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News » Being Lost in Elfland - 12C
Being Lost in Elfland
Chapter Twelve: Part Three
Michechio
...
Miralee negotiated the price for our stay with a hefty human male. It seemed that this place had private rooms with the public sleeping area for the various laborers that tended to the fields, worked at tasks about the inn, and hunted for meat to feed them and the guests. While the proprietor admitted that there were simple beds available, he pressed for my lady to retire with me to a place where the two of us could spend time with only each other. Miralee smiled at the suggestion, but did not let her thoughts of being alone with me stop her from gaining pleasure in only releasing a few coins to pay for what was being offered.
“The doll speaks!” the proprietor roared when Michechio stated that she was hungry as well.
No, trouble does not happen, but some details to complete this chapter are presented.
Being Lost in Elfland
Chapter Twelve: Part Three
Michechio
Just as the monks said, we crested a rise to suddenly see an expansive vista before us. A wide grassy valley extended before us and to our right. A great body of water filled the bottom of the valley. I received the impression that while I was looking upon what was called Blackadder Lake, that it was really nothing more than an expanse of a river that flowed through the land. A great forest could be seen on the other side of the lake. Wondering how to cross, I looked for the inn that the monks said would be present.
The place did not appear that large from a distance. I saw what I believed to be fairies moving about the grassland, then recognized some patches of plants as being different. Having worked in the fields outside of Nemarble for a day, I managed to identify the farm plots around an established community. A building of rock could be seen with people around it, but they appeared to be elves. The structure as I moved down into the valley appeared to be proper for the elves, so I worried about entering it with my large human frame.
It was the opening for the animals that caused me to understand the true size of the inn. A number of elf lads rushed up asking to take the horse from me. With the tallest of the boys being barely three feet tall, I slightly hesitated. I then saw some elder elves standing on stools as they removed the harness from a large bull. Realizing that the great plow animal would fit through the opening that led down beneath a stone arch, I understood that what I saw of the building was only what was necessary to cover a large excavation into bedrock.
The lads promised that our satchels would be taken to our room. I would have tipped them a coin, except that paying all the children around me would have made me out to be a big spender. I thus only thanked them while Miralee worked to free Michechio.
I had to duck my head moving down the stairs into the establishment, and had to keep a watch for my skull as I moved. While the ceiling was not that high, the room itself was expansive. I saw what I estimated to be about thirty elves sitting around various tables, but that the room could have handled almost ten times that number. The floor was covered with a number of hides, and antlers of various types hung from the ceiling. After having my hat knocked off the second time by a horn, I just carried it while I watched for what might hurt my head.
Miralee negotiated the price for our stay with a hefty human male. It seemed that this place had private rooms with the public sleeping area for the various laborers that tended to the fields, worked at tasks about the inn, and hunted for meat to feed them and the guests. While the proprietor admitted that there were simple beds available, he pressed for my lady to retire with me to a place where the two of us could spend time with only each other. Miralee smiled at the suggestion, but did not let her thoughts of being alone with me stop her from gaining pleasure in only releasing a few coins to pay for what was being offered.
“The doll speaks!” the proprietor roared when Michechio stated that she was hungry as well.
“Yes, I speak,” the puppet said from the seat where my wife had set her, “and I would like some food.”
The human proprietor signaled for our waitress to set a plate for Michechio as he asked, “Where did you obtain this darling creature of wood?”
I answered, “In the monastery.”
“I get many travelers from the monastery, but none have spoken of a talking puppet. Did the monks make it?”
“No. Michechio found herself there after wandering about the land. She lost herself in despair in a corner of the monastery, from which my wife seems to have rescued her.”
“Would you sell her?” The proprietor then turned to Michechio to ask, “Do you perform?”
I really did not feel that the man was acting properly. I thus stood. I however released some of the tension in my form as Michechio answered the question.
“I can sing and dance.”
The proprietor asked, “Would you do so for us?”
I tried to give the puppet a method of refusing by saying, “It has been a long hard day of travel.”
She replied, “Yes, and I have yet to get my body back into shape. With some wine, my voice should however do well. I can thus sing a short song.”
The man went and got what he claimed to be a vintage aged wine. A crowd gathered around marveling at the doll as she drank the beverage. I saw some turn their heads and look down as if they expected the liquid to spill upon the floor. I truthfully wondered about such when Michechio drank some water earlier in the day. I saw the proprietor and others smile with wonder as she delicately handled the goblet, drank some wine, then stood in her chair to make a performance.
I don’t know what I expected her to sing. I certainly did not expect anything from the top forty list back home. Hearing “Baa-baa black sheep have you any wool? Yeah merry have I. Three bags full,” took me by surprise. Michechio sang more than the simple verse that I knew. Hearing that the wool, the wine, and the flowers were all preparations for the ‘little boy that lives down the lane’ to be married to the master’s daughter caused me to smile along with the others at the close of the song.
The proprietor spoke his pleasure loudly as he said, “Oh, such a fine work of craftsmanship! Where are you heading?”
I replied, “The Seelie Court is supposed to be across the lake in the Weird Woods.”
The number around us diminished as the proprietor replied, “Yes, it is. Presently we are having rather good times because of it.”
While the man had been speaking rather loudly, those words had come at a soft tone. I slightly smiled, as I remembered many in the back country of Arkansas that became passive at the mention of any government figure. I however did not let that stop me from doing what I could to obtain an objective.
“Is there a good place to cross the water?”
“I can have a man ferry you across. It will cost you five lira.”
I did not want any problems, so spoke before my wife could try and haggle the price down. “Tell the man that I will pay him one more when I reach the other side.”
An elf that stood barely taller than my knee set down five coins as he said, “The price is high, but fair.” He looked to me as he said, “I will join you for the crossing, but don’t forget to tip the man.”
