Solo Warrior Epilogue

[Bungleau]

The sun rose high early in the morning as Missy Hissy, alone once again, descended from the mountains of Anuram. A small village lay below, sheltered in the crags of the mountain and fed by the river that flowed from it. Her questions of the past few days had been answered truly; perhaps this was the town she sought, like so many others before.

Her feet left scant footprints in the moist dew, bending not the grass but disturbing the tiny beads of water. Like many places where life depended on life, the village was already bustling under the early sun. Daylight hours were working hours, and if you didn’t work, you didn’t have any food. Or clothing. Or warmth. Or... the list went on.

Bardsong had led her to this town. The tales, sad but true, of heartbreak and loss that filled the taverns were both entertainment and history. Those who ignored the past were doomed to repeat it, and the bards ensured that for beer and bread, doom could be avoided. Like so many towns before, this one cried over a lost child from years ago. Was this finally the one?

She walked past an older rattkin, a prospector loading his wagon for the day’s work. “Greetings,” she said in the old tongue.

He looked at her, spat out a wad of tobacco, and looked her up and down. “Greetings back,” he replied. “You’re not from around here by your clothes, and if you’ve an interest in robbing me, you’ll take pretty poor profit in it. Perhaps at the end of the day, but there’s no certainty in that. And if ye take what I have here, my family will surely be hungry this week.”

“I seek nothing but information,” said Missy. “Rest your guard.”

The prospector looked at her again. “Information can be the most deadly weapon of all. What seek ye?”

Missy cleared her throat. Although she’d opened the discussion many times before, it wasn’t getting any easier. “I’ve heard talk of a tragedy here, from years ago. Of a child who was taken. Of a-“

The prospector abruptly turned around, throwing the last of his gear in the rickety wagon. “Move on to the next town and peddle your wares,” he said, “before I call the wrath of Kerah down on ye. After twenty-five years, ye think the leeches would stop...”

Missy raised a hand. “Please, wait! I sell nothing, and I seek nothing... at least, nothing to take from you, or anyone else here.”

The prospector glared. “Yeah, and that’s what the last three said. ‘I don’t want anything’... and they didn’t do anything except rip open old wounds. Let the dead lie, or join them. Your choice. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to try to find something to put bread on the table today.” With a final hostile glare, he yanked the reins and led his burro back up the mountain path.

“Don’t mind Jeremiah... he gets cranky when the mountain hides her treasures.”

Missy turned to see another rattkin, dark hair streaked with silver highlights that betrayed her age. Or perhaps bragged of it. “I can understand,” said Missy. “When I lost my... father, there were many trying to take advantage of me, and few who actually cared about me. Can I ask who you are?”

“Name’s Millicent. I run the tavern here in town, such as it is. More a restaurant, really; we don’t get call for a lot of drinking and such out here, not since... But anyway, what are you looking for?”

“Answers, mostly,” said Missy. “And perhaps a question or two. They take me more places than answers do.”

Millicent smiled. “They are more valuable, to be sure. But let’s start with the answers. Care to sit down for breakfast?”

Missy sat down to breakfast as Millicent brought out a basket with crusty muffins and something that passed for fruit. “Jeremiah mentioned something of old wounds... by chance, did he lose something important? Something irreplaceable?”

Millicent sat down with a hard face. “Straight to the heart, eh? Yes, Jeremiah did lose something. Something that was both of ours, many years ago. We were young and foolish, and as sometimes happens, gave into that foolishness. We paid a price, and some short time later, I was expecting a child. It was not a good time for either of us, and we cried a lot about it. We even prayed to Kerah to help us out of our situation, but that didn’t work. I gave birth to a daughter, but we discovered that love for each other wasn’t enough to put food on the table or a roof over the bed. We struggled, until one day the problem was simply gone. We awoke one morning to find our daughter’s bed empty, save for a single feather.” Millicent’s eyes grew misty.

“We searched, for days and days. Not a trace, not a sound. Our daughter was gone forever. Over the last twenty-five years, we’ve heard from all manner of hoodlums, cheats, and well-meaning people who claim to have found her, or seen her. But nothing from them... not a thing. Some came to take our money, some to take our hearts, and some... just to torture us, I think.”

Millicent continued. “We did learn one thing that day... We learned that there are things more important than food or a roof. And that with another, you can stand strong against anything. Even a broken heart from a lifetime ago.”

Noises came from the kitchen, and a young rattkin came out, a bounce in her step and a twinkle in her eye. “Morning, Momma,” she said.

Millicent dabbed her eyes. “Morning, little missy,” she replied, exchanging kisses. “We have a visitor today. Miss....” She looked at Missy inquisitively.

“Ahm... Hissy. Who’s this?” asked Missy.

“Well, Hissy, after fifteen years of grieving about our missing daughter, we decided that we had wept enough. Little Renata was born, and she has helped our hearts heal. Or mine, at least. Jeremiah still grieves, though he hides it.”

“Morning, Miss Hissy,” said Renata, dropping to a small curtsy.

“I’m impressed,” said Missy. “Good morning to you as well, Renata.”

Millicent beamed. “Now Renata, I’m glad to see you’ve got your manners today. But run along and get ready. Your Auntie Kay will be here later, and you’ve got to be ready.”

Renata smiled and headed back into the kitchen.

Millicent continued. “It’s never easy to lose a child. And Renata can never replace our lost Raja. Still, we’ve moved on, as we must. As we all must. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I must prepare for the day’s meals.”

She stood up and began clearing the table. “Oh, I almost forgot... your questions. Here are my two favorite questions: First, was it worth it? And second, would you change the past if you could, knowing that the outcome could be worse? They’ve kept me strong these twenty-five years, and perhaps they have something for you.”

As she retreated into the kitchen, Missy stared long and hard into her plate. Taking a scrap of charcoal from the fireplace and the blank piece of vellum that kept reappearing in her pouch, she wrote a quick note.

“I know of your sorrow, and of your pain. And while I cannot change the past, nor would I, I can change the future. Please take these as a gift, to support your life and to support Renata in her dreams. And you in yours...”

Missy stepped up and away from the table, leaving the note under a heavy sack of gold. With the sack she left two more things... a glass pendant and a ring of mother of pearl, shaped like a winged mermaid. Except now, the ring was pure and brilliant white.

[bsftcs]

Sob, sob. That was the last of Missy's adventures? I am really going to miss it, especially no that I got so close her. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well written, Bungleau. An era for this forum has come to an end.

Off to the bar. The round is on the assistant barkeeper this time.

[Lord]

Epilogue done...so no more to come. It was a great story to follow. Excellent work on the whole story, Bungleau! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Bungleau]

Thanks. I wasn't sure how it was going to end when I started writing it, and in some ways, I'm still not sure. But I think I know what just happened...

I'm glad you've enjoyed Missy's adventures. I enjoyed documenting them as well.