Knight Markris of Nerp

Knight Markris of Nerp

A tall tale by Tiko


There was a wild boar on the loose, a long time ago, that people called Ravager. It was almost twice as tall as your father, Piki, and it was as angry as they come. People think that it came from Durgrimmor, and that the Vashra down there made it to plague us. It killed several people and was destroying crops left and right. Entire villages packed up and left if they heard that he was coming to them. I was a child when it was running loose, in a village called Nerp. It's a lot like this one.

The king's knights went out to meet it. There were many great men there, there was Sendow, a tall knight with formidable sword play and Braed, a knight with formidable archery skills. There was also Hewed, the king's son, and Paldok, his foremost general.
The captain of the guard also went out with his choicest men, and the three brothers Baye, men who were unrivalled in the use of spears and lances. Ravager, however proved to be too much for them. Sendow couldn't get close enough to attack without being killed by the boar's horns. Braed's arrows couldn't damage his thick hide, and the boar moved too quickly for him to shoot Ravager in the eyes. Hewed was almost killed under the boar's tremendous hooves, but was saved by Paldok, the general who was killed instead. The royal guard could barely keep out of the boar's way, and the brothers Baye could barely scratch his hide with their spears. Sood the party retreated, and reported their failure to the king.

At that time, in Nerp, we had a blacksmith known as Markris, and he was a giant of a man. His fist was as big as a normal man's head, and he could swing a hammer that few other men could lift. When he heard that the king's men had abandoned the thought of killing the boar, he began to plan his own attack.

In a couple days, the village heard that ravager was coming. Most people began to pack their most precious things, but not Markris. He took a bar three times as long as a man's step, and sharpened on the end and a large, fragrant, stewed carrot, and set out in the direction of Ravager.

Nerp was on a hill, so we could see what was happening. Markris stepped out into the fallows just as Ravager rose up over a distant hill. We saw Ravager descend on Markris, but before he arrived, he smelled the carrot. Markris had stuck it onto the end of his pole and was holding it up in front of Ravager. Ravager sniffed the carrot, then went to lick it, but Markris moved it away. Ravager trotted after the carrot like a puppy trots to his supper, only a lot larger and more deadly. Ravager reached out for the carrot. Markris moved it away again. Ravager reached for the carrot once more, and Markris shook it off onto the ground. the boar lowered its massive head to eat, and Markris thrusted the pole through the thick part of it's neck.The boar roared, and spun to face Markris, but Markris had anticipated this and held on tight to the pole. He swung through the air, but kept his grip. Ravager swung his tusks toward Markris agian, but Markris still held on tight. Markris leapt on to the pole, and from there onto the baor's neck. He pulled a stake and a hammer from his jerkin, and prepared to drive the stake into the boar's skull, but the boar shook him and he dropped them. Markris wasn't finished yet, though. He squeezed the boar's chest between his legs until it's ribs cracked. He then siezed the boar by it's eyebrow ridged, jerked it's head backwards, and broke it's neck.

After all this, Markris was knighted and was invited to live in a castle. He accepted, but when he was no longer being nobility, he would be a blacksmith.

A princess story part two

Author's note: This is the second part of a two part story. As with the first part, it is sort of a generic crummy romance. If you stomached the first part and wish to read this one, I thank you for your generosity, otherwise, you won't hurt my feelings too much by skipping this one. Something more fun tomorrow!

Over the next couple of months, Bekki slipped out often to meet with Troven. She often found him working in the same garden. He was always trimming the grass, scrubbing scum off of the rocks in the fountain, picking over ripe fruit, or washing the path. Some nights, he went to other gardens, but Bekki learned where to find him. She made up a person for Mewda to be, a cook's daughter who often cut vegetables for stews for the guards.

One day, she was surprised by an invitation to the north of the kingdom for a dragon spotting expedition. She was away two weeks, and had not seen a dragon when she came back. Troven was interested in knowing what had happened, and Bekki made up a story about caring for her mother who became sick rapidly, then died. She even cried a little.

