Talk:Character blogs/@comment-27478454-20151230063859

Fernwood Fiddlehead's Plans

Fernwood looked down the rocky staircase that descended into the split earth. She rubbed the nose of her small mule absentmindedly. Most of the remaining members of the original party had decided to explore the shaft.

“We’ll just wait here, Jenny” she said, "and get that wheel fixed.  Odd that it decided to break when it did.”

She became quiet, thinking that the cart’s wheel – one that had been fine in the morning - should suddenly snap a brace. It was not the only odd thing that had happened since leaving the Drunken Lion. “People just seem to pop in and out,” she said after a moment, “and I trust each new addition a little less than the one before.”

She slapped the mule companionably on the shoulder, and turned back to the cart. She pounded the small hammer against the rim of the wheel, gradually fitting the brace back in. For a moment, her original decision to join this group wavered. True, there was a deadly evil that needed dealing with, and that was important. But, her entire farm acreage needed repairs badly. The only building left standing in good repair was the old Inn, itself, which Fernwood had left in the capable, dwarven hands of Mrs. Stonecleaver.

Still, Fernwood’s grandfather had always preached “Honour before profit”. He would have approved of her decision, she thought, although she herself was not entirely sure it was such a great idea at this point. And, as admirable as maintaining honour was, their family had experienced a steady decrease in profit under her grandfather’s leadership. It was, she thought, a fine line, sometimes, a fine line between making things right, and making ends meet.

“At least I got you, Jenny,” she said to the mule. This little speckled mule was one that she had raised by hand from a foal, a product of a fine hill pony mare and a sturdy mountain jack. The Halflings in her family had raised several generation of hill ponies and donkeys, and acquired a good reputation for their reliability and intelligence. The mule tossed her head, as if in agreement.

Fernwood slid the repair hammer back into the oblong box that fit neatly into the side of the cart, and folded down the lid. She leaned against the cart, and considered the options before her. “At the very least,” she said, “with you and this full cart of goods, we can still make a living and get that land repaired.”  She smiled back at the mule, and froze, as the ground beneath her feet trembled like a shaking leaf and a burst of smoke came up through the stairwell.