The White Apple Campaign 9 - The Grove

It went against Vasher’s sensibilities to refuse food like he had, but the entire situation put him on edge. Lenny had already ingested some foul substance, and the animals from the forest weren’t safe. Hemswick was infected like Lenny so he didn’t count, but Johnathan had eaten readily. Vasher tossed and turned in his bunk-bed, mulling things over. His hosts had put everyone up in a group room with stacked beds on opposite walls. A large window was set in the wall between, and light was beginning to shine through its drawn curtains. The forest canopy was less dense here, making the early sunrise easier to catch here than in the wood, and Vasher was ready for it. Hoping he would beat everyone downstairs, Vasher made his way out of the room.

Sure enough, Todd and Linda had just started busying about the morning’s cooking. Soon Vasher smelled bacon frying and coffee brewing. He settled down in one of the lounge chairs away from the table to act as if he was dozing but kept a narrow eye on his hosts. They aren’t even tasting the food they are cooking. Vasher mused. I’d feel a lot more comfortable if they ate anything at all themselves. But these people weren’t going to poison him. If there were seeds in the food like Lenny had, they would be a friendly substance to these white robed caretakers. When Linda finally came over to ask if Vasher needed anything. He took her up on a black cup of coffee.

She brought it over to him seaming hot and offered it with a grin. Vasher returned the expression and breathed in the aroma. It was coffee to be sure. Nothing floating in it. He’d never known of anything hiding in black coffee. He took a drink.

Vasher barely had time to savor the warmth before others began streaming to the breakfast table. They greeted each other warmly and sat down to enjoy the bacon still sizzling from the stove. Vasher got up to join them and eyed the spread hungrily. He still wasn’t ready to trust the animal products, but his eyes fell on a bowl of rice grits on the table. With a heavy sigh, he spooned himself a serving.

“I had great dreams last night.” Lenny said first. “I dreamed of when my mom was around, and before dad got human old. I was safe and warm and happy.”

“I dreamed of my wife.” Hemswick said, growing distant. “I haven’t had that dream in ages. It was like she was here.”

Vasher was shocked to see Hemswick willingly join a conversation so early in the morning but was delighted for the long-waited change in temperament. He was still gruff, but the manic delirium was fading. Jr. still feigned sickness when she joined the group, but the hosts only pressed her lightly for food. When people were starting to slow down, Vasher’s appetite for information quickly took over his need for food.

“You two are amazing hosts.” Vasher said raising a cup to Todd and Linda in the kitchen.

“Thank you dear, it’s the least we can do.” Linda replied.

“How did you two even end up here? You seem more fit for a market town than this kind of wilderness.” Vasher asked.

The couple looked at each other and nodded before Todd spoke.

“We were on a ship years ago. There was a terrible storm and we were wrecked. Someone from this town found us with their own boat and led our lifeboats to shore. We had a daughter then, but she was lost.” Todd teared up. “I’m sorry it is still so hard to accept she’s gone.”

Vasher hung his head in respect but took the time to glance at Hemswick who seemed nonplussed by the coincidence. Instead of diving deeper, he decided to change directions.

“I understand.” He said. “I’m sure you know we ended up here by slightly different circumstances.”

“Oh yes!” Linda said, handing Todd a kerchief. “You were brought here as our salvation! You were supposed to be brought straight here but the evil redirected you.”

She grew dark when she mentioned “the evil”. Vasher knew what she meant but would have to get more out of her later.

“Well we are all very confused about that salvation part.” Vasher pointed out.

“Jacobin will say more when he returns.” Linda replied with another smile.

“I apologize for my rudeness last night. But the animals we have seen in this forest are not natural. It has my stomach picky.” Vasher said, hoping to get more information regarding the food in front of him.

“We can assure you the creatures in this wood are quite natural.” Todd perked up, pocketing Linda’s handkerchief. “But the food in front of you is brought in from the outside if that is what you are asking. We have it shipped in. You see the Abernathy shipping company owes this community a great debt.”

“That’s the same name as the people who owned our boat!” Lenny pointed out as Vasher was thinking the same.

“Indeed.” Todd agreed. “To pay their debts to us, they supply this village with its needs.”

As Vasher considered this, Jr. suddenly got up, walked over to the door, and opened it. The sounds of morning birds and mild street bustle came pouring in. Then she closed the door and came back to her seat.

“Still a normal town out there.” She said and sat at the table without taking any food.

This whole exchange derailed Vasher from his line of questioning regarding where the food came from, but he wasn’t quite satisfied yet.

“Uru never ate on the boat with us either.” Vasher said when the two simply stood and watched the others eat. He went on, “Do the white robes have something to do with not eating?”

Todd and Linda looked at each other. It was Linda who spoke this time. “Uru was far beyond food when you knew him. Those who wear the robes are the same.”

“So they have all eaten apples too?” Lenny asked.

“We have all tasted the fruit of the mother, even all of you. The robes are for the devoted those who have visited the orchard.” Linda answered.

This made Vasher’s stomach turn. Jr. hadn’t eaten a scrap of food from this island but Linda said they had all tasted of the mother’s fruit. Is the fruit more than just apples? Are the apples for the robed or is it something else? Before Vasher could get his thoughts in order, Hemswick spoke again.

“There aren’t any children here at all.” He said chewing his bacon. “You lost your child. I lost mine. Everyone here is ship wrecked. Would you happen to know an Eva Hemswick?”

Linda turned to Hemswick and smiled. “I know her well. In fact…”

There was a knock at the door. Hemswick bolted from the table knocking over saucers and pitchers, but he had seen Linda’s expression. He ran to the door and threw it open. Jacobin stood there next to a white robed woman. Hemswick fell to the floor in tears.

“Eva! My love, my sweet, my starling!” Hemswick blubbered at her feet becoming increasingly incomprehensible. The woman stroked his hair and held his head while everyone else watched on, dumbfounded at the tenderness this man was leaking.

Vasher noticed with an ache that no child stood next to Eva or Jacobin but was soothed to see Hemswick’s hopeless abandon. Then that made him ache for a different reason. After a long moment, Eva gently pulled Hemswick to his feet and led him up the stairs to one of the rooms. Vasher and the others shared looks of shock and joy as the two passed but kept quiet until they were well out of ear shot.

Before Vasher could comment, Jacobin spoke, “Thank you all for your patience. I hope you rested well?”

His mild voice sat in just the right place for it to carry but not sound loud. Vasher had to admire that kind of skill. He was clearly different from Uru but he carried himself so similarly, Vasher knew they had to have spent much time together.

Everyone was still a bit in shock from the reunion of the Hemswicks it seemed, so no one answered Jacobin’s question. He went on.

“I am here to show you around and answer any questions you might have. When you are ready, please meet me here and we can get started.”

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Vasher finished his coffee and quickly gathered his things to explore the town. Everyone gathered at the front door around Jacobin and they were ready to go. Stepping out into the sunlight, nothing had changed about the town. It was still bustling with the events of the morning. For a bit, everyone stood around and took in the sights, then Jacobin cleared this throat.

“You know you are allowed to ask anything. You don’t need to worry about me being confused or offended.”

“In that case,” Lenny started, “Why was Uru a green skeleton? Where to the apples come from? How can we meet mother when Uru WAS mother? How long has this forest been here? Why did the ship have green wood panels? Where…”

She went on until she ran out of air, leaving Jacobin wide eyed and mute. He put his hands up to halt her before she could catch her breath. He blinked at her twice and then simply asked, “I’m sorry, what?”

Vasher laughed and interjected. “We have a lot of questions Jacobin. In the meantime, why don’t you take us to where the food comes from?”

“My pleasure.” Jacobin said. “Would you like to see the animals first or the plants.”

“Animals!” Jr. said excitedly.

Jacobin made to leave, but Lenny reached out to stop him.

“Before we go.” She said, rummaging around in her bag. “You should probably have this.”

Lenny produced Uru’s skull from the depths of her bag.

Jacobin gasped and took the skull from Lenny to place it against his brow the same way Uru had done with the remains of the wraiths.

“You truly are our saviors to be so thoughtful.” Jacobin said, placing the skull deep in his robes. “Indeed, you are worthy to speak to the lips of mother this evening.”

Lips of mother? Vasher noted but tucked it away for later.

“Our hosts mentioned that much of the food was brought in from the outside. They said you are owed a great debt by the shipping company that held the raffle we all won?” Vasher asked to move things along.

“Yes,” Jacobin replied. “They bring us anything we cannot produce here on the island to repay us.”

A light went off in Vasher head as he was reminded of the uniforms of the ship’s crew. All that dingy grey was just mistreated white. They all had white uniforms just like everyone here, but they didn’t care for them. Why?

As Jacobin walked, Vasher nudged Lenny and whispered, “If they are repaying this island, why wasn’t the island on their maps? They clearly knew it existed”

“The three mermaids on the map circled where this island was supposed to be.” Jr. interjected, apparently she had been eavesdropping.

“Did we figure that out already?” Vasher asked, amazed.

“Well I had figured it out. Did I forget to tell you” Jr. asked innocently.

“Hmm.” Vasher considered. “Well that does change things a little.”

I wonder if they stole the ship and the original crew’s uniforms. Vasher thought. That would explain why they were so confused about what was happening. And the dirty white clothes.

Jacobin kept walking, even as Vasher mused to himself. It felt awkward not having to keep up small talk, but Jacobin was being the perfect escort. Before jumping back into questioning, Vasher nudged Lenny again.

“Linda said that the while robed people had eaten of the mother right?”

Lenny nodded.

“And she said she had known Hemsick’s wife for months. That means she hasn’t changed like Uru did. Maybe you have more time than we thought until those seeds do anything.” Vasher concluded.

“I’m still confused if they actually mean the apples when they say fruit of mother. They are being so ambiguous with that.” Lenny said, clearly considering the same things.

As they chatted, Jacobin led them through the town and beyond its edges. Soon, they saw a large clearing of open earthen ground where cows stood and chewed. Pigs could be heard from pens nearby and everything seemed totally normal. Almost too clean and healthy in fact. It even smelled right.

“You wanted to see the livestock, so here they are.” Jacobin said.

“What do you feed them?” Vasher asked, seeing no grass on the earthen lot.

“Cow feed?” Jacobin said uncertainly. “I am not an agriculturalist, nor do I understand husbandry. They are fed what they need. The usual things cows and pigs are fed.”

Vasher narrowed his eyes at the livestock but remembered other times he had asked courtly people about animal feed. It wasn’t suspicious at all for Jacobin not to know if they were fed alfalfa or corn. Clearly not getting much more from this, Vasher decided to go to the source of most all food. Plants.

“I’m excited to see your crops Jacobin.” Vasher said when Jr. was done fawning over a particularly brown cow with big eye lashes. “Are they far from here?”

“Not at all.” Jacobin replied, and led them somewhere new.

Sure enough, the crops were perfect as well. The corn grew in perfect tall lines. All the produce was plump and shining. Not a single bug bite out of any leaves.

Johnathan had been lost in his considerations the entire morning but seemed to grow bored at the farm. Vasher had gathered that Johnathan was only interested in the strange and exciting plants at this point in his life. But Vasher had a feeling.

The other party members were much more reserved seeing the crops than they were seeing the animals. Vasher on the other hand walked deep into the rows of corn where no one could see him. He started digging.

It felt good to have his hands in good rich dirt again, but all the comfortable familiarity faded when he dug about eight inches down. What began as normal appearing corn roots shifted into something new under the soil. Making a trough by connecting two holes, Vasher found that the plants were connected underground. Walking over to the tomatoes, he found the same thing. The entire farm seemed to be growing from the same interwoven root structure. Vasher’s stomach turned and he thought, Maybe the meat is from the outside world, but these plants certainly are not. With a sigh of relief, Vasher didn’t spot any coffee bushes or rice patties. He might still be alright. Feeling more worried than before, Vasher returned to the group.

“All satisfied then?” Jacobin asked.

“For now.” Vasher replied, wiping the dirt from his hands.

“Wonderful. I have business to attend to and would like to introduce you to someone special. She will keep you company until I return.” Jacobin said, and started leading them away from the perfect farm.