One night, almost a year later, Bekki went down to the garden to talk to Troven and found him, not working, but standing in the full moonlight, dressed more nicely than usual, but still shabby by court standards, and was holding a white and yellow flower.

"I have the night off," he said, "and I wondered if you would like to take a walk with me."

Bekki stared at the flower.

"I brought you this daisy. My mother grows them large and beautiful, like this one."

"May I hold it?"

"Of course."

Bekki took the flower and looked at it's peculiar rounded yellow face surrounded by fat, tear shaped petals.

"It's beautiful."

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Where do these grow?"

"Haven't you seen a daisy?"

"No, I've always lived in the palace, I guess they don't have them here."'

At this moment, Mewda broke into Tiko's narrative.

'Tiko, stick with fairy tales, you old bat. You don't know anything about romance!'

'Crazy old woman' continued Tiko. 'She just doesn't want her past brought out like this. Anyway, Troven asked,

"Do you want to see more?"

He led Bekki between the bushes that he usually walked through and out into a hidden, narrow passageway. They walked out through a small gate where a fat guard was snoring on a stool. Troven took Bekki through a town she had only seen from carriage windows, and out into a field. In the light of the moons, the field seemed to be made of silver. The grasses swayed about knee deep, and all through the field were pale daises and orange poppies, folded up for the night. Bekki and Troven looked for a long time at the field, and walked around in it. Before she realized it, the sun was rising.

"I must get back to the palace," Bekki said, "They will miss me."

"Mewda, do you want to go back to the castle?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mewda, I have saved a lot of money, and I mean to open an inn somewhere to the east. There is a village there which is a way point for travelers, but has no inn. I would like you to come with me."

Bekki thought about it. She loved Troven, she knew, but she didn't want to give up her life in the palace. She realized, suddenly that she really didn't like it. She didn't want to wait for a prince to come and marry her, or for her father the king to find some duke to marry her to. She didn't really enjoy sulking anymore, and watching people dance had gotten kind of boring. A village in the east sounded like a pleasant trade.

"Mewda," Troven pressed, "will you marry me?"

Bekki had decided. "Yes, I will."

As they traveled east in a coach, Bekki finally was Mewda. She was married to Troven in a small chapel in one of the towns they stopped in. They continued to travel until they reached this village.

While this was happening, there was a riot in the capitol. A princess had gone missing. No one knew where she had gone. I made note of the day, it was a chance in a million for a storyteller like me. I traveled around, and when I came to this village, when I could still see, I saw the face of a princess in the face of the innkeeper's wife. I called out "Bekki!" and she jumped, but paid no more attention to me afterward than if I was a footprint in the mud.'

'Tiko, you old brigand, you know that I was born and raised in this village!' Mewda yelled from her house.

'Listen to that one, kids, that's the voice of a princess.'

A princess story

About Mewda

Authors note: This is a first part of a two part story. It is sort of a generic crummy romance. I hope to later hone my writing to be effectice in this area as well as others, but for now, what you see is what I've got.

Told by Tiko

'Not many people know this, but once, Mewda was a princess named Bekki. She would sit around on big gold chairs and eat little powder covered sweets from silver boxes. She had so many servants, two to make her bed, which was larger than three of yours and had fifteen feather quilts, and one to make sure they did it right, and a servant to put her slippers by her bed just right, and many other servants to do many other things. She liked to sit on a patio and watch people dance in the courtyard for her, and if it was raining, she would lie in bed all day and not get up and people would bring her gifts to try to make her happy.

The only thing Princess Bekki didn't have was a boyfriend. All her princess friends had princes to dance with, but Bekki usually had to hire a knight to take her to royal balls. These balls always left her grumpy and sad, and she would go home and sulk and not eat her dinner. This always made the court very distressed, and they would try to cheer her up, but it wouldn't work.

