwu Duqiwu. Welcome to our village.”
“Well met,” Adoven said, bowing deeply. “I am Adoven Silentread.”
The creatures looked at each other and nodded.
“Come with me,” Puwu said. “I am sure that you are thirsty.”
Adoven did not answer, but followed anyway. He was so distracted by the sight of the place. The whole village was bathed in torchlight. There were many of these small creatures all about, and the village was comprised of very sophisticated buildings that seemed to be constructed out of living roots. There seemed to be a festival going on, and the smell of cooked meats filled the air.
“Have you met our kind before?” Puwu asked as they passed through the city towards a large table filled with foods and drinks.
Adoven thought about it for some time, and then shrugged. “I can’t say I have,” he admitted.
“Not surprising,” Puwu said. “Q’em Tal rarely intermingle with other races. Though some Q’em Tal have been very adamant about it lately.”
“And what do you think?” Adoven said, as he accepted a glass of wine from Puwu.
“I think we are better left alone,” Puwu said honestly.
Adoven sipped his wine. It was sweet and tangy. He quite liked it.
“You said something about a wanderer?” Adoven asked. “Where is he?”
Puwu laughed. “He’s gone.”
“Gone where?” Adoven asked.
Puwu shrugged. “He wandered somewhere else. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Adoven said.
“You are very strange,” Puwu said. “Are all elves so strange?”
“You haven’t met many?” Adoven said curiously.
Puwu shook his head.
“I am not truly an elf,” Adoven admitted, and that brought a curious glance from Puwu.
“You’re not?”
“My mother was a human,” he explained.
“And your father?” Puwu asked.
“Oh, yes. He was an elf,” Adoven said with a smile. “By the way, this is excellent wine.”
“Drink as much as you will,” Puwu offered. “But we must ask that you play more of your songs for us.”
That statement brought a wide smile to Adoven’s lips. He loved a captive audience, perhaps more than anything in the world, and he hoped that they would like to hear his songs as much as he wanted to play them.
By the time Adoven was ready to leave, he had made great friends with the Q’em Tal. It seemed that the entire village was there to see him off the next day.
“You will come back?” Puwu asked.
“Will you have more wine?” Adoven asked.
“Plenty!” Puwu promised.
“Then, yes,” Adoven said, and he smiled.
The Q’em Tal waved and called after him as Adoven made his way through the forest, not the way he had come but the way he had yet to go. He thought about the other wanderer that Puwu mentioned and wondered if he should ever meet him on the road or any other place. Just knowing that there were others like him, wanderers, those without any particular destination or place to call home, that fact, it gave Adoven and sense of belonging.
He broke into whistling, the lyrics about Pilos and his journey playing through his head.
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