Out of Time the Grand Quest

by Christopher Douglass

  The children groaned at the Librarians explanation while Kimi watched from the shade of a tree. She felt her cheeks stretching as she remembered similar complaints from her classmates. Moving from her position, she walked around the class of eight students between six and ten sitting cross legged in the grass of the park. She clapped the Librarian on the shoulder, giving him a wink with her back turned to the children. The children started clamoring when they realized who she was.

  “Let me give it a shot. You’re new here, just came in from Atlantis a few days ago right? You got to learn how to speak their language. They aren’t like you people. They aren’t dumb, they just think differently.”

  Kimi turned to the children, making a show of sitting down with a groan that made them all giggle because they knew she wasn’t old or feeble. She motioned them closer with her hands as she spoke. “Gather round children and let me tell you a tale. A tale of mystery and wonder. Of legendary heroes and fledgling ones. Listen to the wisdom of those who have come before, and learn from their follies and triumphs. Let me tell you a tale of wonder, a tale of the mundane. A tale of simple peasants and lofty lords. Let me tell you a tale of life.”

  Instantly they quieted, leaning forward with all of their attention focused on her, waiting for her to tell her story. “How many of you have heard me or Daniel, or any number of people say those exact same words before?”

  Every hand raised like gravity didn’t exist.

  “And do you enjoy those tales we tell? Do you learn things from them?”

  “Yes!”

  They then proceeded to recount bits of the things they learned while Kimi listened and nodded. After a few moments she held up her palms and they quieted once more.

  “What if we weren’t here to tell those tales though? How would you ever hear them? Sure you might have heard them once or twice, but can you say you can recite them word for word, or in as much detail as we do?”

  Heads shook back and forth. They understood being a storyteller was not as simple as that.

  “That is why it is important to learn how to read and write just like your parents. So you can put down those tales you have heard. So those stories won’t be forgotten. And then you can read them back when there is no storyteller around to speak them. Not to mention you will be able to send letters to your friends in other towns, or over in Atlantis. Or read the ones they send you. When you go to market and are told you need to buy five pounds of sugar, you will know that this bag is five pounds over that bag which is ten. They might look similar, but the writing will prove otherwise.”

  “Kimi pointed at a skinny boy off to the side. “Orace, you want to be a Knight of Yandor when you grow up right?”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  “What made you decide that?”

  “Well, because I saw you and Uncle Gram fighting at the battle two years ago. I thought you were both so amazing, I wanted to be like that too.”

  “You remember it all vividly still don’t you? Like it had just happened yesterday. And I bet you could recount it all in great detail if I asked.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  What about twenty years from now when you wish to recount it to your son or daughter? Or to a passing traveler. Will you remember it as vividly then?”

  “No, I guess not. Grandpa always says he remembers things that happened like it was yesterday, but the story keeps changing every time he tells it.”

  “But if you learn to read and write. That stays constant forever. Words don’t change. If you write down everything you remember, when that story gets read, you can make other people feel like they are right there watching the battle next to you. You can read it in twenty years and remember those parts you might have forgotten. That children, is why it is important to learn how to read and write. So the stories of the past are not lost. And so that some stories that might never be told can be lived. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Kimi got up in one fluid motion, dusting off her knees with a smile.

  “Now, I have a small assignment for all of you. I am going to tell you a story and I want you to make it your own. A man got turned into a tree.”

  A hand raised into the air, a little girl attached to it. “What’s the rest of the story?”

  “That’s it. That is my story. It has a beginning, middle and end, a main hero, a villain, and a plot. Now it is up to you to make it your own.”

  “But who’s the villain? Who’s the hero? Why was the old man changed into a tree? Was he changed back?”

  “All very good questions, Abigail. Why don’t you make a story to answer them? I’ll come back tomorrow to hear them all.”

  “But what if they aren’t good enough?”

  “I never said they had to be good now did I? Every storyteller started somewhere. Do you think Uncle Gram was always a good storyteller? Or as good of a knight as he is? Don’t forget the Grand Wizard herself wasn’t always as powerful as she is now. The important thing is you try. And then, the next time you try you get a little better. I look forward to hearing your stories.”

  As she turned away, the children all started talking amongst themselves. Kimi could hear them throwing out ideas of how to make the story their own. From the old man being the villain who got what was coming to him, to the old man just turning into a tree because he stood still for so long. The Librarian teaching the class gave her a tip of the head, and a half smile, saying without words that he had just learned something new he could use.

  Kimi walked down the newly brick paved roads observing the construction all around. Yandor had been growing the last two years. Once word had spread of the many powerful heroes who had returned from the Grand Quest, people had flocked by the ones and twos. Soon it had been by the dozens as Yandor opened its arms to the survivors and refugees of cities that hadn’t survived the time that was being referred to as the Great Upheaval. The little town that had once spanned maybe five miles was now three times that size, with another expansion in the works as part of the forest was cut down.

  “Oh, Mistress Kimi! I’m glad to see you, I want you to try this new meat pie. A friend of mine over in Atlantis gave me the recipe. I think it’s good, but I have been known to have strange tastes.”