One evening, Bekki couldn't sleep. She decided that someone should read her a story. She rang a dainty little bell she kept beside her bed and waited for a servant to come read to her. No servant came. She rang it again, and still no servant came. She decided that she should go give her head servant a piece of her mind. She stepped out of bed and her bare feet touched the cold stone. She jumped back into bed and looked for her slippers. They were pushed up to her bed on the other side, quite in the wrong place. She got them and put them on, then she left the room, heading for the servant's quarters.

That's where she had meant to go, but she didn't entirely manage to find the way. She got lost by the royal dining room, decided that she would go through the kitchens, found herself in a gigantic pantry, went through to the other side, and was in a courtyard. The moons were shining brightly, and Bekki was surprised to see how beautiful things were at night. She strolled through a gate into a garden where a half dozen fruit trees sat around a bubbling fountain. There was a broken flagstone pathway leading around the fountain to another gate on the other side. There were some low bushes with red flowers along the pathway, and walking beside the bushes was a young man with a knife. Bekki stood and watched him for a short while. As she watched, the young man took his knife and cut off a branch from one of the bushes and tucked it into a large bag that he had slung over his shoulder. Bekki flew into a rage.'

'Tiko,' yelled Mewda, 'What kind of story are you trying to tell?'

'A real one, as is my custom!' Tiko shouted back. 'don't interrupt! Anyway, back to Bekki.

"How dare you?" She cried. "Stealing the plants of the crown!"

The young man looked up, perplexed.

"Begging your pardon, miss," he said, "but I am only pruning the bushes like I have been paid to do."

Bekki was embarrassed. She had heard of pruning once, a long time ago, but she thought it was a quaint foreign habit.

"Show me how." She demanded, and walked up to the young man.

"If you say so."

The man handed Bekki the knife, handle first. It was heavy and clumsy. The handle was rough and pricked her hand. The young man lifted a branch from a bush.

"This should be cut here." He said, pointing.

Bekki took the branch in one hand and touched the blade against it. Nothing happened. She struck it again, this time a bit harder, and the blade nicked the wood, and a couple leaves fell from the bush. She gripped the knife tightly, then hit the branch again and again. Leaves rained down to the ground, and most of the flowers fell off the bush, but the branch came off the bush.

Bekki held the knife and the branch triumphantly, then she turned and saw the young man.

"That's a job of raking you've got for me there." He said. "But, no matter, I trust that was enjoyable. If I may have my knife back, I would greatly appreciate it."

The princess handed him the knife. He took it, and she noticed, that she had passed it to him blade first. He turned it around and once again began to trim the bushes.

"What's your name?" Asked Bekki.'

Mewda interrupted again.

'Is this supposed to be some romance? It is isn't it.'

Tiko continued as if he had not heard her.

'"I am Troven. Who are you?"

Bekki was taken aback. She was always recognized. She realized she must look very different than normal. Her hair was messy, she didn't have on any makeup, and instead of her usual gowns and jewelry, she only was wearing a normal robe. She decided to make up a lie. If he knew she was the princess, he might start acting just like a servant.

"My name is Mewda." She said, taking the name of one of the servants who had recently left.

"It's good to meet you."

They chatted for most of the night about trivial things. Once Bekki mentioned that she thought the stars looked like her diamonds, but Troven didn't seem to notice the slip. She followed Troven as he worked, and he let her do some of the jobs. The rake puzzled her at first, but soon she had a respectable pile of leaves and flowers that she had knocked down.

Towards sunrise Troven wished Bekki good morning and said goodbye. He stepped between a couple bushes that were set just slightly farther apart than the others, ducked under a low limb on a tree, and was gone. Bekki found her way upstairs to her room to find her servants completely distraught. She told them to be quiet and not tell anyone, then she slept until noon.

Tiks and his star.

Told by Tiko, the blind beggar.

'Tiks gets around a lot, you know. He leaves me at night, and comes back in the mornings, full of news about the forest, about who has been sneaking out late at night, and what the rats have to say about things. One day, however, he didn't come back. I waited all day to feel him run up my sleeve and whisper things in my ear, but he didn't come. The next day he didn't show up either, and I was worried about him. The third day, I was about ready to get a search party together, when I heard him scamper across the square, and felt him climb up my sleeve, as he usually does. He sat on my shoulder for a long while, and then he told me a fantastic tale about what he had seen.

