Me and Fleur

Walking around my home I was listening to the windstorm that raged outside and shook my house’s shingles. Thinking about the problem that had plagued me for months I paced outside my study. Walked in I looked around, the walls were a rich chocolate brown; there was a mahogany writing desk with many pictures decorating the surface, and bookshelves covered almost the whole back wall behind my desk. I looked at my many pictures of dig sites that I was part of, I sat down in my chair, and held my head in my hands. Looking at the only picture that didn’t have to do with my work; the picture of my late wife, Luann. Realization came over me, telling me that my path was clear.

“The travelers of this world will be protected. So no one will go through the loss that I did.” I said quietly to myself. Sitting up straight in my chair I looked over to my pads of paper. Reaching out I started to write a note.

To Whomever May Be Reading This,

I will protect you all who travel, all you must do is call out my name, Author

The Master of Roads.

Once that had been done I threw the note outside into the wind; sending the message into the wide blue yonder. Walking into the bathroom, I closed the door.  Turning around I turned on the hot water in the shower; I closed the curtain as to avoid getting wet. After about ten minutes, the mirror was completely fogged over. Tracing a pattern into the glass not knowing what it meant; just remembering what it looked like because when they gave me their offer it was permanently burned into my memory. Once the sigil was completed, the mirror glowed white for a second and then the light dimmed till all I saw was an old man in golden armor that covered white robes. Just like last time I felt a massive desire to bow and grovel before him.

“So you have made your decision?” The old man asked in a deep but gentle voice. Looking at the old man with a grim face, I nodded my head.

“Yes I have made my choice, I accept your offer... Lord Odin” I said, my voice sounding course.  Giving him a barely noticeable head bow as I spoke.

“Well then lets get the process over with.” Odin said as he reached through the glass and touched my forehead. Feeling pain course through my whole body I fell to the floor. It felt as if my blood had turned to fire and my bones to sand. The Mirror shown white again and pulled me off of the floor and into its bright light at which point I fell about two feet then flipped over and landed on my ass.

“Welcome young one to your godhood.” Odin said in a voice that ringed with laughter. He walked up to a chair that was in a half circle with other chairs. He turned and sat down his height of fifty feet, easily staggering me with his power. It was so thick it literally stained the air that I was breathing and made it hard to move, as if the gravity was being amplified  just by his presence.

“T-t-thank you for y-y-your kind welcome.” I stuttered out even though it felt like my lungs were being forcefully deflated. Staring to shake from the power, I fell over onto my ass where I promptly passed out.

I awoke from my dream/memory and looked around; Noticing that the fire was getting low, I sat up and threw some sticks into the pit. Standing up, I pulled out my twelve part staff. Each piece had a Etching that amplified my magical powers. Holding the staff out in front of me and started to practice my fighting. Each pass of my staff made a slight whistling sound. After a few hours had passed and I was covered in sweat, I collapsed my staff and put it back in my bag. Walking over to Fleur I shook her awake.

“Hey Fleur it’s time to get going.” I said as I continued to shake her. She turned over and gave me the stink eye but got up. Packing the little camp supplies that I had with us, we started walking across the clearing to the opposite side that we came in yesterday. We were walking down the road and I heard Fleur groan. So I turned to her with a questioning look on my face.

“Is there a problem that I am not aware of?” I asked with a hint of worry cause no one can say I am a bad host.

“I am bored out of my mind.” She whined like a little foal. Nodding my head in understanding I thought for a few seconds then it hit me. Why don’t I tell her a story. I thought to myself as I turned around and started to think of a good story that I had heard.

“Here, listen and I will try to ease your boredom.” I said with a tone of happiness as I love to tell stories almost as much as traveling.

“Many moons ago, two brothers lived with their father in a small house in Korea.  The younger brother worked hard and was kind to all he met.  The elder, knowing he was to inherit his father's prosperous rice farm, was arrogant and proud.  He scorned his younger brother and ignored his aging father.

“Every night after supper the father would say:  "Remember, my sons.  What you plant you will eat. "  The younger son nodded politely, for he loved his parent and honored him.  But the elder son would yawn and walk away.  The father watched him go with sadness.

“On his deathbed, the father beckoned the two brothers close to him.  "Remember, my sons.  Nothing is as important as family.  Share this property and work together.  I leave this land to both of you."   And so saying, he died.

“The elder brother was furious.  The law of the land said that an elder son inherited everything.  As soon as the funeral ceremonies were past, he thrust the younger brother from their home, ignoring the last wish of his dying father.

“Heartbroken, the younger brother walked for many miles, far away from his home and village until he found some broken down land that nobody wanted.  He tended it carefully, planting a small crop of rice and building a mud cottage that was thatched from the dirty straw that dropped from passing farm carts.    By saving and scraping, he managed to make enough money to build a small house and make a profit.  So he was able to marry and have a family.