  Kimi accepted the pastry from Lily, one of Yandor’s new bakers. She nibbled the hot item carefully so as not to burn her tongue, her mind slipping into the Ageless Sorceress persona just long enough to examine it magically.

  “That is really good Lily. So good in fact, I’ll order a hundred of them for Jordon’s birthday party. Think you could have them ready by then?”

  “For you, consider it done. And don’t give me any lip about payment. I know you, and how you don’t want charity. But your business is payment enough. Once word gets around you commissioned me, my bakery will get more than enough business to make up for doing this for free. It is an investment really.”

  Kimberly let out a small laugh, holding up her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine, no complaints from me today. I hope it works out as well as you hope.”

  “It will, it will, I’ve got a sixth sense for these kind of things.”

  Kimberly moved on, giving Lily a final wave and letting her get back to her work. She passed out of the town through the east gate and into the area referred to as the Domain. It was the twenty-five square miles of forest the magical creatures who had decided to stay after the battle called home. It was more of an embassy, a link between them and the people of Yandor. While most of the elves had gone back to their forests far to the north, three dozen had stayed behind. Nimli and her coven of Urma had decided to relocate nearby as well. There were also a few Slyph still, but most of them had also returned north. Kimi wondered how long the Slyph would actually stay, being fairies of air, they were the essence of freedom and air-headedness.

  It was in these woods she spied Jordon taking lessons from an elf in the use of his nature magic. The elf saw her and nodded, but Jordon was too intent on his task to notice
. She gave no other indication of her presence, letting the boy be. He was growing up to be a mischievous and precocious brat. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. It was a small blessing the humans were willing to work with the non-humans to minimize the damage they did to the forest while expanding. Instead of rampant cutting, they cleared out deadwood first and planned for park areas while they worked. Reducing the need to replant later. And for every tree cut, those with the ability to manipulate plants were placing down new saplings and speed growing them.

  “Kimi! You got to help me! Protect me please!”

  Bree’s twenty-two year old husband Henry burst out of the woods to her side, his hands clutched at her arms as he begged. Prying his fingers away she let out a sigh. “What did you do this time?”

  “Nothing, I swear!”

  He let out a cry as he was lifted bodily into the sky to hang upside down. Bree came into view from the direction Henry had come, two fingers held in the air to control the magic.

  “Don’t let him fool you Kimi. Having his tongue cleaning the mouth of an elf isn’t nothing. Really, Henry, did you think you could get away with it? I’m a magus level Wind Witch! I know full well you were playing house with Mary-Joe while I was on Quest. I let it go, because I loved you. And because you cut it off on your own the moment I returned. But now, I’m over you. I thought I loved you, and I did for a time. But you have too many faults for me to feel like dealing with. So you can go have your fling with the elves. They don’t care about things like fidelity, something you have in common with them.”

  Bree set him down, not even harming a hair on his head.

  “That was all I was chasing you down to say. I’m taking Adam and leaving. Have fun with the rest of your life. I hope you find someone who can put up with you half as well as I did.”

  Kimi grinned as Bree fell into step beside her, the two of them heading deeper into the woods. “You know of course you have a room in my house right.”

  “Of course, I was planning on it.”

  “Won’t Richard be angry? You said he arranged your marriage to his son.”

  “Let him be angry. I’ve paid my debt to him for taking me in. I put up with being Henry’s wife for four years, that should be repayment enough. Besides, I’m a hero of the Grand Quest, I doubt he will say anything against my decision. Not like I have anything against him, or will keep Adam from seeing his grandfather. I’ll even let him keep seeing his father if Henry wants that. I just refuse to live with or claim to be his wife anymore.”

  Bree went silent as the two of them watched some Urma heal a grove of trees from the rot creeping up their trunks.

  “Still hard to believe isn’t it? Two years since we’ve come back and yet everything is already so different.”

  Kimi nodded. “But there are still more things that are the same. Grell and Joel still bicker and fight like always. Daniel still tells his stories in the park every three or four days. The children still grow and play pranks on one another.”

  “I know, I know, but-- you know what I mean right? Like Atlantis becoming part of Aerth, sitting where the Maw was. And them having a small town a few miles away with a dedicated portal to get there for those lucky enough to be invited. Yandor becoming a main hub of activity and center of commerce. Why, a Grand Wizard even asked Maria if he could settle here just a few hours ago! A Grand Wizard! Only the most powerful cities have Grand Wizards asking for permission to move in and help protect a town! I never thought Yandor would be one of those cities.”

  “Why shouldn’t it be? It has you, me, and Maria living here. I don’t want to brag, but I don’t think it is a stretch to say we three are the most powerful mage-mediator team in the world. But yes, I do understand what you mean when you say so much has changed. between you and me, I was most surprised at finding out Maria’s feelings for Francis. Until our shared moment after the battle, I had no idea at all.”

  “Yeah, it was a surprise to me too. Even more surprising was the fact Maria asked him to marry her in front of everybody.”

  “I don’t think you could call that asking. That was more of a demand. I mean, saying “we are getting married in two months” doesn’t leave much room for choice. I have a feeling she would have chased him down if he tried to run.”

