08-15-2021, 05:58 PM
"Around the water, not through it!" Rendethryn scolded her ostard and pulled clumps of swamp muck from her hair. The ostard simply chirped in reply, delighted with the sudden snacks covering its rider, and with fastidious nibbles quickly cleaned the algae from the woman's hair and clothing.
The race might have been postponed, but that didn't mean she couldn't familiarize herself with potential courses. All day, Rendethryn and Comet weaved their way around and through the city of Tarasinau, until each scraggly hedge wall and uneven cobblestone street grew familiar. The swamps, obviously, needed work, but that could wait for another day. Taking the reins in hand, Rendethryn led the ostard back towards the stables. The normally bustling streets seemed sparser than her last visit, though that had been some time ago, when Queen Celestia ruled the kingdom. Now, the surrounding wilds pressed in as if to return the city to nature.
A small child held out her hand to beg as Rendethryn passed. Rendethryn found herself hoping the child's greenish complexion indicated goblin blood rather than illness as she retrieved a small loaf of bread from her saddle bag, offering it to the child. An inward sigh of relief at the tiny claws: goblin blood. "Where do you live, little one?"
The child blinked up at her, cheeks bulging with half-chewed bread. "Here," she answered simply, as if that was obvious. "Sometimes I get to sleep in the stables, if it's raining."
"And your parents?" Rendethryn ventured. "Do they live here too?" The child's expression broke her heart, and she rushed to change the subject. "I have some honeyed apple slices, if you would like to share, little one." She handed the ostard over to a passing stable hand and sat beside the girl, pulling out the promised sweet and offering it to her. As the child ate, Rendethryn's gaze moved to the east, towards the fields that fed the city. The stone walls looked like they'd taken a tumble into the swamp themselves: moss and muck clung to every surface. In the distance, corpser vines waved lazily in the sunlight.
"Excuse me, little one," and Rendethryn rose to her feet, striding to the neglected fields. As the child watched, her glamor melted away until a great blue dragon stood in her place. The corpser stretched its tendrils towards the fresh meat, only to flinch back as flames erupted from the dragon's snout. The dragon spread her wings, casting a great shadow over the fields, and began to chant, her eyes glowing as magic coursed from the earth, through her, and back to the earth. The muck and brambles blossomed in a rainbow of flowers before dying back again, returning the fields to their original splendor. Rendethryn resumed her human form as she strode back to the child, offering a gentle smile. "Fear not, little one," for she saw the fear in her eyes she had grown accustomed to when others saw her true form. She pulled the rest of the honeyed apple slices from her satchel and offered them to the child. "Be strong, and be patient. I shall return."
And with that, she turned and walked to the wagons, back to Carigsay, a plan already forming in her mind.
The race might have been postponed, but that didn't mean she couldn't familiarize herself with potential courses. All day, Rendethryn and Comet weaved their way around and through the city of Tarasinau, until each scraggly hedge wall and uneven cobblestone street grew familiar. The swamps, obviously, needed work, but that could wait for another day. Taking the reins in hand, Rendethryn led the ostard back towards the stables. The normally bustling streets seemed sparser than her last visit, though that had been some time ago, when Queen Celestia ruled the kingdom. Now, the surrounding wilds pressed in as if to return the city to nature.
A small child held out her hand to beg as Rendethryn passed. Rendethryn found herself hoping the child's greenish complexion indicated goblin blood rather than illness as she retrieved a small loaf of bread from her saddle bag, offering it to the child. An inward sigh of relief at the tiny claws: goblin blood. "Where do you live, little one?"
The child blinked up at her, cheeks bulging with half-chewed bread. "Here," she answered simply, as if that was obvious. "Sometimes I get to sleep in the stables, if it's raining."
"And your parents?" Rendethryn ventured. "Do they live here too?" The child's expression broke her heart, and she rushed to change the subject. "I have some honeyed apple slices, if you would like to share, little one." She handed the ostard over to a passing stable hand and sat beside the girl, pulling out the promised sweet and offering it to her. As the child ate, Rendethryn's gaze moved to the east, towards the fields that fed the city. The stone walls looked like they'd taken a tumble into the swamp themselves: moss and muck clung to every surface. In the distance, corpser vines waved lazily in the sunlight.
"Excuse me, little one," and Rendethryn rose to her feet, striding to the neglected fields. As the child watched, her glamor melted away until a great blue dragon stood in her place. The corpser stretched its tendrils towards the fresh meat, only to flinch back as flames erupted from the dragon's snout. The dragon spread her wings, casting a great shadow over the fields, and began to chant, her eyes glowing as magic coursed from the earth, through her, and back to the earth. The muck and brambles blossomed in a rainbow of flowers before dying back again, returning the fields to their original splendor. Rendethryn resumed her human form as she strode back to the child, offering a gentle smile. "Fear not, little one," for she saw the fear in her eyes she had grown accustomed to when others saw her true form. She pulled the rest of the honeyed apple slices from her satchel and offered them to the child. "Be strong, and be patient. I shall return."
And with that, she turned and walked to the wagons, back to Carigsay, a plan already forming in her mind.