The Green Dragon Inn - Part 10

[Lumiel]

Out into the light they went and towards a large, ancient oak on the edge of the woods. There they sat under its large, graceful boughs, bent and twisted with age but strong with sun and water. Fungrim leaned against the stern trunk and lit his pipe. Indy sat down near him, her fingers absent-mindedly playing with the warm blades of grass. The sun was caught and twinkled in her short blond hair and it illuminated the dusky smoke from Fungrim's pipe.

He took in a deep breath of the pipeweed and blew it out slowly, the smoke diffusing through the air around them with a sweet scent. "The war I mentioned is one I have imposed upon myself. The reason I am here and not with my kin is because my sister was kidnapped by orcs, many years ago." he said, now pausing.

Indy was strangely silent. Her usually flighty mind was focused entirely on Fungrim. Her mouth remained silent; she knew that Fungrim should not be interrupted. It was painful for him to talk about it and she would not disrespect him, the only person she had any real respect for to begin with.

"I set off in pursuit, but I arrived too late. They had killed my sister." he continued. He clenched his fist and a tautness seemed to come around his hardened eyes as he recalled what happened. "Luckily I came upon the orcs at the height of noon, while they were resting and hiding from the sun's fiery gaze. I killed most of them and the rest fled." A tightness grabbed at Indy's throat and she put her small hands together, gripping one another. "That day I swore an oath to never rest 'til every orc in the world has fallen, under my axe or the blade's of the other free peoples, or 'til their fell numbers claim me. But never shall I cease in the reclaimin' of the blood-depth they owe me and my clan." he finished with a strength in his voice that Indy had not yet heard before from him.

His eyes were closed now, as if he was contemplating what he had just said. Though but a child, Indy knew well the dangers of the world. She had traveled along the many dark paths of mankind, but had been spared its worst tortures thus far. A deep sadness filled her heart. Could she do what Fungrim had done? Could she put her life on the line for one she loved? A doubt that had silently gnawed at her heart now gave voice as tears sparkled, holding on to her lashes. Poke, her first and only friend besides Fungrim, had died in her midst. And what had she done? She had run, run in fear for her own life, in fear of the truth of what had happened. She had failed Poke without entirely realizing it until now. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks and Indy did nothing to brush them away. She deserved this pain for her unwitting betrayal.

Fungrim peered over at the young girl and sighed with concern. "I knew I shouldn't 'ave told you lass. You're too young to hear such -"

"No, no. It's not that...well, it is in a way." interrupted Indy. She paused, collecting her thoughts. "I just wish...I just wish that I could be like you Fungrim." she said softly, her brown eyes turned on him, mirrors of her soul. "I failed someone, and I didn't do anything about it. You didn't do that though, you're still fighting and me, I gave up. I want to be like you, Fungrim." she finished, crawling to sit against the trunk, leaning her head on Fungrim's arm. After a pause, she spoke again. "How long will you stay here, Fungrim?" she asked.