I looked to the elf as I replied, “I suspect whoever is sent will remind me of my words.”
He smiled, then asked, “Do you mind if I sit with you?”
“If you don’t mind watching us eat.”
He moved back to a table along the wall, then returned holding a stein. I had already mentioned the elf’s size. He wore well-tailored clothes of a dark blue cloth over orange. I would not fault any man, or elf, wearing the colors of my team, so smiled as he rejoined us at the table. He had thick curly dark-gray hair, and eyes of gold. After spending some time drinking and speaking on common topics, he chanced asking a more personal question.
“What is your business with our king?”
“It deals with information concerning a lost boy. I am told the timing of his disappearance coincides with the appearance of termite fairies.”
His eyes shot to Michechio as he mumbled, “That is not good… not good at all.” He then turned his gold eyes upon me as he asked, “Does the puppet’s story coincide with that time as well?”
“Yes. She even mentions a termite fairy as one of her troubles in her travels.”
“Oh, that is not good… not good at all. I will see that you get that audience with the king. Some think that approaching him is easy, as he lives out in the woods away from the confines of castles and mansions. I can tell you that the Seelie Court does not need such substantial barriers to be as restrictive. I will see you to the king.”
I really did not care if the elf was lying or not. I had been told that my purse would supply me with the necessary credentials. Whether that was true also did not concern me, as almost all officials that I had met wanted to be warned of possible calamities, so I suspected word of the termite fairies would get me to speak to someone. It might not be the king, but it would be someone who I suspected could supply information. If I gained that, I would be satisfied.
As we ate our meal, I spoke to the elf of his travels. He mentioned returning from on a mission for the king down to the diamond cliffs to assure that the horns of Elfland continued to blow. I heard a number of things that I considered rather fanciful, but I wrote as much down as possible. The elf did mention water, and Michechio had said that her creator lived near a large body of water, but what the elf spoke of was the ocean. I knew whales would live in the ocean, but something about the descriptions that he gave just sounded wrong. He listened to Michechio speak of her home, then told me to head east across the great wall then turn slightly south to Kelpie Bay. His words now fit more along the facts that I had gained from Michechio, so felt that I would travel in that direction.
After the meal, we retired to our room. There was a small cot in a corner, but most of the room was taken up by a large four-poster bed with curtains providing some extra privacy. Behind a wooden frame was a metal tub from which steam came. Miralee told me to take my bath while she oiled down Michechio. I asked my wife about the water temperature, and she giggled while telling the puppet to relax for a time. After a period with my wife checking out the comforts of the four-poster bed, I left to bathe while she went to spend time with Michechio. Feeling relaxed after changing into my pajamas, I settled into a large padded chair.
I opened my eyes feeling something about my legs, and saw the female puppet climbing into my lap. As I looked, she moved up to press her head against my chest. I did not know what to do, so held my position.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said.
“You’re welcome, but you really should thank Softie.”
Her head lifted as her blue eyes, which still appear painted – so I really did not know how she saw – looked back to me. “She told me to thank you.”
“I am being paid, so you need not feel so obligated. Still, I left my days of being a bully far behind me. I am glad to do what I am doing for you.”
“Do you think that I can become a real girl?”
My eyes dropped to again look at the mounds on her chest, but I neglected mentioning that she was not made as a girl. “Do I believe that I can know the future? No. I have an attitude that makes people believe that I can do what they pay me to do, but I was not paid to see that you become a real woman. I was simply paid to return you to your home.”
She again pressed her head against my chest as she said, “Well, thank you. I promise not to be a problem, Tough Link.”
“It is not you being a problem that bothers me, Michechio. I just don’t want to have to go years finding your home. I have been searching for Chad for years, and I am ready to put that search to rest. I am glad to have something else to think about, and only hope that I can finish it soon, so I can take on the next mission. I would like some variety to my life.”
“Maybe you and Softie can settle near my home. I believe that there will be all sorts of problems around there for you to solve.”
“I will be certain to look around.”
Again her eyes lifted to look into mine. I then saw her mouth smile. There was something unnatural about that doll. I never played with those things, and never really understood how girls could. I enjoyed working with cars, and became quite familiar with certain guns during my time in the military, but I never spoke to inanimate objects expecting them to speak back. Michechio thus gave me the creeps, but she did not cause me to feel that she was something evil. I thus smiled as I looked back into her eyes.
And the journey to the first major destination begins.
Posted by TerishD on Sunday, April 10, 2011 (11:11:39) (305 reads)
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Re: Being Lost in Elfland - 12C
(Score: 1 )
by TerishD on Sunday, April 10, 2011 (11:18:48)
TerishD here. There is quite a bit of research being made to present this story, because this is not truly my world. Attempting to find the song for Michechio, I found myself looking for nursery rhymes, because many of those characters are on the map that I am using. Historically, "Bah Bah Black Sheep" has ONLY one verse. I felt that it needed more, and found a story there. For those of you also wondering about the added verses that Michechio sang, I am presenting the complete set of verses.
Michechio's Song
Bah, Bah a black Sheep,
Have you any Wool?
Yes merry have I,
Three Bags full,
One for my master,
One for my Dame,
One for the little Boy
That lives down the lane.
Bah, Bah a black Sheep,
Have you any wine?
Yes merry have I,
Three kegs aged fine.
One for my master,
One for my Dame,
One for the little Boy
That lives down the lane.
Bah, Bah a black Sheep,
Have you any flowers?
They await on the plants
All for the final hour
Only one for my master
Only one for the Dame
But all for the little boy
That lives down the lane.
Bah, Bah a black Sheep,
Who is that with you?
That is a young lass
Who is a bride new
One will be her father
One will ease her pain
As for the little boy
She will live down the lane
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