You find yourself torn as the group begins to disperse for the night, you don't know if you should accompany Oak home out of concern for his well being and see if you can shack up for the night with him, knowing that your own place of residence has been found, if you should sleep there and pray for the best, or if you should merely look for some place else at this time. Whatever it was that you decided on, you knew that you had until you'd walked Oak home to decide upon it.
Oak was clearly going to be quite a handful with how much he had drank this night, but you figured it was the decent thing to do, to assist him in getting home as he lived on the outskirts of the city. He was a farmer, he was a man who no other would walk all the way with otherwise. Respect or no respect, they believed that he would get home safe and well alone without them needing to go the last mile so to speak with him.
You shook Oak by the shoulder as the various workers gathered up into groups, ready to start of home together in the relative safety that this afforded them. Oak mumbled something, something about wanting five minutes more that he punctuated with a string of profanities. A slight smile crossed your lips as you shook your head, shaking his shoulder again.
"Alri', alri', I be gettin' up." Oak mumbled as he rolled from atop the bench, landing with a thud beside it. "Come on friend, we're all preparing to go home now. I'm going to come with you to make sure that you get there safe and sound."
Oak rubbed his eyes as he turned to look at you, giving you a look of suprise as he did so. "Don't ye live up riv'r?" he asked, clerly too out of it at this moment for it to really click that your motivation was his well being at this time. "That I do friend, and I'll be heading that way just as soon as I've seen with my own two eyes, that you've gotten home safe and sound."
You figure that it couldn't hurt to repeat this, that you'll repeat it as many times as it takes to get it through to his drunken mind. He nods slowly, taking your hand as you offer it to him, the look in his eyes telling you that it has clicked, that he feels humbled by the fact that you are showing concern of this level for his well being. Taking his arm around your shoulder, you keep him steady as you lead him towards the group he points towards, who nod to him as they see him before they start on their way through the city, travelling away from the docks, away from the river bank.
Oak, as well as a handful of the men you're travelling with sing intermittently as they wind their way through the city streets, one lost here and there as they bid the group goodnight and split off to finish travelling home. The journey itself is quiet beside this, with you reaching the outskirts of the city, the last of the group bidding you farewell with a tip of his hat as you follow a winding dirt path towards the outlying farmland. Moon and star illuminate your way as you wander past fields divided by fences, dry stone walls and hedges.
Wheat sways in the night breeze, owls hoot and crickets chirp.
It's almost peaceful, though you know better than to let your guard down just because it seems to be a new world compared to the cramped streets of the city with gas fueled streetlamps, airships and things that go bump in the night. "I envy you, you know. Compared to the city this place is beautiful, the air smells better, the rustling of leaves from the trees and the swaying of the crops makes a welcome change from the sound of that stagnant river..." You trail off as Oak chuckles slightly, patting your shoulder with the arm about your neck. "Ye'd think such, y'know. Y'ain't 'ad t'deal wi'arvest time."
You smile at this, wondering if such was all that different from how hard you had found daily work at the Pub to be. Oak hummed a cheerful song to himself as you continued down the dirt path, occasionally mumbling a few of the words as they came to him. It was a song as bawdy as the ones you heard in the tavern, that he only paused to guesture towards one of the farmhouses illuminated by moonlight, mumbling that it was his home.
You followed the winding path pointed out as it weaved between the sheds and fields that stood between you and your new destination, briefly to looking out over fields as you watched the wheat sway, scarecrows stood like lonely sentries that watched over the domain charged to their care, fending off crows and other such pests.
And then all too soon, you were there, the home of the man who you wanted desperately to ask to spend the night with, for the relative safety that would be afforded by a new location, for the safety that would be found in a place out of the way, with a friend you knew was quite capable of taking care of himself as well.
Slipping his arm free of your shoulder, Oak went for the door, beaming as he saw someone inside, opening his arms in a drunken embrace. "M'belov'd! Ye waited f'me!" He slurred, while the figure out of sight spoke, their voice harsh, angry by what they saw before them. "Jacob Oak, you wretched man, you have been out drinking fighting and gambling, leaving me here to worry about you. You know that what you do is against the law and a sin in the eyes of the church, you know it leaves me worrying about your well being-" the womans words were cut off as you edged toward the door, glancing through as you saw the middle aged woman, plump and weathred wagging her finger at the drunken man before her. It wasn't you that had cut her off, it was Oak. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the pouch full of coins that he had placed upon the table.
