The Yarn of Weddoh

zzz...



The port town of Kasea, just west of the Daza Kingdom, was undergoing a busy morning. Every visible citizen had their hands full cleaning up and clearing the streets, little decorations had been set up around the port and there was a very wide space reserved at the dock. Despite the hustle and bustle of people working together and moving about, on the side of one of the buildings sat a young lady, resting on the ground where the sun did not shine. She sat there slouched against a small stack of barrels...snoring, peacefully.

zzzzz...


"..eena!"

"......Haseena! Hasena! Wake up!"

With a startled jolt, the young lady shook herself awake, quickly scanning her surroundings as her mind scrambled to gather its bearings. "H-Huh...? Who...?" The lady's gaze eventually landed upon a man standing on the other side of the barrel stack. A rather frustrated looking man.  "O-Oh..Mr. Mrew..."

The man shook his head, letting out a tired sigh and wiping is sweat dampened head with a handkerchief. "Haseena...what are you doing? You see all of us working hard over here?"

Haseena stood up from her little resting spot, brushing off her clothes and trying not to look the man in the eye. "U-Umm..." she stammered, trying to find her words. "I took out the extra barrels like you asked me, sir...I guess I got kind of sleepy and..."

"It's a beautiful morning.." the man lowered his face into his palm, gripping his temple in frustration. "You sleep all night. I have no idea how you could possibly still be tired."

Without any real response, Haseena sheepishly scratched her head, still avoiding eye contact and instead distracting her gaze towards the busy streets.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the man, Mr. Mrew, turned back towards the streets, motioning Haseena to follow. "Come on now. We don't have time to be sitting around. The brigade will be back at any minute now, and we can't welcome them back with our fingers stuck up our noses."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Haseena followed quickly behind, stumbling a bit over one of the empty barrels before making her way to the main street, where Mr. Mrew stood there watching the other townsfolk at work.

"Alright," Mrew started, turning towards Haseena and handing her a couple of flasks full of what seemed to be some kind of potion. "You can help us out by doing this. I need you to refill all of the mana lamps out by the entrance. Some of them are running low and people are noticing some monsters getting a little too close to town lately. Easy enough?"

"Yeah.." Haseena replied quietly, taking the flasks in her hands while suppressing a yawn. "Leave it to me!" The girl swiftly turned around and marched away from Mr. Mrew, ready to take on her new task.

"...Haseena, the entrance is that way."

"Oh." she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes opening wide and her face glowing a bit red. "Y-Yeah...that's right.." she slowly turned around, angling herself towards the right direction and moving on...a bit more awake this time. Her eyes slowly drifted up to the sky as she thought to herself, her mind clearing up from the drowsiness.

'Mr. Mrew said the mana lamps have been running out...I thought they just got replaced recently. How curious...'

Not paying much attention to what's in front of her, despite being more awake, Hasena proceeded towards the town entrance...

Back near the entrance of town, amidst the bustling streets and busy townsfolk, a small and rather worn down carriage rode in. The wheels squeaked with age, and the wood was utterly peeled and splintered. It was an old vessel that looked far less than safe to ride in, drawing a fair few few eyes from the working crowd with its rather grating noise and unimpressive stature. Still, against all odds it made its noisy way over to the town square unhindered and without incident, pulled by two aged sheppa that looked in only slightly better health than their transport.

The carriage squeaked and creaked to a stop by the fountain, its arrival seeming a miracle in its own right. As the wheezing, fuzzy creatures finally got a moment's rest from their tiring journey, a small figure swiftly hopped out of the carriage, twirling about with boundless energy that had clearly been cooped up far too long. Skipping their way over to the front of the carriage, the cloaked individual smiled and bowed at the driver.

"Shucks, thanks for the ride, mate! It was a little bumpy, but it sure was fast!" The restless customer reached up to pull back their riding hood as they spoke, revealing a short but sturdy looking young lady. She had slightly tanned skin and dark, smooth, medium-length hair the fell over her shoulders. Underneath her rather plain cloak, she wore a much oversized red scarf, a rather warm and cozy brown vest, and some specialized trekking boots that looked fit for all sorts of terrain. Her freckled face almost sparkled with youthful enthusiasm, giving a vibe of purity and innocence.

The old man at the reins snorted pridefully, basking in the praise. He was a rugged, ragged, hairy old fellow, and appeared none too agreeable. He narrowed his eyes at the girl and spoke almost bitterly. "Yer darn skippy it was! You won't find another driver this side of Daza who knows these roads even half as well as I do," He spat dismissively, shaking his head in disgust. "Now you make sure you tell all your friends and family about "Shucks' Sheppa Shanty," the only driver in Nedonnia who can ride ya from the capital all the way to Kasea in under a week!"