  “He wouldn’t have gotten the chance to, we would have held him down for her.”

  “Yeah we would have.”

  Kimi and Bree shared a laugh together, coming upon the fairy fields the Urma had called their own. They didn’t interfere in the fairies activities, most of them were out working with the men expanding the city on the other side of town. Still, Kimi was a normal sight around these woods. Sometimes she came to speak with the magical creatures on important matters, sometimes just to pass the time on common gossip. And other times, like now, just to make her presence know in case there was a problem the non-humans felt comfortable enough to talk to her about.

  “I hear your mom has found someone. A mage who moved from Haven if I heard right.”

  “Yeah, he seems a good enough guy all things considered.”

  “You don’t trust him?”

  “It’s not that. It is just-- I don’t know how to feel honestly. I’m happy for her of course, but if she marries him, he will be my step-father. All my life it has just been me and mom. Thinking of someone else being a part of that family is odd I guess. She at least is holding off on making a contract until she is sure he is right for her. I’d hate it if she contracted only to find out she had made a mistake and couldn’t spend the rest of her life with him.”

  “You wouldn’t let that happen. If she did do something like that, Kimi the Blade would take care of it. You don’t have to admit it, or say anything, but I know you. On another note, what about you? You’re already eighteen, when are you going to settle down with someone? You are like an old maid already!”

  Bree let out a giggle as she jumped away from Kimi’s playful backhand aimed at her arm.

  “I will in time, I just haven’t met anyone who’s sparked my interests in that way.”

  “What, none of the twenty or so suitors you have up to your standards?”

  “Half of them are still boys who just barely turned fifteen, the other half are only interested in me because I’m the mediator of two mages, not just one. They don’t like me, they like the power and the fame I could bring them as a sort of trophy wife.”

  “They can’t all be like that.”

  “Maybe not, but I can’t trust that their motives are pure. That’s not who I am. Which reminds me, how are Isabelle and Jasmine? I haven’t heard from them in a while.”

  “They are doing good. I got a letter from them yesterday saying they were enjoying their time in Gezunhai. Jasmine finally found a man willing to move to Yandor, and is fine with the relationship her and Isabelle have. He is traveling with them now. They are still searching for one who meets Isabelle’s standards though. Their next stop is Padris, Michael-- the man Jasmine chose-- said he knew a few people that were of a like mind there.”

  “I’m glad. I hope they come back soon, I want to see their reactions to how different the city is now. They’ve already been gone a year.”

  “You don’t care about their reactions, you just miss them.”

  “I do.”

  They left the Domain, heading for a large open area where the more destructive magic and mediator abilities were trained. While Yandor had been small, and Joel had run things. Almost all aspects of running the place had fallen to him. Now that the town was bigger, that wasn’t as feasible. Bree, Maria, and Kimi each had their own part to play running the town. Maria was the leader of all the mages, anyone with a magical problem came to her for help. Such was the job of the Grand Wizard. Bree handled much of the domestic stuff, from ensuring provisions to handling domestic disputes. Her personality allowed her to calm even the hottest of heads.

  Kimi on the other hand, dabbled a bit in both Maria and Bree’s areas while also being the face of the non-hum
ans. With her connection to Nimli, and her ability to get along well with the magical races while easily respecting their different cultures, the spot had just naturally fit. She was also head of the emerging education system, since she had a knack with the children as well. Her ties with Atlantis also meant she dealt with them on a regular basis too. In a way, just like her Other ability, she was a jack of all trades. It was a fulfilling position that made her feel needed and one she was surprisingly good at.

  “How many times do I got to tell you woondangling maggots to stop letting the magic dictate you! Force your will upon it! Make it obey your command! The magic is a living thing! Not some swooning girl you can con into your bed! Billy! If I have to tell you one more time to stop teasing Rachael, I’ll flay you to within an inch of your life! Don’t think I can’t do it just because I have a baby with me! I’ve eaten diaper wearing snots like you while on Quest in my sleep!”

  Kimi and Bree stood at the top of the hill watching Amy drill four mages who had decided to focus their studies on artifact magic. She had her daughter Rosa in a carry pouch at her back, the baby’s big blue eyes watching the group over her mothers shoulder. Vletch was farther off with a group of his own. At the moment, it looked like he was giving a lesson on first aid, showing three boys and two girls how to sew a wound closed. Kimberly also saw the tables of chemicals set up to the side, rising smoke and scorched earth telling the tale that stitching was not the only thing they had been working on. Vletch looked over at Amy and her yelling and smiled, shaking his head slightly before he noticed Kimi. Vletch gave her a nod, his grin widening and his chin pointing at his wife before his attention returned to his students.

  “They haven’t changed a bit.”

  Kimi shook her head in negation. “You’re wrong. Amy’s mellowed out a bit since she had the baby. Could you imagine the Amy we were on Quest with teaching a class like that?”

  “Well now that you mention it, no I couldn’t.”

  The two of them turned and headed back into town, the townspeople all greeting them with smiles and waves. At the first crossroads, Bree begged her leave. “The wind is bringing me some arguing I think I might need to check out. I’ll be over later with Adam and my things.”