When he was in earshot, Vasher grabbed Johnathan and whispered, “Those plants were all the same plant.”

This made Johnathan pause and do a double take at Vasher. “How do you mean?” he asked.

“I dug under the topsoil. The corn and tomatoes shared the same roots. They were all growing from the deep green underneath, like the trees in the forest. They didn’t grow from seed.” Vasher answered.

Johnathan was agape. “I didn’t even think to check under the soil! I just assumed they were boring old crops.”

“You’re slipping Johnathan. You know well as I do old things can be surprising.”

Johnathan nodded but instead of taking notes, he gazed off into the distance, looking very thoughtful. Vasher had gotten through to him about the situation.

When Jacobin stopped, Vasher found himself in front of a large home. It was the same style and materials as all the others but this one was more intricately embellished with scrolling engravings. It seemed a bit bigger overall as well. Jacobin opened the intricate door and led everyone into a well-appointed room. It was full of luxury from ceiling to floor. Furniture draped in white animal furs filled the rooms. Scrollwork matching the exterior ran along the support beams and walls, elevating the entire interior aesthetic. It was like being in a palace that had been grown instead of built. If it weren’t for his general anxiety, Vasher would have loved it here.

“Hello.” Came a velvety voice from the main chamber. In the center of the room stood one of the most beautiful human women Vasher had ever seen. She was dark, long haired, tall and robed in white. “My name is Constance Hastor.” She said gesturing to the collection of white fur love seats near where she stood. “Jacobin has entrusted you to me for the afternoon. I hope you find my company acceptably, diverting.”

As Vasher started to reply, a diminutive manservant busied everyone into the living room and gently nudged them towards seats, settling them down in various states of bedragglement. Constance gestured, and the manservant produced a platter of sandwiches from a table nearby. He went about dispensing them to everyone, keeping them dumbfounded. The sandwiches were of pork and tomato, with sauces and greens. Vasher’s mouth watered at the combination but he was still so wary of meat here. He simply stared at the sandwich pondering which part he could nibble on until Constance spoke again.

“What are all of your names? I am so excited to truly get to know our saviors.” She purred, taking her own sandwich and tea.

“Johnathan Sable, charmed to meet you.”

“Ashlyn Highgrove, but you can call me Lenny.”

Vasher saw Constance take a small bite of her sandwich and began to relax a bit at the sight.

“Vasher.” He said, giving no surname. She didn’t seem to care.

The room stared at Jr.

She stared back.

“She’s Jr.” Lenny said. “She can talk I promise.”

Jr. stuck her tongue out at Lenny but smiled contently as she settled deeper into her chair.

“I am so happy to meet all of you. It must have been so hard to reach the grove.” Constance said, setting her meal aside on a small green-wooded table.

“You have no idea lady.” Jr. said, still ignoring her meal.

“About that.” Lenny said, swallowing the last bite of her sandwich. “As soon as we got here, everyone acts like they know us. If we were so expected, why didn’t the bewitched boat bring us straight here?”

“That was the work of the evil one.” Constance replied, furrowing her brow. “He is the one you will save us from.”

“Do you mean the great lich we saw?” Vasher asked, taking the opportunity to put his food aside discreetly. “How long has he been a problem?”

“The evil has plagued us for many, many years. It was here long before I was saved.”

Constance said, growing glossy eyed when she mentioned her salvation.

“What about the mother we keep hearing about? Was she here before him or was this his island first?” Lenny asked.

“The mother has always been with us.” Constance said, her eyes growing bright again. “If it weren’t for his evil and his minions, she would bring the whole island into her nurturing embrace. We are so blessed to have made our way home to this grove. Mother has so many children to bring home. The evil must be defeated so that she can provide for them, as she provides for us.”

“Did everyone here come by shipwreck?” Vasher asked, getting a bit unnerved by all the reverent mother talk.

“Not everyone.” Constance replied, the steam from her tea swirling as she picked it back up from the table. “But I was saved from my own calamity by the very Uru that brought you here. That was some time ago now. I was so sad to hear that he did not appear in town with you yesterday.” She hung her head.