"Ye c'n get tha' pretty new dress ye've been wantin'oney." Oak slurred, clearly not phased in the slightest by the womans scathing tone. He was too drunk to be bothered by her scolding, by the fact she was giving him a look that even not directed your way made your balls want to shrivel up. She turned her gaze to you, wagging a finger as she launched into another scathing onslaught, though you maintained a passive expression, knowing that you didn't want to give a woman who was already irritable more fuel for the fire.
"And you... You grubby little man, you're one of those thugs that my husband hangs out with. You have a lot of nerve showing your face here!" She started, pausing to take a breath, to let these words sink in, though you had other ideas. "I was concerened for your husbands safety, Ma'am, with how much he had to drink it would be a shame if he had fallen foul of Vultures, or worse, if he had been left to finish the journey here alone. Unfortunately, while we didn't encounter any Vultures, we have ran into a Harpy." You responded, bowing your head as the woman huffed, indignation written across her features. "Goodnight Ma'am." You finished, turning your back as you started on your way back down the path, while the sound of shouting faded into the distance, one particular part of it causing you to chuckle to yourself as you shook your head.
"Oh, how dare you fall asleep on me, i'm not done you drunken old sot!"
It was decided. While the idea of spending the night as a guest there had been appealing, you couldn't have wished that woman on your enemies if they'd found you, if you'd wanted to. Things like that were just too horrible to contemplate doing to others.
Your journey back along the dirt paths to the city was disturbed by little more than a startled fox running from one hedge row to another as you found yourself glancing to the sides of the path with increasing frequency. You were feeling your injuries all the more intensely as your exaustion and tiredness started to take their toll.
A suitable shed presented itself before long, that you quickly cut across a field towards, glancing inside quickly as you determined that it was a toolshed, that it was adequate for a nights sleep, and then without a second thought, you stepped inside.
Closed the door behind you.
Lay down in the corner of the shed.
And drifted off to sleep.
A night of sleep that gave you a wonderful dream, a dream in what you sat in a paradise, listening to the sound of musicians playing in the background as a wealthy and influential man sat with you, a plate of good food before you and a goblet with fine wine at its side.
The man laughed at your jokes, ordered his servants to fan you, sat there in quiet reverence as you imparted words of wisdom to him and praised you, referring to you as the hero of the people, a saviour, a god among men.
Heroics were nothing new to you it seemed, but that dream was cut short, all too short as once more you dreampt of the small, rat like man, of being paralyzed as he stood ever closer to you, this time letting out a chittering giggle as he drew a wicked blade from his belt, as he traced a cross over your heart with one long, pointed fingernail. He was marking the spot with a cross, that he was going to plunge this blade into.
One hand caressed the blade as the rat like man excitedly licked at his lips, a mouthful of sharp teeth flashed at you, while his eyes sparkled with malevolence, while he raised the blade, chanting as you struggled to move, as you found yourself in a panic.
The blade never fell, as the door to the shed opened with a creak, as the rat like man stared in confusion as a figure dressed in a tattered floppy hat and ragged clothing edged in. A man made of straw reached across the small confines of the shed, picking up the small, rat like man by his head as he squealed in distress, his weapon dropped, his hands reaching out for you in terror as he was hoisted into the air by the scarecrow, while the dream faded as the scarecrow turned about, blood hosing the walls of the shed as you heard pained squealing as the sound of teeth tearing flesh audiably filled your ears.
Your eyes opened as mornings light peeked through the wooden boards that composed the shed, dappling your face as it shone through cracks and knotholes, while you stretched, having awakened to... To...
There was blood.
The air stank of blood.
The inside of the shed was hosed with blood and was host to a pile of small, bloody bones. Bones that you immediately recognised as having belonged to a small, man like creature that sat in the corner. You could feel fear in the pit of your stomach as you sprang to your feet, using your shoulder to roughly open the door to the shed.
A sudden scream escaped your lips, causing every bird in the trees for a mile to take flight at the same time, as stood feet away from the door was a scarecrow with gore dripping from its poorly defined face, drenching that ragged hat and clothing that it wore. You stumbled backward, tripping as you attempted to move away from it. It took a moment for you to realise that it just stood there, that it was achored firmly to the ground by a post, that in the morning light it was inert.
It was all just a dream, right?
You were quite happy to tell yourself it was all a dream as you jumped to your feet, hurrying across the field as you made your way to the dirt path.
It was all just a dream, and you just had to pick what direction you wanted to run in, to get away from it.
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Topic: They told me I could be anything... (Read 79197 times)