Amon" Hey, where's Darzirak? If he was here, he would have cushioned our fall."
Amon wondered out loud as he searched for the demon.
Philomel" In this fog we'll be lucky to find our nose."
Philomel whined as she noticed how much thicker the fog was getting.
Amon" It's most likely we walked the wrong way. That's the only explanation that Darzirak isn't here. He's probably waiting back at the right path or the village to laugh at our faces."
Amon huffed as he adjusted the satchel on his shoulder.
LO" Squeak?"
Little One questioned but no one could understand what he asked. From the tone of the baby's squeak, it was obvious that it was a question but what question was it?
Philomel" That useless demon. He should have said something if we were going the wrong way."
Philomel grumbled as she did her best to get rid of the dirt on her dress.
Amon" So what should we do? Try our luck, head down this way or climb back up the slope, try to find back the path we took, or wait out the fog?"
Amon questioned with a pointing finger at the path going alongside the slope, back up the slope before moving to a nice tree to rest under. All options that Philomel could only hear and roughly see the silhouette of Amon pointing since the fog was that thick.
Philomel" Let's head back over the slope, it's better than risking getting more lost and wasting time. Fog and nightfall are the worst combination ever. We don't even have any guarantee that the fog would lift. "
Philomel decided as she walked over to Amon.
Amon" Ok, so how do you plan on doing this? That slope is pretty high and we do have Little One. We would have to be careful bringing him over there."
Amon reminded as Philomel passed Little One to Amon.
Philomel" I can easily jump back up there but I need to do some flips and I need my arms to balance myself out. Can you do a high spear leap? You could fasten Little One to your head with that cut-up Crimtroy flag."
Philomel questioned and suggested as she checked the distance between a tree and the slope.
Amon" I probably can."
Amon nodded as he placed Little One on his shoulders and pulled out the half flag. Philomel runs up the slope as high as she could go before running down the slope, gaining much momentum and using that momentum to run up a tree. Once she reaches a certain part of the tree, she did a flip off the tree and landed perfectly on the edge of the slope.
Amon whistled in amazement before pulling out his spear. He check that Little One was fastened tightly to his head before running toward the slope and using his spear he launched himself at the edge of the slope. With ease, he landed next to Philomel much distance away from the edge of the slope. Little One sequel and squeaked the whole way in excitement.
Amon" Ok then, shall we?"
Amon questioned as he gestured down the pathway. Philomel nodded and started to retrace their steps back. They quickly deduced that they were going the wrong way while bickering. Since Amon was extremely sure that Darzirak would inform them at least once that they were going the wrong way. This meant that they were preoccupied and didn't notice, the only time they were like that was back during their heated argument. That couldn't have been more than 10 minutes, with that estimation they managed to figure out roughly where they probably lost Darzirak and continue down that pathway.
By the time they could see the signboard 'Village Dalelry', it was close to mid-afternoon. They also found Darzirak sitting underneath the signboard, half asleep.
Philomel" Do demons need to sleep?"
Philomel softly questioned Amon, not wanting to wake Darzirak up.
Amon" No, they don't. Darzirak is probably remembering something vividly or using his powers somewhere else which takes a lot of focus. I don't really wanna pull him out of his trance just so he can laugh at us. Let's just quietly leave him here."
Amon whispered back to Philomel. Feeling like little kids doing something naughty, the two of them held back a snicker as they tip-toed around Darzirak and left him there.
Mist flows around the village, as dim candlelight flickers through each window. The fog doesn't seem to be lifting and cast such curious moving shadows. As if a whale was moving through the clouds, a huge shadow eating away at the white fog pass. A different hidden worldly feeling constantly hung in the air. As if this world no longer is the one they know. Little cabins are arranged in a row as a major field covers half the village until it reaches the forest line. Crops of all kinds grow in rows. In the distance a windmill gently turning and next to it a huge barn.
The air of mystery hung around this little farming village. Many kids ran up and down, screaming and cheering, playing with each other. As many middle age women move up and down, around the barn, windmill, and field, going about their duties. Quite a curious sight to see, a village filled with only women and children, not even a teenage male could be seen.
As Philomel and Amon approached the village, their legs hit a trip wire and instantly the sound of cowbells rang throughout the village. Everyone in the whole village stopped and stared at the two light elf travelers. Little One squealed in excitement, delighted with the new sound, and instantly all the children started screaming as they ran toward the two travelers.
Their voices collided and merged but it was more than clear how excited they were to see light elves in their village. As the children talk over each other, causing much confusion to Philomel and Amon. They also pulled on the traveler's hands and guided them toward the windmill, where most of the adults were. Many of the questions were elf-related questions such as what marvelous things they could do but out of all the questions one kept being repeated more than normal. And that question was ' Can we play with the elves?'. That was more directed to their mothers rather than Philomel and Amon. The only thing Philomel and Amon could understand was a major headache.
Unknown" Silence!"
A young voice echoes throughout the windmill and instantly all the children kept quiet. From above on a wooden beam, swung down a young lad, no older than 15 and yet, clearly the oldest out of all the children. The mothers working in the windmill, instantly smiled as they gossip to each other. Seemingly like they trusted this young lad more than enough to allow him to handle the matter. The young lad didn't look extremely sturdy or smart, he was dressed in a plain drawstring shirt and black pants. His black hair was short and a wavy mess but his sharp silver eyes held determination.
Young lad" Welcome travelers to our little village of Dalelry. I apologize for the terrible first impression and I hope you'll allow me to make it up to you. I am Gale, grandson of the village elder. Dude to my grandfather feeling under the weather. I hope that my warm welcome is enough to suffice."
Gale informed with a bow.
Philomel" How charmingly adorable, no wonder the adults were so trusting."
Philomel whispers to Amon with a little giggle.
Amon" Your welcome is so warm, of course, it would do much more than suffice. I am Amon, this is my friend Philomel and this is a baby we saved during our travel. We, unfortunately, couldn't find his parents and do not know his name, so we call him Little One."
Amon introduces with a pointing finger to each one of them.
Gale" It's wonderful to meet you! Sir Amon, Miss Philomel, and Lord Little One."
Gale chimed as he shook Amon's hand, kissed the back of Philomel's hand, and waved at Little One. Since the baby was too high up on Amon's shoulders for the young lad to reach.
Philomel" What a little gentleman."
Philomel giggles, extremely pleased.
Gale" Thank you. It pleases me much to hear it from such a beautiful lady like yourself, Miss Philomel."
Gale grinned and Philomel couldn't help but swoon a little as she held her cheeks. Amon rolled his eyes, wondering why a brat is flirting with Philomel who was much older than him.
Gale" And what brings you to our humble village? Passing through to the Kingdom Ranrion?"
Gale sweetly asked.
Philomel" Oh no, we are currently waiting for our friend. We got lost and split up a while back. Hopefully, he is alright."
Philomel worryingly sighs as she pretended.
" Yes, extremely lost indeed. I doubt we could ever find him, in such a heavy fog."
Amon grinned as his gaze at the village signboard where Darzirak sat in a trance. Philomel notice his gaze and knew exactly what he was thinking. She knowingly grinned back at Amon and they both snickered softly to each other.
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