“Is anyone ever born here?” Lenny asked, causing Constance to look back up. Lenny went on, “You say not everyone was ship wrecked, but we haven’t seen a single child. Are children even born here?”

Constance saddened. “Yes, children are born here, but they are all stolen by the evil. We have not had a child come of age in over one hundred years.”

The room fell silent at that. Yellow sunlight beamed across the room, illuminating the white furs it fell across. For a town to be so bustling as this, with no children for a hundred years. These people either live very long, or they rescue a lot of shipwrecks. Vasher thought. Pieces were beginning to come together, but most of it still made so little sense. Grabbing the next thread he could find, Vasher spoke up again.

“You say come of age. Does that have anything to do with the white robes?”, he asked.

“Yes and no. The robes are for those who have eaten the white apples of the orchard. Children are not allowed to go through the trials until they are fifteen years old.” Constance answered nonchalantly.

Vasher was thrilled. It had been weeks since he had gotten such a direct answer. She could be lying, but maybe he could start teasing out patterns.

“So what you’re saying is that children are born here but they haven’t made it to the age of fifteen in one hundred years?” Lenny clarified.

“Yes.” Constance answered. “Only those who have not eaten of the apple are taken. Normally, here in the Grove, when a child reaches the age of fifteen, they complete the trails and get to visit the Mother’s Orchard. There, they eat of the apples and don the white. Group initiations used to be held every one or two years, depending on the class sizes, but then children kept being taken before they could come of age. Until, three years ago, a boy was allowed to try early, but he did not succeed.”

“Was he about ten years old?” Vasher asked.

“Yes.” Constance replied. “His name was Timothy Fletch. He was taken shortly after his failure. His brother Jasper went after him but never returned.”

The lich with the scimitars was named Jasper. He wanted his brother back. Vasher thought, excited at the new connection. Looks like we brought Timothy home after all.

“Do adults have to do the trials?” Lenny asked.

“Not entirely. Those who return home to the island have a slightly different way of going about it. I ate my apple after only a few months on the island.” Constance replied, finishing her tea.

Then Vasher’s thoughts tried to put two more pieces together.

“Have you ever seen a giant spider at night here?” He asked Constance quietly.

She froze. “The children that are taken talk of a large spider before they disappear.”

“Well its been watching us for weeks!” Jr. said, getting up to walk around.

“Then I am truly sorry.” She said. “It already has its gaze upon you.”

A knock came at the door. Constance did not rise to answer it. Instead, her manservant adjusted his tie and shirt tails, and made to greet the new guests. Eva and what looked like Constable Hemswick stood in the door. The man Vasher saw was Hemswick’s height, build, and generally had his look, but he was clean shaven, clear eyed, and clean. It made such a difference, Vasher would have believed that Hemswick had a brother that had been in the grove the whole time.

“Hemswick?” Lenny gasped.

“Both of the Hemswicks.” Eva replied making the Constable blush.

“Do you even know my first name?” Hemswick asked, his voice still gruff as before.

“It’s Charles.” Jr. answered, climbing onto an ottoman. “It was all over his luggage.”

Hemswick narrowed his eyes at Jr. but let out a big sigh and spoke again.

“I am terribly sorry for how I treated you these past few weeks.” He looked to Johnathan. “I’m especially sorry for nearly killing you.”

“All water under the boat.” Johnathan said from his love seat.

“Each of you has saved my life many times now.” Hemswick said. “For that I am forever in your debt.”

“Why were you so insistent on being crazy?” Jr. asked. “We gave you plenty of chances to get the message.”

“I haven’t been sleeping for over a year. How could I sleep with my only comfort gone?” He took Eva’s hand. “Now that I am here and with her, I can sleep, and I see how cruel I have been.”

Everyone stood to gather around Hemswick and formally meet his wife. Introductions were made and Vasher could quickly see that Eva was truly the better half of the Hemswicks when it came to social graces. Somewhere in the commotion, Vasher noticed that Constance had slipped away, leaving them to their reunion. When the excitement died down, Lenny and Jr. settled into their quiet conversations on a love seat, while Vasher decided to small talk the Hemswicks.

They had met when he was a guard of her father’s home. It was a bit of a scandal. Their flirting lost Hemswick his job and they had lost touch for a time. One day, Eva was robbed on the way back to her father’s manner. The guards could not find the assailant, but a week later, Eva found a neckless of teeth hanging on her doorknob along with her missing things. The initials C.H. carved into a molar like a maker’s mark. They married before Eva could even be kicked out of the mance. Vasher enjoyed the fire in Eva’s eyes as she recounted the romance. Any time Vasher called Hemswick “constable” he would puff up a bit and egg on Eva. It was wonderful to see people just getting to be people again. Not struggling to survive.

“Dinner is served!” Constance’s voice suddenly said from the entrance to the hallway.

Dinner? Vasher thought with a start. Sure enough, the light had shifted, and time had slipped away from him as he had been regaled by the Hemswicks. It was evening now.

Following Constance and her manservant, Vasher and the others were led into a long elegant dining hall. A table ran the length of the room and was stacked high with meat, cheese, cornucopias of vegetables, and confections from all over the world. The temptation was overwhelming. Vasher recalled what Constance said about the exotic items being imported and made his way toward a roasted pheasant he recognized from the eastern islands. The less suspicious sat down in front of whatever dish favored them and began immediately eating. As Vasher sat down with thin cuts of pheasant and some exotic fruit, he noticed Jr. huddling over her plate like a threatened animal. He honestly could not tell if she was finally eating or not. One final suspicion burned in Vasher’s head before he could join the meal.

“Constance?” He asked, standing on his chair to see her over the piles of food. “Why so much?”

“Hm?” She replied, looking up from making her own plate on the other side of the table.

“Why so much food? So much extravagance? There are only a few of us, we can’t possibly eat all this.” Vasher said, gesturing.

“This is a joyous day!” Hastor replied. “Our savors have finally arrived. You have already been defeating the foes as you have traveled! No extravagance is too much for this momentous time.”

Excuse or no, combined with the hunger and aromas, Vasher decided to let it go. His meal tasted of satisfaction, and defeat all at once.

Having spent the afternoon talking in the parlor, very few words were shared during dinner. Vasher’s companions ate their fill and dozed at the table. It was nearly involuntary for Vasher. Getting to be his age, any large meal could set you snoring on a bar stool, but after weeks of boats and hard walking, even his suspicions could not keep his eyes open.

“Good evening everyone.” Said a mantis on the table.

Vasher blinked.

“I hope you are feeling your best, you are about to speak to the lips of mother.” The mantis said, walking its angular legs over one of the untouched hams. Then it buzzed into the air and Vasher gasped.

Jacobin stood at the head of the table, barely visible to Vasher’s gnomish perspective, slumped deep in his chair. He had been dreaming. Like that time he fell asleep in that play and everyone turned into dancing beavers.

Vasher heard the hard scoot of a chair against wooden floors followed by Lenny’s voice.

“Take us to her.” Was all she said from somewhere down the table.

Vasher heard her boots on the floor and more scooting chairs. He yawned and shook his head, not quite fully awake, but quickly joined everyone where Jacobin stood in the doorway. The energy around him was quickly shifting from groggy to an electric anticipation. They were finally going to meet the person or thing they had been hearing about since the boat first veered off course. Taking their silence for reserve, Jacobin led everyone back into the parlor and out of the house.

Outside were two perfect lines of lights. As far as Vasher could see, white robed figured were holding candles on the side of the town streets. They created a corridor of light that veered off in the distance, leading into the darkened town.

“About what I expected.” Lenny said, breaking the silence.

“Are you ready?” Jacobin asked, then started walking down the middle of the road.

Each person was humming softly as Vasher passed. The line wound its way left and right through town, though whether north or south Vasher could not tell. The uniformity of the houses in the dark made it especially hard to tell exactly where they were being led.

Eventually, the homes grew thin and the lines of light extended beyond the town and into the beginning of the forest. With each step the humming grew louder until is was a deafening chorus. At the edge of the darkness where the lines ended, Vasher could see two identical trees at the top of a small hill, illuminated by a single figure holding a candle. Jacobin halted where the humming people stood and gestured for Vasher and his companions to go towards the trees. The moment Lenny stepped past the last candle bearer, the humming stopped, leaving the night silent and still.

The man on the hill stood silently until everyone was close. He was a solemn looking human man, but young. He regarded each person individually before he finally spoke.

“State your names so that you may speak to the lips of mother.” He said with ceremony but only loud enough for Vasher and the others to hear.

Each person stated their names just as they had for Constance. Vasher still gave no surname.

His request fulfilled, the man blew out his candle, sending a ripple of darkness through the night as the rest of the villagers did the same. Eyes adjusting, Vasher heard the quiet creaking of wood before he could make out the moving silhouette of the trees. The two were parting like a sideways maw. In the space they created, the darkness was deeper more profound - darker than a moonless night. At first, Vasher kept thinking something was in his eye. A white blurry speck bobbed in his vision that was impossible to make out. It irritated his vision just like a stray eyelash, drifting out of focus as he tried to locate it. But it kept growing. Vasher squinted and was able to make out two legs walking the form closer to him through the darkness. It was like a person but he still couldn’t exactly make it out. When it finally approached the edge of the bowing twin trees, it stopped. Vasher’s mind told him it was somehow a woman all shaped in elegant white, but his eyes wouldn’t stop fuzzing when he tried to see her face. Concerned, he looked to his companions. Even in the dark, their faces were clearer than what stood before him. He saw the twinkling of irritated tears in Hemswick’s eyes as well as the man finished trying to rub them clear. Then the air quivered.

Vasher snapped his attention back on the fuzzing white womanly form. She spoke.

“Welcome home. I’ve missed you so much” She said. Her voice cooed like a mother getting a baby to nurse, full of love, concern, and care.

No one spoke.

“I am the mother.” She continued. “I give all things life, and a home. I’ve waited so long for you precious ones to return. I am so happy you are finally here.”

Vasher knew his mother. She was short, gruff, and smoked a tall pipe. She had never been off the island she was born. This moment didn’t feel like a reunion at all to him.

“Your siblings have already told you of the evil that plagues us. Uru was so good to make sure you could remember your way home.” Her voice said, though Vasher could make out no mouth on the still fuzzing form.

“Uru is still alive, isn’t he?” Lenny finally asked.

“Uru will find his way back to us indeed.” The mother confirmed, her form shifting to acknowledge Lenny.

“What about the… seeds inside me.” Lenny went on, clutching her stomach. “Uru said I had them in me, am I going to end up like him?”

The mother paused before replying, then said, “Fear not my daughter. What was inside you has passed. Seeds without the right soil become nothing more than dust.”

Vasher saw Lenny waiver in the darkness. A burden had been lifted.

“Now, I simply must know. Will you help your brothers and sisters by defeating this evil?” The mother’s tone was still caring and beseeching, but she grew more intense.

“Aye!” Hemswick said immediately.

One by one, the others agreed to help. How can they not? Vasher thought. We may be caught between a tiger and a cliff, but at least the cliff would be our own choice. Determined to learn more, Vasher, too, agreed.

“Oh, thank you sweet ones.” The mother said, harder to see now. “When we speak again, you will be heroes actualized. Jacobin shall be your guide on this mission. Sleep well and await him in the morning. Farewell.”

Vasher tried one last time to see the mother as she went, but she only blurred worse, slowly becoming a drifting white speck on his vision again. The twin trees creaked back into place, a single candle lit, and the deep darkness vanished from between the trunks.

“Thank you.” Came Jacobins voice from behind Vasher.

Turning, Vasher found him illuminated by the rekindling of hundreds of candles as the villagers relit the night.

“What else are we going to do.” Jr said. But Vasher remained quiet.

Jacobin led everyone back to Todd and Linda’s house, letting Hemswick break off to join his Eva at her home. Vasher thought he would have been relieved after a day of asking questions but, now, he felt acutely aware of his suspicions. It added to his fatigue more than the days of travel. With little adieu to his companions, Vasher made it up to the group beds before the others and gave into a restless sleep.