The Saga of Gerwin - Episode 2 (Treachery in the Trees)

A sparkle runs over Gerwins eyes as her in front speaks of harmony and nature. She suddenly feels a bit cocky and small. Was this the druid the order had spoken of? She suddenly recalls the instructions given to her... ride through the desert straight until a town called Tilverton or something the likes ... had she found a different path instead. It was a perilous journey although it ran rather in her favour she had to agree on. Also the name of the woman was ringing a bell. Somehow she had kept it in the back of her head. It took a bit before she realised why and how the instructions to get here were related. It was her she searched for. The druid she hoped instruction from ...

Gerwin smiles "Not at all my friend, I have gotten used to sleep in open space and to be honest have taken a liking to it. All the same it is good to be able to share some company and if not for the first reason for the second I have gotten to your door and for the best of it also come a little closer to the goal of my trip to these parts if I'm not mistaken." Gerwin leaves last open to be interpreted as one would find adequate for what concerned herself she had found what she hoped to be a tutor of some kind as well as the company she could share in prospect of a timespan she did not know how long it would last.

"Let me just of the burden my companion carries on it's shoulders, for it has been a long way and I must admit I would have never come this far without this aid." As she speaks she is already approaching the horse taking of the saddlebags and placing them on the ground next to the bench. She proceeds and takes of the blanket and the remaining gear her horse was strapped in putting them besides the bags. She strokes the animal as she had done times before with a almost motherly care. "Would it be of concern to let him run free?" Gerwin asks.

"Not at all," Adiari replies. "Let him be amongst the trees and grasses once more. If he desires, he may return..."

Grabbing a small pouch from the table, she walks outside, surveying the clearing for a moment.
Walking out to the northern edge, Adiari stops in front of several bushes, brambles, and a pair of large trees.
She pulls the small pouch out, sprinkling a pinch of its contents onto the brambles. As the dust sinks into the sharp spiky lengths, the bramble begins to shake and twist, straightening out into several long ropes.

Then, as Adiari's hands gently sway to and fro, the ropes begin to interweave, their spikes falling off as they do so, and soon the bush has arranged itself into a bramble-vine hammock, wide and smooth.
Turning her attention to the bushes, Adiari repeats the procedure, and the leafy bush is soon a thick layer of bedding, lying on top of the bramble hammock.

"Voila!" Adiari beams, turning to face you. "It's as soft as any royal bedding, strong as the ground itself, and comfortable as summer grass. The trees above will provide a canopy from the rain, and block much of the powerful afternoon sun!"

Gerwins face has gone to a feverish white. Her anxiety had overcome her. Here was the woman she searched for wielding the power she became so interested in years before. How was this communion possible? This almost perfect harmonic pattern she saw in her bedding. How could so few words inspire a entity not controlled by any gods to act as one desired? Or was there a god behind all of this? Was it but the influence of that divine creatures she understood the guild was trying to extinguish?

After Gerwin caught herself "Say, Adiari, I must ask. And pardon if this is unpolite and plain but ... does one such as yourself follow the will of a god?"

Gerwin was herself not one to bow in the will of another unless it was in her best interest, not that she would have not done it out of respect as well... But it was not her nature to follow a code or a religion. At the same time the understanding of the world around her fascinated her and she wanted to know more. There was a thin line between the lust for power and the pure desire for knowledge...

"I must apologise ... I am not myself ... these powers you have, they have a very bivalent effect on me." she pauses but one more time. Her hands pressed together over her chest. "I must admit ... I was in search for your person. I came here to seek out your teaching ... but now that I have found you I am afraid ... afraid of have chosen the wrong thing to do, when I left the place my husband was probably going to search for me. Afraid I am not up for the challenge I posed myself..." Gerwin seemed to have lost all her confidence of a sudden, when before she had bravely knocked on the druids door prepared for the unknown.

Perhaps it was the other feminine presence and the kindness shown in her words as well toward herself as to her horse. She did not know what came over her, the next she knew she was weeping, tears running over her cheeks... all around her seemed unimportant and the fact that she was in front of a perfect stranger passed unnoticed.

"The only will I follow, dear, is my own. Though I revere nature, I do not let it dictate the course of my life," Adiari replies. "There is a fine balance to everything - I may command this plant to grow, but even I cannot discern which direction it will grow in, or what color it will be once it is grown."
"There were times in my life when I felt that, truly, all-powerful gods were in complete control of my life, and that my destiny was written in stone. As I grew older, however, I realized that life is not straight as a tree trunk, but varied and ever-spreading as a tree root. I have power over my own limited existence, and a little ability to influence the plants and animals around me. Everything that I have created here, all that I have learned, none of it came from the gods."

"Be strong, dear," the druid replies as Gerwin breaks down. "You say you are here in search of me, that you would like to know of my teachings - tell me girl, what forces bring you to my doorstep? Who has sent you upon this quest, and what do you expect to learn from me?"

