In Which Lothar Sees a Fairy, For Regus' Sake

by Floyd Fiftynames,
Licensed Bard

Lothar and Riordan were on watch, having traveled that night from Ashvale, on their way to a remote village in the northern part of Breiland's Wood. On this cold fall night, they were a party of eleven - Lothar & Riordan, Ajanni & Gahiji, the wolf pups, Salem, his donkey, Riordan's ward Emerson, and Rogers Wesley, a guild-appointed guardian accompanying the party to make sure everything went according to plan.

Whose plan it was exactly, that was another matter. Lothar knew Riordan hadn't exactly bargained for Rogers when he took the group to the guild house in Ashvale in search of employment. The world out there was cold and bleak, they were quickly learning, and much of it revolved around earning coin, and aside from a hearty sum brought in by a reverse robbery (the unsuspecting thugs didn't know who they were trying to hold up, and it cost them the contents of their pockets), the opportunity for financial gain had been scant.

Riordan was a leader. Lothar could see that in him. It was his intention to mold the Oakshadow quartet into a formidable band of men, and he meant to do so by leading them to monetary independence as well as by proving their viability. Of the three available guilds in town, the "odd jobs" guild seemed like the best bet. The mercenary guild was too seedy, and the other involved live animal trapping, which didn't sit well with Ajanni (or Lothar himself, for that matter). What's more, the gnomes running things seemed friendly enough, but when Riordan, Lothar, Salem, and Ajanni showed up for work on Monday, they learned quickly that they were going to be subject to more rules and regulations than they had expected. It wasn't unfair, necessarily - it was their guild, so it seemed reasonable that they would be setting the rules - but after the spending the last few weeks untethered, it was an adjustment, to be sure.

Rogers Wesley was the part that took the most adjusting to; a hulk of a guy (comparable to Lothar in size, but he was no green teenager), his purpose may have been boiler plate to the guild, but he made our heroes feel like they were being babysat. Still, he was a nice enough guy, and, as Riordan intimated to Lothar that night over the fire, he had given the impression of a man who was okay with a little spell casting every now and then.

The whole magic thing was still taking Lothar time to get used to, but he was coming around to it. Now that the novelty had worn off, Lothar was simply noticing how all of his friends had ended up with magical abilities, where he had none. Was he envious? A little bit (as the author can attest, magic is awesome), but he was confident he could prove his worth in other ways, and he didn't feel like less of a part of the team because of his lack of spell casting prowess. He looked over at Riordan, who knew the value of a long silence. Sitting quietly, staring into the middle distance - Lothar admired that ability to give oneself to thought, and turn the world off for a moment.

Except when it came to missing something important (and that was the job, they were on watch). Lothar saw the ball of light first - it was so similar to the one they'd seen the last time they were out tracking a beast known for mauling civilians, and here they were again, it almost seemed natural that they would see it again. Lothar cast his eyes over to Riordan, but his friend wasn't seeing it, so our large hero had to point it out to him. After a brief deliberation, the others were awoken, and some of the group - Ajanni, Lothar, Riordan, and Rogers Wesley - went out to investigate.

This time, instead of running away, the light stayed where it was, and the mortals were able to get very close to it. The light, which, upon closer inspection, was humanoid at its core, was guarding over the body of a mauled peasant man. Ajanni set about to inspecting the area, but Lothar was fascinated by the little glowing creature. Riordan spoke the church language to it, but it did not respond. Lothar, however, was more direct, and simple. In his childlike wonder, he simply blurted out, "I love you." This simple act earned the creature's affection for Lothar, and she sat upon his shoulder. Lothar was over the moon. That something so beautiful and small would be his friend and treat him with kindness was more than he could ever imagine.

Ajanni spoke the language of the forest to the creature, and was able to communicate with her, but her voice was so faint and soft, he only heard bits and pieces. Finallly, she parted company with the group, and they returned to their camp fire. Lothar was changed - in a small, but meaningful way. The encounter had re-inforced in him the basic sense of decency that his mother had stressed to him long ago as a child. The night he watched his village burn down, he had decided she was mistaken. This night was the first step in a long road back to trusting in the potential for goodness in the world.

FF