He had started the first evening by going to see the rats that live under your house, Kienda. He stuck his head into their hole and asked if he could come in.

"Well." They said. "If your big head fits in, we don't see why the rest of you shouldn't follow."

Tiks thanked them for their hospitality and entered. The rats were about to set out to collect scraps, and had all their bags empty for the evening's work. Their hole, I'm told is about as big as a large mellon. It has a column in the middle made out of a stick of firewood to hold the ceiling up, and around the edges there are piles of things the rats have picked up and sorted. The rats are very meticulous about their sorting. They have a pile of shiny things, and a pile of dull things, and piles of things with different colors, and piles of food. Tiks had brought them a gift, as he usually does, a shiny new copper that was left in my cup. The rats took it and set it on the pile of orange things, then they took it an put it on the pile of shiny things, then they called out for grandpa rat, who is almost as blind as I am to come out and make a decision. Grandpa rat took the copper and bit it, and decided it wasn't food, he squinted at it for a while, then shook it next to his ear.

"I think it's green." He said, and went and sat down in a corner.

That settled it and the rats put it on the pile of green things.'

'That's silly,' interupted one of the children, 'copper is shiny and orange, not green.'

'Yes, but Tiks tells me that there was a rainstorm shortly afterwards, and the hole got water in it, and when the water was finally cleared away, the copper was neither shiny nor orange, but definitely green. That goes to show you how clever the grandfather rat is.'

'Anyway, while they were deciding what to do with the copper, Tiks looked at the other piles, and saw on the top of the pile of blue things small stone, as big as an acorn, and shaped like a teardrop. When the rats had decided to place the copper on the green pile, Tiks asked them about it.

"We don't know what it is," the rats said. "It is definitely like a piece of glass, but grandfather says it tastes too much like the tops of tall trees and of raindrops for that."

"May I take it?" asked Tiks. "It intrigues me."

The rats considered for a while among themselves. Most of them wanted to give it to Tiks, but they didn't often part with something they had collected and sorted. Eventually they asked the grandfather what to do with it. Grandfather scratched his ear, and stared at a spot on the wall, then he said he didn't know why not.

After that, the rats talked to Tiks for some time, until he had heard all that they had learned the last day several times, then thanked them again and left. He took the small blue stone in his mouth and ran into the forest. He went quite a distance in before he found any little people. They saw him and greeted him, because they knew he had stories about our village, the same as you listen to stories about them. Tiks stopped and dropped the stone into his paw. The little people leaned forward to look at it, and Tiks asked them if they knew what it was. One of them took it and held it in both hands. He looked at it for a while, then passed it on. He didn't know what it was. The next little person took the stone, looked at it for some time, then passed it along. So it went around the whole circle, and nobody knew what it was.

"You might ask the turtle by the river, he is old and wise. He will probably know."

They then asked Tiks for a story about the village, and Tiks told about the a grumpy old nobleman who came through and about what a hoe does, then he thanked them and went to see the turtle.

The turtle lives in the end of a old log which is quite overgrown with ferns and moss. The turtle has built a floor of pebbles by carrying them one by one in his mouth and he sleeps almost all day, but comes out at night to watch the stars. For you and to Tiks, the stars seem still, but the turtle is such a slow creature, that they seem to dance above all night. Tiks found him on the riverbank looking to the sky and murmuring things to himself.

"What's wrong, father?"

Ret called the turtle "father" because the turtle was so very old.

"The necklace was broken two nights ago, oh broken, broken, and the beads of the necklace were scattered across the sky."

"Which necklace, father."

"The necklace that belongs to Mejah, the wife of the guardian, was broken, and a bead was lost."

Tiks knew about Mejah's necklace, a line of stars that curved across the sky in the summer. He did not know, however that it could be broken.

