In the Mist

The rest of the day had gone by rather hazily. I think I was in shock. A big blue orc was one thing. I've played role playing games before. I was used to those. But brownies?

Corb had explained to me later -once we were alone- about what the little things were. He said that they could be closely compared to elves or house goblins, but not to say that in front of them.

Apparently the saying "big things come in small packages" was true. These little guys certainly had big personalities. They were eighty percent pride.

It hadn't taken long to convince the brownie tribe to let us stay with them. All Corb had to do was dangle the possibility of a new king in front of their faces and their tough guy facades sunk like a battle ship.

They had shown us around their tiny camp. The doll houses they called buildings were built on the trees. There were boxy structures sticking out from the trunks and branches.

Each family got their own tree. I guess they took the word family tree literally.

It wasn't that terrible of an encampment. You could tell they worked hard on it. It was just funny to see. If I had witnessed this while I was a mere child I would probably have been in heaven. Hundreds of structures to play with and explore with my barbies.

A large, human sized tent had been constructed in our favor. It was made from a soft earth colored fabric and was very drafty. Flimsy sticks had been buried in the ground to support the design. Needless to say, one weak gust of wind and this thing was coming down.

I sat comfortably on the throw pillows that had been placed on the ground as a makeshift bed, and looked over at the surprisingly friendly bulging blue creature.

He was reading something on a large scroll. It was yellowed from age and looked like it was ready to fall into tiny pieces with the corners tattered.

Corb looked up at me as I was studying him, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What is it, Josephine?" he grumbled. It was a friendly grumble, if that's even possible.

I smiled a little too brightly. "I was just wondering what you were doing." My voice matched the smile. I was trying too hard to squeeze information out of him. It was unlikely that he'd tell me anything, anyways.

Corb sat up from the ground and came to sit beside me. His putrid stench wafted into my nostrils and I had to resist cringing. It was horrible. Did he ever bathe? I'm sure they at least had streams in Feywild. But then again, I guess I didn't know much about the place. For all I knew, it could be a waterless.

The blue thing leaned over slightly, showing me the map. "It's a map of the northern district of Feywild. I'm trying to find the best possible route to Resistance Camp. I'm having troubles though."

My eyes widened slightly, surprised that he actually trusted me enough to let me in on his plan that seemed so top secret.

The map looked very old. And not just because of the paper. There was a very prehistoric looking compass on the top, and drawings that just screamed, "Someone dead drew me!"

Forests and trees took up most of the map. The few spots without the trees seemed to be cities, fields, and bodies of water.

So there was water, after all.

Corb pointed on the map to where we were, and where Resistance Camp is.

My eyes studied the map carefully, paying note to indiscreet paths and detours. The forests seemed to be filled with paths. They swerved around each other, crossed, and conjoined many times over.

I could see why Corb was having troubles.

There were so many options, it seemed impossible to know which was the best way. Corb had mentioned that it had to be safe and quick. He told me that the many red dots on the map represented places with a high danger level. Places with the most dangerous inhabitants in Feywild.

We definitely wouldn't be going anywhere near there.

I gave the map another brief once over and lifted my face to meet the gaze of my companion. With a finger placed on the spot I told Corb, "That would be the most effective route. It's straight forward, and has no danger zones for miles."

Corb's eyebrows widened at my quick analyzation. I had always been good with maps in school. I never really saw why the other kids seemed to have troubles with them. It was simple, really.

His eyes narrowed as he studied the parchment, glancing over every other possibility to make sure that I was right. After a moment he gave a nod of approval, and patted my head in praise. "You're right," he muttered as if he didn't really want to say it. "It is the best route. It even passes by an old friend's house. We'll leave tomorrow night. Now that we have the brownie tribe on our side, the trek to Resistance Camp should be simple."

If only Corb had added emphasis on the should be.



The day we spent with the brownies had been... Interesting. Besides when we were in our tent, we were never allowed to be alone. I felt like some sort of terrorist. They had been sure that we were going to do something terrible to them.

All of the creatures were constantly fighting over everything. Pieces of bread, cups of water, places to stand, who had the better looking son. Corb told me that they had been living together for six months. I wasn't sure how they had managed one day without killing each other.

God knows I couldn't take another day with these creatures. I was more than relieved when nightfall came.

Corb took some leftover bread that the brownies had left with us and put it in a worn leather sack that he tied to his belt loop.

"It will be a long walk, Josephine. We may not get a lot of nourishment. It may take us at least three days, depending on how well kept the path is."

My jaw dropped. "Three days?!" I didn't like walking three hours let alone three days. "Aren't there horses or cars or something here?" I asked frantically.

My blue skinned friend squinted his eyes in confusion. "Horses? Cars? Those things are unknown to me. There is nothing that can make this trip any faster for us. At least, nothing that wouldn't be completely obvious or get stopped by Resistance Control."

I crossed my arms, lip jutting out to form a pout. "Why do I even have to be here?" I groaned. "Take me back home. I would be safe there."

That was a lie, but Corb didn't need to know that.

"Have your parents not abandoned you?" Corb questioned sharply. How did he know that?

"Well, I wouldn't say abandoned." That was most certainly the right word. "More like... Forced me to go on vacation!"

Corb's mouth was a tight line. "You do not understand, Josephine. But you will understand in due time. You will learn more about what your part is when we take you to the resistance. Then, you will truly comprehend. But right now nothing can be said. The brownies cannot be completely trusted. And that is why we must leave now. Resistance Control could be heading here right now. After all, it's only a matter of time before they find out that we have you."

"Why do you have me?"

"You will learn soon, Josephine. Please, just come with me. We have to leave."

I didn't try to fight any more. I gave up. Stayed in the dark. Perhaps being kept out of the light was better. After all, the light wasn't always good. Sometimes the light was too shocking and horrible to bear.

I knew that better than anyone.