The West Gate of the City of Men was busy as usual. I sat down on the ground near the gate where I'd be out of the crush, and looked at the map Razgum had drawn for me.
"West," I said. I turned the map a few different directions. I knew I was at the West Gate, but which way was West from here? "West. Hmm." I looked up from the map. A couple of rats ran past, chased by a snake, which was in turn pursued by a pawn of the Deathfist Orcs. I laughed as one rat tripped over the other's tail and scrambled back to his feet. The snake slowed down for a moment, thinking his quarry won, then realized that he too had someone wanting him for dinner. He turned, hissing, and began to strike at the growling orc. The rats squeaked for joy and darted off.
"Run, little fellows! May the Mother of All save you!" I chuckled, as the pair ducked behind a nearby cactus.
"Well," sniffed a voice from a few feet away, "It seems some are easily amused."
I looked up. Next to me, standing tall in the shadow of the wall, was a highborn elf of Felwithe. She wore a cleric's armor, so polished it shone even there in the shade. In one hand she carried an exquisitely jeweled staff, in the other a small book with a tooled leather cover. The suggestion of a smile graced her beautiful face as she looked down at me, and I knew her remark had not really been hostile.
I'd seen highborn elves before, of course. Their home was near Kelethin, back on Faydwer. But few of them had ever spoken to me. This one had the spotlessly-clean look they all did, as if they'd just had their hair dressed and clothes arranged by a dozen anxious servants. I was suddenly conscious of the state of my leather clothes and dusty pack.
"Uh," I said, hopping to my feet, "Hello. I'm Gwion. I'd offer you a hand, but --" I attempted to wipe some of the filth off on my pants leg.
"No need." The cleric bowed her head gracefully. "You are in the presence of Crown Princess Donnalinna Swansbeauty."
It just figured. Here I was, as dirty as I'd ever been, and a princess showed up. "Your Highness," I stammered, curtsying in what I fervently hoped was the correct fashion. "I apologize for having interrupted you."
She held up a hand. "Again, no need. Donnalinna was just contemplating her book of days, and she heard you mention the Mother." Her head leaned ever so slightly to one side. How could anyone have a neck that long, I wondered, feeling short and awkward now in addition to filthy.
"We see by your -- outfit, that you are a child of Tunare," she continued, politely not staring too long at my scuffed armor. "You studied with the Heartwood Master of Kelethin."
"Yes, your Highness," I said.
"Dear friend," she said, "There is no need for such formality. While you are certainly not of the same station as we are, we share with you a common joy in serving the Mother." She smiled beatifically. I fought an urge to tell her no, we didn't share that at all, that serving the Mother had turned out to be a lot more complicated than it looked and that just lately it hadn't been a lot of fun. But she was being polite, so I smiled politely back.
"You are off on a journey," she said, pointing to my pack.
"Yes. I thought I'd see if I could find some other druids. But right now, I'm just trying to find West."
"Dear child," she said, "Donnalinna is facing West now. This is, after all, the West Gate of the City of Men."
"Oh, yes, of course," I said, knowing that I was flushing deep red under the dirt on my face.
"We have been that direction," the Princess continued, "On our Holy Mission to vanquish the abominations of Kithicor Forest."
"Oh," I said. "The undead. My friend told me about those."
"And what else lies West?" she asked.
"Well, I was planning to visit Rivervale," I said.
"The home of the halflings?" The Princess smiled. "Those dear little souls. Very sweet, of course, but you do know that the halfling druids worship the Rain God."
"The Rain God?"
"Yes, Karana." The Princess nodded. "They do good works, of course, but if you are looking for spiritual sustenance, it's possible you may not find it there."
"That's okay," I said, "As long as they're nice to me. I was excited to see humans," I said, thinking of Bankerra, "But they turned out to be kind of a puzzle."
Donnalinna laughed. "Yes, we quite know what you mean," she said. "Humans are so different from elves. So many conflicts! A rather aggressive lot. And those ears -- well, one has to wonder what strange god could have produced them!" Even her laugh was beautiful. It made me think of a nice cool spot under an ancient pine tree.
"What are halflings like?" I said after a moment. "I never met one. You've seen some, right?"
"Why yes," Donnalinna said. "We have been to Rivervale more than once. The halflings are simple folk. Very kind, for the most part, and wise in their own way. They tend to see things rather practically. That's not always a bad thing, of course -- " She frowned slightly, tilting her graceful head. "Naturally, some of us would rather uphold our ideals, even if it means an occasional inconvenience."
Practical sounded pretty good to me right about then. I had to talk to someone about poor dear Uncle Zophia. I still refused to believe that Tunare would forget him after his lifetime of service, render his powers useless. If she really was the Mother of All -- and I did believe that, no matter what else was confusing me -- she would have to be more understanding about her children helping those who didn't recognize her as the supreme deity.
On the other hand, Tunare was a goddess. It'd be pretty easy for her to be idealistic, I thought. All she had to do was sit up there in the Plane of Growth all day, being worshipped. No sacred tree would ever dare attack Her friends. But which beings, exactly, were her friends? And there was some evidence that Tunare wasn't as kind as I'd been taught. Zophia had little of his powers left; Father, on the other hand, had retained all of his, even though he'd judged Zophia so unkindly. None of it seemed quite fair. Someone would have to know -- someone outside the situation, with more perspective...
"Gwion?" I blinked, and saw the Princess peering anxiously into my face.
"I beg your pardon, Princess," I said. "I've had a few rather weighty questions on my mind lately."
"Well then, we shall pray that you find your answers," she said. "The Mother will lead you to the truth in all things." She bowed, then looked up at the sky. "And now you must go," she said. "If you tarry, you will not reach Rivervale before nightfall. If you do not, we are afraid you will run afoul of the abominations in the forest."
"Of course I wish to avoid that," I said. I curtsied again. "You have been very kind."
The Princess took one of my dirty hands in both of hers and gave it a little squeeze. "Trust in Her, Dear Gwion," she said.
"Thank you, Princess." I shouldered my pack. "I'll do my best." Curtsying again, I backed away a few steps, then turned around and broke into a run, heading in the direction I now knew to be West.
Blessed by royalty, I thought, feeling a little less scared of the undead. Princess Donnalinna had faced them, and lived to meet me there at the gate. Her unswerving devotion to Tunare had pulled her through.
Without stopping, I squeezed my eyes shut for just a second and whispered, "I know you're up there, Mother. Help me out this time, please? For Zophia's sake, and Father's." As I reached the border of the Eastern Commonlands, I saw the dry, brown path I'd run the day before. I had a long run ahead of me, and I had to make it fast. I resolved to stop stewing about everything. My problems would have to wait until I was safely in the home of the halflings.