The girl blinked in silence for a few moments before nodding nervously, slightly intimidated by the ferocity with which he spoke. "Err... will do, they'll be banging at your doors in no time for s-..." she began, but the cross old fellow had already snapped at the reins, pushing the worn and weary sheppa back to their job on the trail, cutting her off before she could finish. She sighed heavily, not altogether ungrateful the wearisome man had gone. With a stretch of the limbs and a quick check of her belongings, she skipped her way cheerfully down the festive streets of Kasea, eager to see what awaited her.

'Maybe we just got a faulty replacement..or maybe our lamps are leaking.'

Haseena continued down the street, still completely taken by her meandering thoughts. Her eyes were drifted up towards the sky, clearly unfocused. 'Come to think of it, these lamps are powered by magic potions right? Potions that are infused with some sort of magic spell. It emits a strong light that drives all the monsters away. I wonder if I could ever make a potion like th--'

Her thoughts were finally interrupted by the horrendous sound of the carriage leaving the town's grounds, creaking and squeaking in the most pitiful manner. "...What is that?" She muttered to herself, finally acknowledging the awful racket that the carriage had been making all this time. Her eyes quickly scanned the vicinity before falling onto the old, rattling junk heap making its way out the town entrance. "Is that old man Shucks?!" she pondered out loud, recognizing the ancient sheppa on the front of the cart and the infamously poor condition of the vessel itself. After watching it limp out onto the road for a few minutes, she let out a sigh and continued onwards toward the mana lamps. "He could at least stop for a moment so we could help change his wheels..."

"...Hey, wait a minute!" Haseena stopped herself again, not even getting to take more than a couple of steps. "If that was old man Shucks, he must have just dropped someone off over here.." Focusing her eyes in a squint, she looked over the busy streets for anyone unfamiliar that stood out. Sure enough, amongst all of the hard working residents, there was a strange girl skipping down the streets as if she were going on a picnic. Haseena watched the stranger from afar, somewhat fascinated by her happy-go-lucky strut. 'What a curious person...' she smiled warmly, letting out a small giggle. 'I suppose I better go greet her.'

Still holding the flask in her hand, Haseena approached the new arrival, waving hello as she came closer. "Hello! Welcome to Kasea, miss! Are you here to see the princess' brigade?"

The cheerful youth stopped in her tracks, her previously hidden kutsu ears raised and perked in surprise. Taking a quick look from side to side, she ascertained she was indeed the one being spoken to, there certainly wasn't anyone else in the immediate vicinity. She turned slowly to meet the voice that had called out to her, giving the speaker a cautious once-over before forming a response. Her gaze appeared frightful and startled, staring in flustered silence for several moments, her lips failing to form coherent words.

"I, err, umm..." She stammered quietly, a hint of fright showing in her eyes, her arms raised in self defense. She took another look at the petite, sweet looking girl, and her body began to ease up once more. With a sigh, she forced herself to calm down, coming to realize neither the question nor the girl who asked it were of anything but an innocent and peaceful sort. Forcing a smile to hide her embarrassment, she cleared her throat, extended her hand in greeting and began once again.

"G'day friend! I've certainly not seen any princesses on my way in, but I'd be awful grateful if you'd point me in their direction!"

"Ah..?" Haseena paused, somewhat startled and baffled by the stranger's odd response. "Uhmm...The princess isn't here yet, ma'am!" she managed to reply, turning her head towards the port to glance at the preparations being made. "She and her brigade should be here any minute, though. They are returning from a mission overseas..."

After a (somewhat awkwardly silent) moment of watching the townsfolk finish up preparations for the welcoming ceremony, Haseena turned back towards the newcomer, folding her arms over her waist somewhat bashfully. "Ahm..yeah! You're welcome to stay and see the princess if you'd like. We have an inn and a pub here as well if you'd like to relax a bit." she noted, smiling warmly and slowly moving her feet back onto the path to the town entrance. "I'm on my way to refill the mana lamps right now. I'll be happy to help if you need anything!"

The cloaked visitor stared in embarrassed confusion as she watched the girl hurry down the street, her extended hand left hanging awkwardly, greeting unnoticed. Flattening the ears atop her head, she shoved her hand back into her pocket and heaved a sigh, kicking at the ground. "This isn't exactly the grand opening in a new town I was hoping for..." She mused to herself. "I've already made myself look silly in front of that girl, I can barely match a name to a face with that Bartholomew fellow I'm looking for, and I couldn't get any sleep in that damn noisy carriage..."

Her thoughts drifted off as she gazed toward the sky in a wistful state, trying and failing to suppress a yawn. Her bones ached and creaked from the long, sleepless trip over the bumpy road, her ears still ringing the incessant ramblings of her "traveling partner." Her eyes were fogged with exhaustion, but there was a certain determination still present in them.

"Sis... I sure hope you're okay..." She muttered under her breath, a cold chill passing throughout her body. With a start, she slapped at her cheeks and shook her head, attempting to kick-start her energy. This was no time for such thoughts, and certainly no time for a nap. Her eyes wandered back to the kind little lady on her way to work. "She mentioned an inn and a pub nearby... I could certainly use some shut-eye, but I'd better start gathering info soon while the sun's up. A seaside tavern sounds perfect!"

With a goal and destination in mind, she trotted on after the girl in the distance, sprinting her way across the square before she lost sight of her in the sea of busy bodies. "Oi, wait up, friend!" She called out as she finally caught up. "If you don't mind, could you show me the way to..." she paused in spite of herself, questioning her approach as the words caught in her throat. She pondered for a moment before starting again, offering her hand once more along with a sweet and most genuine smile.

"My name's Theresa, but you can call me Reece! Care for a helping hand, mate?"

"Ah?"

Haseena stopped briskly in her tracks, her strangely pointy ears sticking up in response to the stranger's call. Holding the flask somewhat carelessly in one hand and a thick book in her other, she twirled around and faced the direction of the voice fully, meeting her eyes once again with the stranger. "Y-Yes?" she replied, somewhat puzzled by the girl's stammering and uncertain speech.

"My name's Theresa, but you can call me Reece!" the stranger finally expressed, after a moment of stumbling over their own words. "Care for a helping hand, mate?" she continued, extending her hand.

Cocking her head to the side curiously, Haseena's eyes shifted from the stranger's own face to their extended hand, and back to their face once more. Her expression changed from one of curiosity to one of gleeful pleasantness as she reached her own hand out to invitingly shake Theresa's. "S-Sure! Yes!" she exclaimed somewhat eagerly. "My name is Haseena! But you can call me..." she paused for a moment, her eyes wandering to the side in meandering thought. "..Actually, I don't really have a nickname. Everyone just calls me Haseena!" she laughed as she finished her clumsy introduction, trying to hide her embarrassment.


"The lamps that I need to get to are just outside the town," Haseena explained, leading her new friend outside the town gates and into the the forested road. Eager to share her knowledge of the surrounding area to a new traveler, she continued. "You've seen them on your way in, yes? The tall, glowing lamps lined up along this road. They're meant to guide travelers and adventurers alike so they do not lose their way in this forest, Blackwood."

Theresa trotted along behind her new and rather unreliable tour guide, looking all too pleased with herself. Light on her feet and swift as a fox, she skipped onto the forest trail beyond the gates, her face beaming with childlike eagerness. She stopped for a moment on the wide, dusty dirt road that cut through the woods, staring up in awe at the great canopy of trees above. Having been cooped up in the cramped and shaky carriage on her way in, she had yet to see the true scope of the eponymous 'Blackwood' surrounding the port town. With a heavy sigh, she breathed in the earthy scent of the forest and its undertones of the salty sea beyond, immersed in the vast and striking sight. It was incomparably different from her own wooded homeland, and yet filled her with a strange sense of serene nostalgia and longing.

"It's so pretty here..." she muttered absently to herself, so taken in by the view she had yet to notice just how far she was lagging behind. "Can't believe I missed this..." Her eyes started to drift shut as she basked in the morning sunlight like a lazy cat, her long scarf swaying in the ocean breeze. Drifting almost completely into her silly daydreams, only the realization that Haseena's voice was growing more and more distant brought her out of it. Snapping her eyes back open with a start, she caught sight of her equally oblivious "guide" several yards ahead already, and quickly stumbled back onto the path to catch up.

"H-hey, wait up!" she called out, taking a small tumble over an oft cursed and ill placed rock in the road. "Sorry, I got a mite distracted.." she offered sheepishly, doing her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her toe. "This is my first adventure beyond Timbers, my first endeavor into the unknown, and I wanna make sure I don't miss a thing!" she boasted rather proudly, beating her fist to her chest with a huff. "On that note!" She began again with uncharacteristic confidence. "..Would you tell me more about this place? About Blackwood? Is it, well, dangerous, would you say?"

"Dangerous..?" Haseena repeated, glancing briefly at her new tourist. "Ahm...not really! Well, kind of..." she continued somewhat unfocused, leading the two of them to a sturdy, tall lamp structure. At the top of the lamp sat a spherical, glass container with a small opening at the top. Inside it rested some still fluid, giving off a very faint glow. Leaning against the lamp was a little ladder of just a few steps, allowing easy access to the glass container.

Haseena stopped in front of the structure, turning around to face her friend. Taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts, she continued. "Blackwood is home to many dangerous creatures and monsters. However, these lamps emit a light and scent that the monsters don't like! " she explained, placing her  hands on her hips and smiling proudly. After a moment, she turned her head to the side, glancing at the dirt road ahead. Along the road were more identical lamps, spaced evenly all along the way. Some were glowing a bit brighter, some dimmer, and some with no glow at all. "These lamps also serve to guide travelers through the forest. If you follow them along the road, they will lead you to Daza unharmed!" With a swift change in her tone, she suddenly leaned close, holding her finger up with a serious expression on her face. "So you mustn't stray from the lamps' path! You might run into monsters!"