Post by Alain Merrick on Feb 19, 2017 22:50:04 GMT -5
Merrick trudged along an old dirt road that was largely hidden by tall blades of glass and the encroaching wilds of forest. With each step, the road was slowly transitioning to a simple footpath. If he didn’t happen upon someone soon, he was likely to lose his way. He thought he was somewhere in the eightieth district, but there was rarely a delineation of borders when traveling this far from civilization. His only option was to keep moving forward until he encountered the next village. It had been days since he had passed through the last one, but the people there had spoken of another place even deeper in the forests. It was supposed to be the home of a skilled apothecary or so the rumors suggested. Alain had stopped believing in mystery cures long ago, but here he was anyway, nearly three decades since the start of his search. There was no longer a need for the remedy, but the ghost of Josephine wouldn’t allow him to stop.
He would have continued traveling through the night, but the darkness was too great a hindrance. Thus, he stopped for the evening. He sat beneath a large tree which was reminiscent of an oak. Though oddly, he couldn’t recall from where he had summoned the knowledge. His eyes settled on the numerous wavy branches that had begun to droop from age, but soon even those were obscured in blackness. With nothing but his thoughts for comfort, he recalled some of the more joyous memories from his early life in the Rukongai. Those days were long gone now, but in times like these, they still remained just as vivid. His right hand drifted up to the white beaded necklace around his neck and then tightened into a fist around the golden locket. He unfastened the clasp and hid the necklace in a secret compartment of his backpack. He lifted his head to the night sky and waited for morning to arrive.
As soon as he had enough light to traverse the forest without injury, he was on the move. He kept a brisk pace as often as possible, but when spindly branches saw fit to snag his pack and clothes, he was forced to a crawl. Due to the decreasing pace, it was midday before he began seeing signs of life. He hoped that it was the home of the apothecary, but he could have stumbled across any random group of dwellings. Alain exited the forest, thankful to be free of its grasping limbs. From a distance, he would have guessed that there were a handful of homes, but the actual number turned out to be closer to twenty five. They were arranged into a two tier square. One residence held a more centralized location and was slightly taller. He suspected that the lone abode was the best place to find answers.
He strode to the structure with a casual gait and rapped on the wooden door. His knock was answered by a short, elderly man who had likely been bald for many years. Merrick had no interest in a long drawn out conversation, so he quickly offered greetings and asked the man if there was a skilled practitioner of medicine residing with their group. The senior said that the last wise woman to reside in their village had died years ago, but if one were to travel north, there were rumors of an individual rendering aid against bandits and the like. This wasn’t what Alain wanted to hear, but it was far from the first setback that he had experienced during the last thirty years. He thanked the man and embarked in a northerly direction.
Hours after leaving the village, he stumbled across the remains of a campfire. It may have been a day old, but no older. The ground also appeared to exhibit signs of disturbance. He was no tracker, but he thought someone had laid on the ground recently. As Merrick strained to hear, he detected nothing but typical forest sounds. “Hello?” His voice was well below a shout, but loud enough for someone nearby to hear. He didn’t want to attract more attention than was necessary. There was no response. As the darkness was fast approaching, he took a seat on a fallen log and was soon lost in his thoughts.
723/723
He would have continued traveling through the night, but the darkness was too great a hindrance. Thus, he stopped for the evening. He sat beneath a large tree which was reminiscent of an oak. Though oddly, he couldn’t recall from where he had summoned the knowledge. His eyes settled on the numerous wavy branches that had begun to droop from age, but soon even those were obscured in blackness. With nothing but his thoughts for comfort, he recalled some of the more joyous memories from his early life in the Rukongai. Those days were long gone now, but in times like these, they still remained just as vivid. His right hand drifted up to the white beaded necklace around his neck and then tightened into a fist around the golden locket. He unfastened the clasp and hid the necklace in a secret compartment of his backpack. He lifted his head to the night sky and waited for morning to arrive.
As soon as he had enough light to traverse the forest without injury, he was on the move. He kept a brisk pace as often as possible, but when spindly branches saw fit to snag his pack and clothes, he was forced to a crawl. Due to the decreasing pace, it was midday before he began seeing signs of life. He hoped that it was the home of the apothecary, but he could have stumbled across any random group of dwellings. Alain exited the forest, thankful to be free of its grasping limbs. From a distance, he would have guessed that there were a handful of homes, but the actual number turned out to be closer to twenty five. They were arranged into a two tier square. One residence held a more centralized location and was slightly taller. He suspected that the lone abode was the best place to find answers.
He strode to the structure with a casual gait and rapped on the wooden door. His knock was answered by a short, elderly man who had likely been bald for many years. Merrick had no interest in a long drawn out conversation, so he quickly offered greetings and asked the man if there was a skilled practitioner of medicine residing with their group. The senior said that the last wise woman to reside in their village had died years ago, but if one were to travel north, there were rumors of an individual rendering aid against bandits and the like. This wasn’t what Alain wanted to hear, but it was far from the first setback that he had experienced during the last thirty years. He thanked the man and embarked in a northerly direction.
Hours after leaving the village, he stumbled across the remains of a campfire. It may have been a day old, but no older. The ground also appeared to exhibit signs of disturbance. He was no tracker, but he thought someone had laid on the ground recently. As Merrick strained to hear, he detected nothing but typical forest sounds. “Hello?” His voice was well below a shout, but loud enough for someone nearby to hear. He didn’t want to attract more attention than was necessary. There was no response. As the darkness was fast approaching, he took a seat on a fallen log and was soon lost in his thoughts.
723/723
