Puddleopedia | Entry / SyndirsTale

by Syndir

"It is the time of year when the uliflowers bloom in the Tanglewood."

"Feh!" The warrior raised his ale to his lips and Syndir watched his adam's apple move like a piston as the bottom of the mug turned towards the ceiling. It was a few moments before the mug came down and the pewter rang hollowly as it struck the stained wood of the table. "What of it?"

The Ghorak Zo looked up from his meal, fixed the warrior with a toothy smile. "Don't you think them pretty? I had never seen flowers such a shade of crimson before I came to the island."

"Is that what those little red flowers are called? Aye, I suppose, although I have never given it much thought." The warrior gestured to the bartender and tapped the rim of the mug for another ale. "So what of it?"

"Nothing. I just thought today a good day to go to the meadow and see if the flowers have bloomed yet." Syndir nodded to the bartender as he placed a foamy mug of ale on the table.

Small droplets of ale flew from the lips of the human's mouth as he spoke, "Are ye daft, man? Ye'd brave the Tanglewood te see some flowers? No one goes through the Tanglewood unless he seek a mystic stone or Orga heads."

"I don't know about that." Syndir picked up his friend's fresh ale and took a sip of the bitter brew. "I have seen many travelers meeting in the meadow before."

The human looked squarely into Syndir's eyes. "Yer skull contains no more sense than a spoiled melon." He paused and pushed his tongue against the back of his lips as if tasting the truth of his statement. "They wait there for healers like you te show up with yer sorcerous pebbles and fix what they broke getting to the damned meadow. The meadow is not a place for sightseeing." The warrior snorted. "And put me ale down. I have none to spare for a silly Zo dreamer."

Syndir drank once more from the mug before he returned it. "Does the scent of an Uliflower remind you of anything?"

"What? Nay... I don't even know what the things smell like."

"That is a shame," Syndir said, picking at the food remaining on his plate. "I was wondering if their scent was the same to all who smelled them..."

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He sat down with a grunt and rested his back against the gnarled trunk of an unusually tall evergreen. Syndir winced. The taste of copper was in his mouth and he ran his fingertip slowly over his upper lip until he found the edge of the gash. The orga had come too close, he thought. Syndir spat to his side and was unsurprised to see it stain the grass red.

He reached into a pouch on his belt and drew out his Moonstone, a smooth, luminously blue crystal that fit neatly into the palm of his hand. He held his breath for a moment as he nudged the stone with his Spirit, gently coaxing it into action, then exhaled as he felt the warm, liquid sensation of the healing magic working through him. It was not long before the bleeding stopped. After a couple of minutes, the aches subsided completely and he sighed contentedly before he flicked a bit of pollen off the stone's surface and returned it to the pouch.

The meadow was peaceful that afternoon. For some reason, the denizens of the forest came less often to this part of the Tanglewood. To the best of Syndir's knowledge, it was also the only part of the wood to have a clearing of sorts. To the east of where he sat, the trees stopped abruptly and gave way to a broad, open plain where he was delighted to see the uliflowers were in bloom. Patches of them poked up here and there above the short grasses, their bulbs swaying back and forth in the breeze. When the winds blew in a certain way, Syndir could smell their perfume, a delicate scent like heated sugar.

Syndir drew in a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he tried to identify the smell. It tugged at the edges of his memory, trying to remind him of things past. It was like one of those casual events in a day that suddenly brings back an isolated fragment of a forgotten dream in shocking clarity. He frowned. He knew it would bother him until he remembered.

His thoughts were disturbed by the faint sound of laughter from the north. From a break in the treeline beyond the field, a warparty emerged. Syndir noticed a dwarven warrior bringing up the rear was holding one end of a length of chain. Even from his distance, Syndir could see the dwarf's biceps bulging against the resistance, and hear his incongruous giggling as he dragged the corpse of the fallen Orga Fury slowly into view. The dwarf stopped and wiped his brow on the sleeve of his tunic.

"Killed 'em. Killed em *dead*. HAW!"

A lanky Sylvan chuckled. "Aye. Perhaps we should go back and see if his brethren have returned..."

The dwarf shook his head. "Naw. Let's go back to the town square and show the newcomers our trophy." The dwarven warrior pulled again on his chain and giggled again in a way that reminded Syndir of a young human female. "And then the Undine. The Undine next...."

Syndir watched them for several minutes as they dragged the Fury through the middle of the meadow, cutting a wide swath through the uliflowers as they moved southward. They strode by him without speaking. It was several minutes before he could not hear the sound of the dwarf's laughter.

The Zo closed his eyes and sighed. Although it was perilous for him to make the journey here, it was his favorite place. In a sense, the danger of the trip made the peace of the meadow all the more satisfying, and he found it pleasant to sit for hours in contemplation. Though he knew he was unusual in that regard, and that many came to the wood to hunt, he still found the dragging of the Orga to be somehow disturbing. His brow creased as he tried to justify the knot of discontent in his belly.

It was then he heard the humming, tuneless and only slightly off-key. Syndir opened his eyes and saw a human warrior wandering within the uliflower patch. A small bouquet of uliflowers were in his hand, and every now and then he would stop, adjust the scabbard hanging from his belt, and pluck another particularly good blossom to add to his collection. They made eye contact for a moment and Syndir smiled broadly at the human, who promptly strode over, dribbling uliflower petals as he walked.

The human was unusually tall and thickly muscled. He wore a simple brown tunic that matched the red locks that fell over an angular, chised face. Syndir stood to meet him.

"Hail and well met, good Zo. Methinks I have not the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I am called Sleipnir by my comrades." He thrust out his free hand and shook Syndir's in a painfully firm grip.

"My name is Syndir. It is a pleasure." He smiled warmly and pointed a finger at the flowers in the warrior's hand. "And I note you have gathered some fine flowers today."

Sleipnir's eyes softened in a peculiar way and his voice took on a husky tone. "They are for my Lady Babajaga the Fair, most virtuous Sylvan, shining among all others. She is my Lady and I be her One True Knight pledged to her unto even Death Itself."

Syndir cocked his head. "Then I feel cheated not to have met her as of yet."

"Do not make light, sir. She is my sun, yea verily the very breath in my lungs. Without her I pine in darkness, and wither in torment. In her is peace, in her is life, and in her gaze lie all the pleasures of the universe. I beseech you to seek her out that you may know the bliss I feel at the warmth of her gaze."

"I shall do just that then, Sir Knight."

Sleipnir grinned happily and shook Syndir's hand once more. " Then I bid you peace. Perhaps we shall meet again. I do not wish to be rude, but must away to see my Lady."

"Not at all. Be well, Sleipnir." With that, Sleipnir strode purposefully to the southern edge of the meadow and disappeared among the trees.

Syndir sat back against the trunk again and stretched his legs out in front of him. At his feet, he noticed one uliflower had fallen from Sleipnir's hand and he picked it up and drew in the perfume of the blossom. He smiled. Suddenly it was not so very difficult to place the scent of the flower at all...