"Can the beads be picked up, father?"

"They have been, they picked them up, but they have lost one. They can't find it."

"Is this it, father?"

The turtle turned more quickly than Tiks thought possible.

"Is what it?"

"This stone the rats found in the village."

The turtle peered for ever such a long time at the stone Tiks held in front of him.

"It would seem so, but I have never seen a star so close. You must return it, Tiks."

"How will I do that, father?"

"Do you know of the mountain Madar, far to the west?"

"No, father, I don't"

"When Gita and Ret swing over the mountain Madar, a tall bear can reach out and touch them. The dancers in the sky dance past the mountain and a rabbit with good ears can hear them singing. You must go there. Hurry. Mejah will pass the mountain tomorrow night. She will not come so close again in a year."

Tiks ran off to the east. Before he was very far, the birds began to sing morning songs, and Tiks thought of me, but he had to return the star. He climbed a tree and jumped from branch to branch, limb to limb, then tree to tree. He jumped far and fast, like only a squirrel knows how, and before mid afternoon, he could see the great mountain Madar rising from the horizon. He reached its base by dusk, and he continued to run. He soon found himself climbing more than running, and he was exausted. He could see the dancers in the sky above, wearing the clouds as clothing and the stars as jewellry, and he could see Gita and Ret smile as they watched. He came to a place with no more trees, only snow and rock. Still he climbed higher and higher, he could see the top of the mountain above him, he was almost there. He could hear the dancers talk together. One dancer struck his foot on the mountain and it shook. Stones fell from the summit, and Tiks held himself close to the rock. Loose boulders crashed into the stone on either side of him and shattered as they fell into the valley. The boulders stopped falling, and Tiks began to climb. Before he got four steps higher, he felt the rock he was on shift. Tiks began to run furiously upwards, but the boulder toppled backwards. Tiks jumped at the mountain, but his jump was not enough. He curled himself up and prepared to hit the ground and die. Before he did, he felt a warmth come under him and stop him. It lifted him up, higher and higher. He looked around. A lady, taller than any tree he had ever seen, taller than even the mountain he had climbed held him in her right hand.

Tiks tells me she was a sight to see, even though I am not much for seeing. She wore a pale grey dress with diamonds holding up great sashes of gausey cloud. He skin was pale white, and her eyes were black. She stepped and spun deftly among other giants like her, each dressed in grey and silver. The dancers talked softly among each other with words Tiks couldn't understand. Two great queens sat in shining thrones at the end of the ball room and smiled as the dancers danced. The woman held in one hand eight great jewels and a fine chain that had been broken but was mended.

Tiks realized that this must be the great lady Mejah herself and he dropped the jewel in her hand. When he did so, the woman smiled broadly and placed Tiks on her shoulder. She strung the last bead, which had grown somehow since Tiks had held it in his mouth so that it was much bigger than himself when Mejah hung the necklace around her neck. All night she danced with Tiks on her shoulder. Tiks watched the world go past beneath the slippers of the dancers. As the sun was beginning to rise, Tiks fell asleep.

When he awoke, he found himself at the base of the mountain Madar. The great dancers had left the sky and set him down in a hollow in one of the trees. Tiks began to run home, but he was hungry, so he stopped to eat some berries and nuts he found. Then he ran. He ran all day and all night, and came back to me as I was wondering about him.

The rats were annoyed at him when they learned that the stone was a star. Not every rat has the opportunity to have a star in its collection, but I gave Tiks a piece of colored glass he said was pretty, and he gave it to them. So they were happy. So was the turtle, the sky was the same again as it had always been, and nothing could make the turtle happier. The happiest of all, however, was myself. Tiks was back, and with what a story.'

A tall tale about Tiko

Told by Mewda, the oldest woman in the village. Tiko is allowed to spend the nights at her hous. She pretends to be grumpy and short tempered, but enjoys telling tall stories to children.