“One year, a drought overcame the land and the younger son's rice crop failed.  Without assistance, his family would starve.  It broke his heart to hear his wife and children moaning with hunger in their sleep, so he went to his wealthy brother to ask him to share some of the rice raised on the property which their father had willed to them both.   "It's my rice crop now," the elder brother cried with a cruel laugh. "Go away."  So saying, he slammed the front door in his younger brother's face and locked it against him.

“Brokenhearted, the younger brother turned away.  As he left the village, he heard a shrill cry from a tree above him.  A snake was attacking a baby swallow.  Flapping frantically, the tiny bird tried to escape, but it was too young to fly and fell to the ground instead.  The younger brother picked the helpless baby up and cradled the tiny bird in his hands.  Its leg was broken, and so he tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and set the swallow's leg.  When the snake slid away, he returned the baby to its nest and went home to his starving family.

“The next few weeks were hard.  The younger brother gave every spare scrap of food to his tiny children, who were so thin he could count their ribs.  His wife walked over the fields searching for any edible plants she could find, but her harvest was scant.

“Then one day a tiny swallow flew to their house and landed on the thatch.  It was the baby swallow the younger brother had rescued.  Leg now healed and able to fly, the swallow sat on the thatch and sang a merry song of thanks to the marveling family.  Then it circled the younger brother's house three times and  dropped a large seed into a damp patch of earth.

“The family stared at the seed, and the youngest daughter wanted to touch it, but her father held her back.  As they watched, the seed put out a root, and started to grow.  The starving family watching in astonishment as the seed became a vine, and the vine grew and grew. Within minutes, luscious melons were growing on the vine.  Within an hour, they were ripe and ready to pick.

“"Father, father!  May we eat a magic melon?" cried the hungry children.  Laughing in delight, the younger brother pulled a melon off the vine and cut it open.  Beside him, his wife gasped in astonishment.  Inside, the melon was filled with so many gold coins that they spilled to the ground all around the starving family's feet.  Every melon was full of gold.

“The younger brother and his family were rich beyond their wildest dreams.  They had plenty to eat, they bought a large house with land, and they had brand-new clothes to wear.  It was amazing.

“When the elder brother heard of this good fortune, he was filled with jealousy and started searching for his own magic bird.  He spent days combing the lands around his village, greedy for more power, more money, and more land.  When at last he stumbled upon a little bird with a broken leg, he picked it up, saying:  "I will help you, little bird, if you will help me."  The little bird stared up at him with wise eyes, seeing through the fake sympathy into the greedy heart beneath.

“When the bird's leg healed, it flew to the elder brother's house, circled his head three times and dropped a seed into the moist soil.  With a triumphant laugh, the elder brother watched the seed grow into a vine.  Melons swelled up larger and larger until they were as tall as a man.  The elder brother was delighted.  Obviously he was much worthier than his brother, to merit such large melons.  He picked the largest melon and cut it open.  Instantly. a band of warriors burst from the melon and fell on him with clubs.  They stole his money and left him moaning on the ground.

“Unable to believe that all the melons were bad, the elder brother crawled over to the second largest melon, expecting to find enough gold and silver to make up for the beating he'd received from the warriors in the first melon.   Whack!  He cut open the first melon and was overwhelmed by a huge ball of hissing snakes that  slithered straight into his house.  He cut open a third melon, and had to dodge out of the way as a huge colony of rats rustled past.   By this time, the magical melons were overripe and began bursting on their own. Spiders, ants, termites, bees, and many other hissing, biting, crawling creatures invaded the house and yard.  Within an hour, the elder brother's property was completely destroyed.

“The elder brother ran away from his ruined house and lands.  Poorer even than his younger brother had once been, he wandered from village to village, begging for food.   One day, he looked up from his begging and saw his younger brother standing a few feet away, holding a hoe.  Ashamed, the elder brother looked down, until the blade of the hoe landed on the ground beside his foot.

“"I have lost everything," the elder brother said, staring at the blade of the hoe.  "I have no place to go.  No food.  I won't blame you if you send me away too."

“He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.  "Come, brother," the prosperous farmer said.  "Let us sow a new crop, together.  For what we plant, we will eat."

“The elder brother looked up with tears in his eyes, and accepted the hoe from his younger brother's hand.”

I  finished the story as we stopped for lunch at a small glade with wild flowers; I turned to Fleur who had a look of interest on her face.

“I didn’t know you could tell stories that well.” Fleur said quietly as she sat down on the ground and thought about the story.

“I’m not that great. Now if I had came up with that story, then I would be worthy of praise. But alas I am just telling a story that I had heard on my many travels.” I said pulling out the almost empty bag of Nuts and Fruit and one of the leaf wrapped fish pieces. Opening the fish I brought it to my mouth, but was interrupted by a shout.

“My name is Blitz Gamer, I am here to take Fleur di Lis home and collect you, for your 500 bit bounty.” Someone yelled making me turn. What I saw made drop my fish in shock. Standing there at the edge of the fifty foot clearing was a human wearing a blue hoodie , denim pants, and purple sneakers. His hood was up so I couldn’t see his face.