Cux 36th, 4288: 169 Days in the Mortal Realm
Today was the day we headed to Plumage in the Elven Kingdom. I watched Gemmel load his wagon. He moved slowly. I wish I could have been of assistance to him. He looked tired from all the years he’s lived and traveled. I was curious as to what stories he could tell. He obviously was older than me... oh wait, he definitely looked older than me. I probably shouldn’t tell him I’m over 1400 years old. Still I wondered how old he was. As he packed I ventured to ask.
“Ge.mmel? How. Old. Are. You?” The old man snickered at me.
“How old do you think I am?” I felt awkward suddenly. I didn’t want to offend him by basing his age off of his appearance. Honestly, he could be 120 years old from the way he sounded and looked, so I aimed low to hopefully complement him.
“80?”
“80? Oh that’s cute. To be 80 again...” Gemmel chuckled then trailed off.
“100?”
“That’s like saying are you 2 or are you 3.”
Hmm, he must be way older than I thought...
“200?”
“I remember being 200. That was a good year.”
“500.”
“I think it was that century when I got kicked out of the land of Men.”
“1000.”
“Oh, steady on there. But yes I remember being 1000 like it was yesterday,” Gemmel said thoughtfully.
“Per.haps. You’re. Old.er. Than. Me,” I said, hinting that there was more to me.
“To be honest, I’ve stopped counting,” Gemmel mentioned.
So if he’s that old, I thought to myself, surely he knew of France. Quite possibly he knew of Araja...
“But. You’ve. Never. Heard. Of. France?”
“I haven’t dealt with the lands of Man since I was 500 years old. That was awhile ago. Kingdoms come, kingdoms go. Gemmel is here to stay,” he paused for a moment, seeming bothered by his comment, “I don’t know why I said that, but don’t go around telling people how old I am. That seems to weird them out.”
“I can relate,” I let slip, but Gemmel didn’t seem to catch it.
“I don’t lie to people about what I am or who I am... but once they find out, as I’m sure you’ve noticed with the Gnomes, there’s something on the edge that seems to rub them the wrong way. Grant it they let me stay and appreciate my craft, but yeah... that’s also why the Elves let me come in for the Carnival. They’re not as trusting, but they let me come just for that time.
“By the way,” Gemmel suddenly added, “I don’t know how you would want to travel. Do you want to stay hidden? I figured you could travel as my pet. I don’t think it wise for you to be wandering around. People may not realize what you are and end up taking you,” Gemmel explained.
“Might. Be. Best. To. Pre.tend. To. Be. Your. Pet,” I answered.
“Well, I don’t like doing this to you, but would you prefer a cage or a leash? I doubt either would be much fun.”
“A. Leash. Will. Do,” I said, “Don’t. Pull. Too. Hard.”
“Nope, nope. I don’t plan on hanging onto it. Gonna use some moonsilk. Not common these days, but I got some behind the counter,” Gemmel went back inside and when he returned there was a thin, silvery string that barely looked able to go around my neck, in his hand. He connected the two ends together and pulled part of it out to make a leash. He then slipped the loop around my head and tied the end of the leash to the wagon.
“Anyone who sees this will know you’re mine.”
Gemmel then finished loading the wagon and away we went.
Next Entry
No comments:
Post a Comment