Now listen up, because I won't say it twice. Tiko is as much a liar as any other beggar with a squirrel. I remember, when I was young but more than twice your ages added up, that Tiko was as much a name to be feared as Durgrimmor. He was a mighty fiend, a sorcerer of sorts who traveled through the country promising not to burn down villages in exchange for some food. He marched the length and breadth of this country, taking hand outs and occasionally burning down a house, just to make a point you see. Well once, this man Tiko was walking along way up north, near the edge of the world, I understand, when he saw a dreadful thing. A mighty dragon, which is a big old lizard with its bloodfire all up in a fervor, was eating a whole ox. It looked up at Tiko and blew a smoke ring from its nostril at him. Now Tiko was a bit annoyed about all this, and he called out to the dragon,
"Now see here, I don't take that from any man, beast, or plant. Get down and apologize, or you won't know what hit you."
Now the dragon was just about the biggest thing it knew about, and this man standing there seemed rather small to be making such a fuss, so it looked down at him and asked,
"So, small person, usually I don't like to be interrupted while I'm eating, and it is rude to speak with my mouth full, so why don't you come again in a couple of months, and I will settle this with you in the proper fashion."
Tiko saw that this lizard didn't think much of him, but he felt that he had better stand up for himself and be assertive.
"Dragon, I'll have you know that I am the most feared of any human living. Entire armies have hidden rather than see me get mad at them, so I would suggest you apologize immediately."
The dragon looked down again at this man, and considered eating him, but then part of the ox would have to go to waste, and arrogance gave the dragon stomach cramps, so he said to Tiko,
"Tell you what. Let us have a contest. You conjure up the biggest flame you can, if I can't make a bigger one, you win and I will apologize. If you lose, I will eat you. How does that sound?"
Tiko thought that sounded terrible. He really had no desire to be eaten, and when the dragon put it that way, the apology seemed a bit worthless. But he feared that if he backed down to this dragon, word would leak out, and he would be ridiculed and likely starve. So he said,
"Dragon, you don't know what you're in for."
Tiko grimaced, he smacked his wrists together and said funny words, he danced in a circle then began to bob his head up and down. He could feel the flame building in his blood. He cracked one eye open and saw the dragon sitting there watching with a slightly amused expression on its face and a hunk of ox leg in its mouth. Tiko jumped up and down, shook his head, grunted and groaned. He could hardly hold the flame in, it was so big. He cracked the other eye open and saw the dragon rearranging its legs and tail to get more comfortable. Tiko yelled the biggest words he knew, and some he didn't know, rocked on his heels, then he let the flame go. It leapt up from the ground in front of him, as tall a flame as he had ever seen, he turned to look at the dragon. The dragon stuck out one paw and ground out the flame, then it said,
"My turn."
Well, Tiko just ran. He didn't look behind him for a day and a half for fear the dragon was chasing him. When he finally stopped, he decided he should hide from the dragon and its relatives, so he wandered for a while in the woods, and found a friend in a squirrel. He taught the squirrel to attack any lizard or snake it saw. Tiko then decided to pretend to find a village where he could pretend to be blind and hide for a while. When he came to this one, he decided to stay.
Now you understand this story has a lot to teach you. No matter how good you are at something, there will probably be someone better than you. It also doesn't help often to be proud, and always say "pardon me" when you meet a dragon."



Author's note. Dragons, while being present in the far north are very rarely seen. They are fairly level headed creatures, opposed to needless violence, and primarily eat oxen, between three and five every year. Contrary to popular belief, they do not hoard gold, they simply live where it is abundant. They used to trade gold for oxen, but when they saw how people behaved around the gold, they stopped trading and raised their own oxen. Dragons have become more and more scarce, and modern scholars say that the chances of meeting a dragon are about the same as meeting Crazy Mert who lives in the lowest cellar of the institution for the criminally insane. You would have to be in a bad place and more than a little crazy yourself. Also, bloodfire is a kind of magic.

The Forest

Once, there was a family who lived in a cottage, not so different from this one, right outside the village. There was a little boy named Wedin, and his older sister who was called Minta, their mother and their father. One day the children's father went out hunting in the forest and did not return. Of course there was a great sorrow in the village. Everybody cried for three days because the father was a greatly admired man. Wedin and Minta, however did not believe that their father had died in the forest, so one night, not too long after the mourning, the children snuck out of the house and went into the forest. At first they walked along the paths they used by day to gather berries and play bandits, but before long, they left the main trail. They walked deeper and deeper into the woods, and the trees grew darker and taller and closer together. Wedin started to cry, and Minta decided that they should turn around. They did, and they looked for the way they came, but they could not find it. They walked for hours, but Wedin was sleepy, and eventually, they stopped by a large rock and went to sleep.

When they woke up the next morning, they could not see the blue sky above because of the trees. Wedin started to cry again, and after crying a little bit herself, Minta shook him and went to look for food. They came to a stream, and they drank from it. Minta washed her face and made Wedin wash his. When he looked up, he saw a little man sleeping under a toad stool. "Minta," Wedin whispered, "Look here!" But when Minta looked the little man was gone. Minta was grouchy and told him not to make up stories about "little people." Later that day, Wedin saw the little man again, this time, he was standing on top of a leaf, and watching them. Wedin shook his sister and pointed, but before she looked, Wedin's eyes clouded up and he blinked. The little man was gone.

Wedin kept seeing the little man that day, but Minta never would. He would be standing beside a rock, or be resting under a leaf. Sometimes he would show up somewhere where Wedin had just looked, but he would always disappear just as fast. That night, Wedin and Minta slept outside again. They were very hungry. They had only had some berries and water to eat that day. When they finally got to sleep, Minta dreamt about bears and wolves eating her stomach, and Wedin saw the little man laughing at them.

When they woke up, Wedin and Minta saw a pile of mushrooms, berries, and fruit in near them. They ate the fruit and the berries, but left the mushrooms alone, because they didn't know what kind they were. They walked through the forest again and came to a hill. They decided to climb it. The little man showed up as they reached the top, he seemed to smile, then vanished. Minta and Wedin couldn't over the trees but a thick fog, so they decided to go back down the hill the way they came. Wedin saw the little man appear, standing on a branch, waving at them and shaking his head. Wedin asked his sister if they should go a different way. His sister shook him off and continued down hill. Before they got too much further, a wild dog scrambled out of the brush and snarled at them. Wedin thought for an instant he saw the little man on the back of the dog's head. The children turned and ran back up the hill. They reached the top, and saw that they could climb higher on another hill, so they did. When they got to the top of that hill, the little man appeared again, but this time on Minta's shoulder. He smiled and pointed at one more hill. Wedin said he thought they should be able to see home from the top of that hill. Minta brushed her hand over her shoulder and they climbed the last hill.

At the top, they saw a cloud lying thick and heavy over the forest. As they watched it, it seemed that a human's shape seemed to form on top of it. The cloudy human shape drifted slowly towards them. Minta could see that the shape was taller than any tree in the forest. Wedin looked away and saw the little man grinning. When the cloud person got close, it whispered to them,

"Human children, why are you so deep in my forest?"
Minta answered, "We are looking for our father, he came here hunting, and then disappeared."
"Why do you look for him, human children."
"We want to see him again, we want to have him back."
"I know where your father is, human children, he sleeps now within the folds of my robe."
"Who are you sir?"
"I am the guardian. You should go to sleep now."

Wedin and Minta laid down, the rocky soil they had been standing one seemed to be padded by the mist that was surrounding them. Wedin looked at the little man who was standing there.

"I'm Wedin." He said.
"Casiel" Said the little man, smiling.

Then Minta and Wedin were asleep. When they woke up, they did not remember the guardian, or the forest, or even that their father had gone missing. Neither could he, for he woke up with them in their house. The people of the village couldn't remember either, but Mrs. Lorgerstoc said there was something odd about the last week, but she couldn't put her finger on it. But long after that, when Wedin was a man with sons of his own, the eldest was named Casiel.