Eggsaberroar: A Long Epic About Short People - Chapter 1

Eggsaberroar: A Long Epic About Short People

Chapter 1: In Which Tideberries embarks on The Mayfly; and encounters a wizard.

   Tideberries Rominglust Eggsaberroar stood knee deep in the warm waters of the endless ocean. Through the clear medium he could see the sudden change of blues, from a light cream to a deep shadow, where the shelf began and open water started.

                Ty may have been a novice ranger but he knew better than to wade into to open water. There were creatures surely lurking just inside the curve of the shadow, waiting for something tasty to swim into reach.

                No, nothing dangerous today. Today he had a boat to catch.

                This was an unusual concept. The most common saying under any Halfling hutch was “May the tides carry you far from home and the winds return you safely.” For any Halfling this was a mouthful, and it was commonly shortened to “May the tides and winds.” Either one sounded better than "I'll see you when I see you, and try not to get into trouble." 

                The other, larger races, of Canton, tended to look down on Halflings for their short statures and even shorter attention span. A long time ago, much longer than any Halfling remembers unless it’s been put to song, the great small fleets were created, and set out to find a new home for the Halflings. Unfortunately that had not worked terribly well.

                Instead, after years of searching they finally stumbled onto the Eyrie, a collection of small rocky isles, barren and incapable of growing life. Also, home to the famed Sea Eagle, giant birds, adapted to pull a fully grown marlin from the ocean.  The eagles were also intelligent, for they could understand that the Halflings meant them no ill will, and had allowed them to anchor their fleet in the straits of the Eyrie, and assemble small homes along the rocky shores.

                Of course that had been so long ago most Halflings didn't remember why the great small fleet had to leave the ancestral home. In school Ty had learned a bit of the first great civil war. The men and elves had decided that they had to claim their hold over everything. When the ancient Halflings decided that land couldn't be owned in such a way the bigger races simply took their homes. Now it was every young Halfling man’s duty to return to the ancient forests and spend a night living the old ways. This was to prove to the forest spirits that just because the Halflings had been forced to leave they had not forgotten their ancestors.

                Ty had taken his journey nearly five years ago. Five years to a Halfling felt like an awful long time, even to a Halfling such as Ty who was unusually patient. Ty could sit for hours on the bough of a tree watching field mice forage. Today he knew he had no time for such things.

                Today, Ty’s brother, Octaverust Eggsaborroar, Rusty to everyone, was going to begin his journey to the ancient homelands. Even more exciting, Tyberries had been chosen by his father to escort Rusty on the journey. Ty had been taken by his uncle Skipyew Averagecanons  on his trip, but Uncle Skipy had left three years ago on a merchant vessel and hadn't been heard from since. This wasn't entirely unusual for a Halfling, but it meant that another guide had to be chosen.

                Halfling tradition usually dictated that the father of the young man accompany his son to introduce him to the ancestral spirits. Ty imagined what such a journey might have been like. Uncle Skipy was funny and interesting, but his father was quiet and intelligent, and had a way of noticing the most beautiful things in nature. He had also lost his leg in a sailing accident many years ago.

                Jewlerydust Seasurf Eggsaberroar was an accomplished sailor, and on the open ocean he was still as fast as any man. But his prosthetic would not be able to handle the trek across the mountains of the 'big' continent, Terra Regalia so his brother was next in line to be the guide. With uncle Skipy gone, traditionally another elder from the family would have accompanied Rusty. Ty’s father had made the decision to send him instead.

                Ty had mixed emotions. It was an extreme honor to be asked to make the journey again so soon, and the fact that no one objected proved his family had extreme confidence in him. It also meant that he was responsible for the safety of his brother, not exactly a simple task, and the completion of the ritual and return trip. Ty wished his father could have at least sailed them to the shores of the big island, but by the rules of the quest only two Halflings could travel together.

                This returned Ty's thoughts back to the matter at hand. He had a boat to catch. He and Rusty had obtained passage on a human vessel that had stopped for resupply after visiting the other nearby “small” islands. The ship would sail for five days and set them out in Porton the largest city in the southern half of Terra Regalia. Then he and Rusty would travel overland, cross the Moon Mountains, and make their way to the ancient forest. The journey was expected to take two weeks.

                The timing of the ceremony was important. The journey began on the full moon, which meant good visibility on the ocean. They would have just over a week after landing to make it to the other side of the mountains by the crescent moon, and then another  week to complete the ceremony under the new moon. A clear sky for a fresh start.

                All this didn't mean too much, except that they absolutely could not miss this boat. Rusty had been granted this month to attempt the rite. Others were scheduled after, and he would have to wait maybe years to try again. It was unthinkable. Ty knew that Rusty hadn't really understood just how serious this was. Which was why Ty had shown up at the beach to pray on both of their behalf. Today Ty made supplications to both Dalla and Elona, goddesses of the Halflings and the Earth. He lit two pouches of sweet smelling herbs and incense and set them on the beach, allowing them to burn just above the rising tide line. The Goddesses would claim their prizes in moments but it was enough time for Ty to pray.

                A white glint caught his eye on the horizon, Then a small flutter of white just at the point where the earth and sky pinch together. Ty remembered his own coming of age and smiled. How he had feared what it must feel like to be pressed together between that space. Now it seemed childish. Ty wondered if Rusty had any strange fears of the outside world. Ty thought about it harder for a moment and wondered, where was Rusty?

                Like most Halfling children Octaverust had the ability to be simultaneously always underfoot and never where you expected him to be. Of course on this important morning he decided to lean toward the latter. Ty shrugged to his Goddesses and the spirits of the oceans, they would at least hear his prayers.Rusty knew to meet him at the docks before the sun rose a full circle above the horizon, so that’s where Ty would be waiting.

***

                The docks of the Red Island were the largest in all of Terra Legusta, the human name for the island's of the Eyrie, but that wasn’t saying too much. The traveling ship had three masts and was almost two hundred feet bow to stern, and was probably the largest ship that could fit between the rocks. Most of the Halflings considered it a good defense rather than an inconvenience. Ty had been carried on large merchant vessel, almost four hundred feet long with a crew of a few dozen men. He'd had been ferried out through the breakers that formed around the rocky port mouth, to the ship waiting at anchor.
                Ty had never heard of this particular ship, The Mayfly, or its Captain Kobashard. Then again Ty had only just graduated from the rangers academy, and still wasn't sure if this even counted as his first ranging.

                The ship did not look very impressive, looming even more rundown the closer Ty got. But there weren't that many human traders that made the run out to Terra Legusta, usually just gnome barges, and a few of the more civilized dwarfs. Rusty's ceremony had to be completed this month, so they were forced to accept what the gods had seen fit to provide. It wasn't a very illustrious start.

                In front of the ship a few young men sat on a tidy group of barrels. One was dressed in almost all white, except for the blue stripes on his baggy pants. The other two were darker skinned and wore colorful loose fitting shirts over strange canvas pants. Already on board the ship, leaning against the railing, watching the dock, were two men dressed in chain mail shirts and tabard bearing the sigil of one of the lords of Terra Regalia. They seemed to be talking about something secretive and pressed their heads together as they spoke. For a reason he could not identify, Ty was certain they were talking about him.

                 Ty pushed those thoughts out of his head and decided that if nothing else he was going to comport himself like the ranger he knew he was. This meant acting every moment as if it were a dangerous trial or potential trap, observing his surroundings and being prepared for anything.

               Ty’s attention was focused so closely on the whispering warriors that he almost walked right into a small creature wearing long blue robes. It was a gnome, young too by the look of his short brown beard. The gnome was also staring into space but in the opposite direction as Ty.

“Hey, watchit.” Ty muttered as he put his hands out to prevent a collision.

The gnome turned and started as if noticing Ty for the first time, though they were only inches apart. “No, but I have a cousin Watchit, maybe we look alike,” the gnome smiled at his joke. “I’m Spellshooter, Blinkweaver Spellshooter. But you can call me Blink.” He batted his large eyelashes and smiled again at his cleverness.

Blink held out a hand for Ty to shake, which still required backing up a pace to execute properly. As he lifted his arm Ty got a look at several small bulging pouches tucked around the gnomes waist. From the robes Ty assumed he was some kind of wizard or maybe a cleric. Ty shook hands and just hoped that Rusty wouldn't touch any of the gnomes things. The academy still had not taught him any magic and he probably wouldn't be able to dispel a curse cast by an actual magician.

The gnome’s face had already lifted back away from Ty, staring raptly into the distance. Ty turned around and followed the small being's gaze up into the air and smiled.

“Breathtaking aren't they?” From the wondrous open mouthed gape he was displaying, Ty could tell that this must have been the first time the gnome had ever seen one of the giant eagles of the Eyrie. The eagles were sea hunters, and hatched close to the size of normal eagle. They could grow close to fourteen feet in wingspan, but they rarely flew far from their rocky homes. Once in a while a young eagle would be taken with a sort of wanderlust allow itself to be tamed by the rangers. Ty could only imagine what it must be like to fly the way the eagles did, but they would let only their companions ride them.

“Indeed,” the gnome murmured dreamily, his head bobbing as he followed their lazy circles. One of the soldiers leaning on the deck rail laughed crudely, drawing Ty's attention. He was staring at something back on the beach, his wicked smile convincing Ty to turn quickly. He was laughing at a small form, running quickly across the sand, stumbling once and nearly tumbling under the weight of the large rucksack strapped to its back. They were laughing at Rusty.

Ty didn't want to admit it but his brother’s entrance was comical, not the dignified start such a journey needed. At least he could say his brother was enthusiastic, it had to be the fastest he had ever seen a Halfling run.

“Don’t just gawk, if you could move half as fast as that lad I would need half as many of you.” A rolling laugh followed the words and Ty spun around again, making sure to keep his own heavy pack balanced. A potbellied man, shirtless except for a blousey silk vest and covered in scars and tattoos, stepped up to the rail next to the soldiers. He looked down at the mates sprawled on the waiting supplies and scowled. “Lazy dogs, mush, before I have Miss Tyra take a lash to you.” He stomped to effect and cracked into a grin as the men on the dock jumped to their feet.

Rusty was still several hundred yards from the docks, but Ty could already hear him shouting “don’t leave, wait for me.” And began to laugh himself.

More figures stepped into the sunlight next to the man Ty could only assume was the Captain. A tall human woman with a hard squint, as if she wanted to see what trouble maker was causing the ruckus. The other was a human man of average size, built more slightly than the men now hurriedly carrying bins and barrels on board. His armor was scale male, of obviously better quality than the others, and around his neck hung a golden sun icon that seemed to reflect light coming from all directions. The well dressed man smiled sheepishly behind the stern woman and ran a hand through his close cropped blonde hair.

Ty turned around again to watch his brother close the distance, red faced and still running flat out. Above him eagles swooped and soared, playing games in the warm sunlit thermals. These people were not what he had imagined, but deep down he knew they were better than he had expected. These were good people, this would be a good journey.