"..." Gerwin sobs a few more times before she catches herself again. It helped to know that this woman was independent. She was a bit like herself she thought, well taken apart the fact that this woman in front of her knew much more then she would be able to dream of at this moment and suddenly she felt stupid and small in front of her. She had a strange feeling in her stomach, something told her she was starting to admire this woman she barely knew in a way she had thought her mentor at the guilt of. "It is good to know of someone as yourself." Gerwin was finally able to say.

She then stays silent for moments searching for words to speak "I heard from you from a man called Aleru, he instructed me in the basic art of fighting, well beyond that what I had been taught by my husband. I spoke to him about my desire to know more about nature and the magic behind it, that what binds and forms it. In times I met a woman like yourselves who knew about plants, I helped her to carry and pick some herbs, flowers and roots she spoke about the ability to communicate with every living being in a certain way. I even believe she turned into a cat, before she left... The picture of her still sits in my mind. I must admit I can't recall her and your figure certainly has replaced her by now. But over the years my admiration grew for her independence and the love for what surrounds, for nature." Gerwin speaks in a calmed down fashion still touched by her thoughts of loneliness. "So in a fashion you could say I made this quest my own, the one to become closer to nature. I do not expect to learn anything, but still do wish to obtain knowledge. Perhaps to become stronger and more alike yourself, independent over all."

The the dirty worn out woman smiles and says "As for the forces that brought me here well as I told you I came here by aid of the horse you met as well as my own stubbornness and a pitch of luck along the line."

"Ah, you're a friend of Aleru's, eh? I see..." she says, eyes flickering in recognition. "I thought he had forgotten about me," she adds, smiling softly.
"Tell me dear, did he tell you my story?" Adiari asks. "Ah, but nevermind...that's a story for another day."

"You say you want to learn about nature, about plants and animals, about the bond that you share with every other living creature. Very well...let's begin then!" she exclaims, her face lighting up with excitement.
Shuffling over to one of the many shelves in the house, Adiari plucks a small basket from it, bringing it over to you.

"Take this with you, and gather up something for dinner tonight. Whether its just a basket full of herbs or an entire bushel of apples, whatever you can manage is what we'll eat!" Adiari says, far too happy for someone who has just entrusted their dinner to a complete stranger.

"This is lesson number one, dear - All that you have, is all that you have. Learn to rely on yourself, and you will be truly independent."

Gerwin takes the basket inspecting it for a moment then looking at the woman she had been looking at for the last quarter of an hour, again. Listening to her instruction. "You are one to live dangerously" Gerwin says playfully already recuperating from her down mood "to let me choose your dinner." Without further questions she walks towards the door turning around at the doorsteps "Well see you in a while." she smiles now openly quickly waving goodbye she walks for the woods. As she breeches the first trees of the opening she starts to look carefully for food but as well for the way she is coming not to loose herself in the woods, being able to find her way back to the place she hoped to stay.

With every step she takes she feels how tired she is. It had been a long day. It had been a long journey. It had been a big burden she had taken up to herself. It had been ... it was not anymore. Now she was looking for food. It was another task, it was another kind of journey, one through her own mind. This thought gave her strength and she kept at it as good as she possibly could. Trying to recall the mushrooms she knew were good to eat as well as any fruit she knew. It turned out to be a hard task as each region had it's own characteristic food and you found things that you did not know you could eat. She would see what she found for now she limited to seek it out.

rolls

With a thanks and a cheerful joke, Gerwin shuffles off into the woods, intent on scrounging up a delicious meal for her new friend. Gerwin first attempts to bring to mind the foods she knows are good to eat, ones she could surely find out here. She finds several varieties of mushroom, but can't determine whether they are safe to eat, or poisonous. Searching for fruit proves a fruitless endeavor as well, her search taking her out wide in the forest, but to no avail.

On the other hand, Gerwin does find plenty of berries, as well as a small shrub covered in a strange sort of nut, round and brown and covered in a hard shell. Having had no luck elsewhere, Gerwin fills her basket with these nuts and berries, determined to at least come back with something...


Continuing on, you press harder, peering carefully through the trees, eyes constantly searching. Finally, you find something, a shape flickering through the trees. Focusing on the place you last saw it, in time you realize it is but a deer, padding softly through the underbrush. Looking closely, you can see its antlers rising above the shrubbery, tall and pointy.

Being as careful as she can not to scare the animal she approaches it speaking calmly to the animal. "Now now don't be scared. Say you who are from around here ... would you happen to know where I can find something nice to eat?" then becoming aware of her situation "Silly me you do not even understand me more then I would you." Thinking she extends her hand full of berries to the animal. She was now pondering digging for some roots ... she would probably look out for a certain type of herbs.

Carefully approaching the animal, Gerwin speaks soft words to it, but the deer says nothing in reply. It does, however, sniff at the berries offered to it, taking a quick nibble before bounding off into the trees.

Looking down at the ground, Gerwin tries her best to find some edible roots or herbs, but again finds herself empty-handed. You do, however, find more assorted berries, and several clumps of a strange-looking plant: